The Vida hydration vessel is a reusable water bottle produced in rugged stainless steel that delivers enhanced aesthetics and ergonomics to the category, helping transform the ritual of hydration into a daily moment of affordable luxury. Designed for women and men who care passionately about their health and the health of their planet, Vida is designed to better inspire customer use as an alternative to disposable bottles. "We were extremely disappointed with the market's current offerings for steel reusable water bottles. They didn't feel right - whether in our hands or our on lips," recalls KOR Water CEO, J. Eric Barnes, adding "KOR is all about inspiring change, and Vida is our next step in changing perceptions as we continue to advocate for water in a world that too often takes it for granted."
With Vida, KOR Water again teamed with strategic design partner RKS to develop another fashionable, empowering and sustainable personal hydration vessel. "Vida represents KOR's latest advancement in the design of vessels that pay homage to water," explained RKS Founder/CEO, Ravi Sawhney. "We've worked to consider form and function and deliver beauty and elegance because sustainable change is about much more than trial or use in a product context, it's ultimately about adoption and advocacy."
"Tasked with the goal of creating superior tactical engagement and a universally appropriate design aesthetic, we also sought to ensure Vida was easy to clean, fill, and carry while bringing the experience to competitive price-tiers and distribution channels by controlling costs," said Sawhney. "We asked RKS to develop a solution that was ergonomically pleasing and had a mouth feel designed for drinking water and not just storing it," further explains KOR Co-founder and President, Paul Shustak. "However, their challenge was to maintain KOR's established brand language with an appropriate aesthetic for the premium brand."
Vida's tapered profile and handle are utilitarian and ergonomic, and designed to harmonize with KOR's existing and new product portfolio promoting personal and environmental health. Designed to be appropriate for all users in all environments whether at the office, gym, home, leisure, car, or on-the-go, the design team also made great efforts to incorporate the innovative 'mouth-feel' and cap users enjoy with all KOR offerings. Material use provides impressive durability and recyclability, while helping users obtain the ecological and health benefits from sustainable hydration. The design team hydro-formed the vessel body from 18/8 stainless steel, produced KOR's Perfect Pour Spout in polypropylene using injection molding, and also co-molded the cap from polypropylene. The results are an extremely lightweight vessel weighing in at 5.6 ounces for the 500mL and only 8 ounces for the 750mL version.
As a result, Vida better fits the complete user experience. The curved bottom aids easy dishwasher cleaning while removing a residue collection area, and the thread-less spout delivers a superior tactile sensation when sipping. The slightly tapered conical bottle has been conceived to integrally tie the cap and convenient carry handle into the overall form as part of the existing brand language. Users not only benefit from better comfort, but new size and color options - now available in 500/750mL sizes in arctic white, anthracite (black), or natural finish. Vida has MSRPs of $21.95 (500mL) and $24.95 (750mL). The design also increases per-unit profitability through control of COGS, despite lower retail pricing, which benefits both KOR and consumer alike. The combination delivers greater value at a more competitive cost that should help sustain the brand expansion to benefit more people and the planet.
Named after Lake Vida, an extraordinary frozen ecosystem in Antarctica, Vida is KOR's latest tribute to the preciousness of water and its importance to life, and part of their continuing mission to protect and celebrate water. The user-friendly design introducing a superior 'mouth feel', improved accessibility via greater affordability, and a universal aesthetic appreciated by both sexes all work synergistically to help Vida promote hydration more broadly. Vida, like all KOR products, is part of KOR's highly praised Thirst for Giving program, which donates 1% of sales to water related charities and raises awareness for ocean protection, container recycling, watershed protection, and the global water crisis.
KOR believes well-made, beautifully designed products are inherently more sustainable than commodity products that quickly end up in landfills. "I've long believed that design has the power to inspire and motivate people to live healthier and to make positive changes that have a real effect on the health of our planet, and we're thrill to have found that belief reflected at RKS," said KOR Water CEO, J. Eric Barnes. "We once again teamed with RKS' creative designers, who utilized their Psycho-Aesthetics process to deliver a design that meets both the functional and emotional needs of KOR's target customers as we seek to dent the 60 million plastic bottles discarded each day."