Turning Water into Gold
One part of the world has no access to drinking water and the other is branding it as an "elixir of life." When did water go from being a necessity to a luxury?
Water. It’s like an invisible part of our lives, always there - but never making its presence felt. Unlike land, we cannot draw lines on water. Yet, our fascination with segmenting things into various classes has not spared even the liquid of life! Water is everywhere, yet it is not democratic. There is a type of water that only the rich can afford! Sounds absurd? Let’s see.
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It seems natural to buy bottled water- a bottle of safe, hygienic, mineral water. But, this new normal was only brought into our lives after the second world war. What seems so instinctive now, was perceived as a luxury.
But, if that was luxury, imagine how our ancestors would react to a bottle of water which comes with edible gold flakes and packaging. Yes. The world's most expensive bottle of water - Acqua di Cristallo Tributo a Modigliani (phew!)- cost a whopping $60,000 (~Rs. 43,68,147) for less than a litre.
And, it’s not just one ‘crazy’ brand propagating the idea of “luxurious water”. The market is huge.
Svalbarði, a European company collects water from the purest icebergs in Kongsfjorden, 1,000 km from the North Pole and sells it for €84.95 per bottle (~₹7,400). One bottle of Beverly Hills 9OH20 Luxury Collection Diamond Edition water costs $100,000.
And, the craze is not restricted to just buying expensive water. Water-tasting (say goodbye to wine-tasting) has become the new trend. In fact, there are water tasting competitions that are being held!
Last year, the award was given to an Australian brand because their water was “infused with the sound frequencies of love, the moon, and light spectrums of the rainbow”. Some meaningless BS this is!
There is a whole industry built around water tasting! We have institutes that certify individuals as Water Sommeliers! What do they do? They can taste water and identify where it originated from, what water is suited best for what purposes, which food or drink should a particular variety of water be paired with, and so on.
Yes, we are still talking about water. And, someone out there is willing to pay for it!
The Simpsons said that way before!
You could say that Richie Rich and friends have way too much money than they could spend. But, that won’t be entirely true. Something else is also at play.
Marketing.
Taking care of one’s health is one thing. But, wellness and health has been converted into an entire industry. So much so that sometimes we wonder, is it really about keeping people healthy or has their intentions taken an unhealthy turn? Luxury drinking water is being touted as Amrit or the spring of youth.
Perfect alkalinity of water is “required” for better hydration and digestion. Edible gold flakes and diamonds in water can work wonders! And, there is a whole different vibe around water from exotic locations like the Arctic Pole, Hawaii or the Fijian Springs. The water in such locations is as pure as it can get. It has practically never seen the light of the day and doesn’t have human contaminants. How can something so mystic not have magical properties?
And just like that, the marketers have promoted water from just water to the elixir of life! Now, surely finding such water and making it accessible won’t be cheap. But, it’s worth going the extra mile if people buy into the story and are willing to pay the price.
And, oh poor human brains! Anything that is limited, exotic and difficult to source becomes very dear to us. We have to have it.
But, that’s not it. There is something else that is making people buy that expensive bottle of water. They are not buying water, they are buying the comfort of ignorance.
It is no secret that our environment is falling apart. Today, only 0.5% of the Earth’s water is freshwater and is available for drinking. There is a segment of the population that does not have proper access to clean drinking water. With so much chaos, it is comforting to hold something that is the exact opposite of current reality. The water bottle that they buy, is tangible proof that not all is lost. For them, it’s not just a bottle of water.
It’s hope.
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Researched by Anisha.