In retail, longevity only matters if a brand keeps giving consumers a reason to choose it. Categories shift, expectations rise and products once purchased purely for function increasingly need to deliver on design, convenience, technology and values too.
Water filtration is a case in point. What began as a practical way to improve tap water has evolved into a broader hydration category spanning jugs, smart bottles, solutions around the sink, carbonators, integrated appliance filtration and dispensers. As Brita marks 60 years, the opportunity for retailers is not simply to celebrate heritage, but to rethink how hydration can create relevance across more occasions and shoppers.
From category creation to category expansion
Brita began in Germany in 1966, when Heinz Hankammer made water filters by hand beneath a pear tree in his family garden. The AquaDeMat followed in 1967 to demineralise water for car batteries, before the first household water filter jug arrived in 1970 and helped create an entirely new consumer category.
The retail lesson is simple: Strong categories are rarely built by standing still. The original problem may remain, but the way consumers want to solve it changes. Today, filtration needs to fit naturally into everyday routines and the home, while meeting expectations around convenience, aesthetics and responsible consumption.
Hydration is moving beyond the kitchen bench
Hydration now sits at the intersection of homewares, wellness, technology and lifestyle. That creates an opportunity to move beyond a purely functional or replacement-led purchase model. Assortment, merchandising and education can help shoppers understand not only what a product does, but where it fits in their life – at the table, on the go, in the kitchen, at work or while entertaining.
Brita’s ‘Drink better. Do better.’ campaign reflects this shift. Filtration performance remains the foundation, but the ambition is broader: To make better water choices easy, desirable and relevant. That gives retailers more ways to tell the category story, create purchase occasions and connect with consumers who may not see themselves as traditional water-filter users.
Using heritage to drive newness
A milestone can attract attention, but nostalgia alone does not drive a category forward. Heritage is most valuable when it gives innovation credibility.
The Brita 60th Anniversary Limited Edition Glass Jug brings that principle to life, combining six decades of filtration expertise with contemporary design for the modern home. More broadly, Brita’s portfolio shows how the category is expanding across formats and environments – from jugs and bottles to taps, appliances and commercial settings.
For retailers, presenting these as a connected hydration ecosystem rather than isolated products can make the category easier to navigate and create a stronger platform for discovery, education and trade-up.
Sustainability needs to work at shelf level
Sustainability is increasingly part of the value equation. Filtered tap water can help households reduce reliance on single-use bottled water, while Brita measures its wider product impact through Planet Contribution – a performance indicator used alongside revenue and profit that balances bottles avoided through Brita products against the company’s carbon footprint.
The story also extends beyond product use. Brita established its first filter cartridge recycling program in 1992 and, in Australia, partners with TerraCycle on a free national recycling program for used Maxtra Pro filters and their soft-plastic packaging.
For retailers, the opportunity is to make that proposition simple and visible. Clear sustainability communication at shelf and online can help shoppers understand the product, the recycling pathway and the broader value of the purchase.
The next 60 years
The next phase of hydration retail will be shaped by brands and retailers that make the category feel bigger than filtration alone. Trusted performance remains essential, but growth will increasingly come from combining it with design, convenience, technology, sustainability and a sharper understanding of the occasions that matter to consumers.
Sixty years of heritage can open the door. The opportunity is to keep giving shoppers a new reason to walk through it.
About the author: Nadine Miller is the marketing director of Brita ANZ.
