Write to meCV

Glater: a premium water that sells the mystery of water itself

The shiftWater as a utility→Water as a mystery

A Glater glass bottle on a gold tray beside a vintage telephone
The impact
50+restaurants, hotels and stores studied across Delhi
10water brands tested in-house
90%of outlets stocked plastic, the gap Glater fills
3glass factories visited in Firozabad

The story in four moves

Client inputMy work
  1. Client input · 01 They came with

    A pure, premium water and founders set on glass, in a market where most shelves hold plastic and premium water competes on what gets added to it.

  2. 02 I found

    People treat water as a lifestyle object, and the category upgrades it with alkaline, copper, gold or minerals. The rarer move was to add nothing and make the water itself the intrigue.

  3. 03 I built

    The research across 50+ outlets, a 10-brand water test and a material study; the positioning “Pause and Sip. Make a mindful choice”; the direction for the amber identity.

  4. 04 It changed

    Glater launched in Delhi in glass with permanent ceramic printing, built alongside Watalog on the same water as its opposite: premium intrigue to Watalog’s social nudge.

My part

I led the research and built the positioning and identity direction. The water and the founders’ commitment to glass were Glater’s; the reason to pause was mine.

Across 6 brand areas
Led5areas end to end
Shaped1my direction, built with others
Supported0I contributed
01Consumer KnowledgeLed

We watched people drink water before deciding anything.

I led field research across 50+ restaurants, hotels and stores, from Khan Market and DLF Mall of India to neighbourhood kiranas, mapped the customer journey, and ran blind “water shots” tastings. Storage space and the lack of a return system kept glass off most shelves.

Khan Marketpremium high streetDLF Mall of Indiamodern retailKirana storesneighbourhood shelves90%plasticof outlets stocked plastic
What the shelves told us
02Brand HeartLed

Add nothing. Let water be the mystery.

Premium water upgrades itself with alkaline, copper, gold and minerals, and those deliver real benefits people want. I took Glater the other way: water left as it is, made fascinating, the lesser-seen side of an everyday element.

Water as utilitypurity, source, priceWater as a mysteryPauseNoticeSip
The shift, in three moments
A glass of water lit in amber
Image treatment, from the Glater brand guideline
03Brand PromiseLed

Pause and sip.

I positioned Glater around a mindful choice: “Pause and Sip. Make a mindful choice.” Classy, a little mysterious, and built to make you stop for a moment before you drink.

04Brand StoryLed

Two brands, one water, nothing in common.

Glater was built alongside Watalog, on the same water. Glater became premium intrigue; Watalog became the social nudge. Every choice kept the two apart, from audience to colour to voice.

One product, two audiencesGlaterWatalogPremiumpause and sipAmberbuilt on mysteryMassjust a nudgePurplebuilt on warmthShared: the water, and only the water
Same water, opposite brands
05Visual Identity DirectionShaped

Amber, for the mystery.

I set the direction for an amber palette built around mystery, a droplet logo, a pattern system expressing rebellion, resilience, sustainability and transparency, and a set photography style.

Three Glater pattern panels in amber and black
Pattern applications, from the Glater brand guideline
06Strategy and OperationsLed

Glass, chosen on evidence.

I ran the material study across glass, aluminium and HDPE with packaging suppliers including Canpack and Ball, and tested 10 water brands in-house for mineral content and pH. Visits to 3 glass factories in Firozabad settled manufacturing and permanent ceramic screen printing.

My map on this project

Everything it took to launch this brand, and where I stood.

Led end to endShaped my direction, built with othersSupported I contributed, others owned it
In association withMouse & CheeseBuilt at Mouse & Cheese, where I was promoted every year to CMO. Today the brand sits with Zerologic, where I lead as CMO.
Brand PromiseLed Brand StoryLed Visual Identity DirectionShaped Consumer KnowledgeLed Brand HeartLed Consumer ExperienceOutside this brief Strategy and OperationsLed Brand CultureOutside this brief Purchase MomentOutside this brief
Next case · No. 10Ease of Living 2022: asking a country how its cities feel to live in