Karta Bottle: Brand Spotlight

Where it started

Karta Bottle began with a lightbulb moment.

The company’s Founder, Pete Anwyll, had been reading The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris. One part of the book that stood out to Pete was the idea that every niche has some problems or annoyances that we just accept, without necessarily thinking about how those problems can be solved.

“The idea was to build something you already bought to the gym, and that would help you out whilst you’re there.”

Chatting about this with his girlfriend about this idea in the pub, the conversation turned to the gym, and how there must be a better way of loading weights on barbells.

And that’s when the lightbulb moment came. What does everybody take to the gym with them? A water bottle.

@kartabottles And then it was off to the races #smallbusiness #business #startup #fitness #gymtok ♬ original sound – VAMOS TRAVEL NIC

@kartabottles This sound man 😅 #deadlifting #barbelljack #bumperplates #waterbottle #gymbottle ♬ Isaiah Coates is a pedophile – chrissyyy

Next Steps and TikTok Boom

Pete’s idea was a highly durable water bottle that double-downs as a barbell jack, allowing lifters to safely, quickly, and easily change their weights at the gym.

After creating a 3D sketch, Pete worked with a supplier to get a prototype made. Super impressed with the result, Pete sent the bottle off for professional photography that was going to be used as part of a Kickstarter campaign.

However, plans changed when Pete started experimenting with TikTok while waiting for the photographs to be produced. After tinkering with one of the teaser videos he’d already already put out on the platform, it suddenly began to gain massive traction.

“My best video up to that point had gained around 4000 reviews. The video I edited got 150,000 views in less than 24 hours, and now has over 2 million.”

This created a huge amount of buzz and excitement both with audiences and with Pete himself. However, the overnight success didn’t come without its challenges.

Challenges

Following the exposure of his bottle to hundreds of thousands of people on TikTok, Pete quickly set up pre-orders to make the most of his newfound traction.

Unfortunately, the time between setting up pre-orders and the launch of the new product was much longer than he hoped, due to factors outside of his control.

The delay in production initially resulted in quite a few pre-orders being cancelled. That said, when the product did launch, most of the customers that cancelled the bottle thankfully re-bought it.

Capitalising on success

Now the Karta Origin Bottle is live, Pete has been capitalising on his previous TikTok success to market his product on the platform. Part of his strategy is to reach out to key influencers on the platform who will receive a product in exchange for some short-form to promote the bottle.

“When starting a business you should try everything first. That said, because I understand the types of content that do well on TikTok and Instagram, I know who to reach out to for the best ROI.”

Up to now, organic posts on Instagram and TikTok have been the primary sales and marketing channels for Kata Bottle. But, now the product is live, Pete is experimenting with ads, which so far look like they’ll create a fantastic ROI after further experimentation.

@kartabottles No we’re not gonna talk about the boxing wraps #gymbox #superset #gymbottle #puregym #deadlift ♬ original sound – sweet bee

@kartabottles Deadlifting is back in fashion #gymbottle #waterbottle #barbelljack #ironplates #powerlifting ♬ original sound

The future of Karta Bottle

Pete has hugely ambitious plans for the future Karta Bottle. He’s already sent product out to the US to tap into that market, and he’s planning on expanding into Australia when James and James’ new fulfilment centre opens.

Furthermore, later this year they’ll be expanding their range of flagship bottles, introducing new colours and variants to provide customers with a wider range of options and customisation.

Pete is also thinking about how he can increase his customer’s lifetime value. After all, the defining characteristic of the Karta Origin Bottle is that it never breaks! Therefore, he’s in the process of developing new and exciting products that can help solve the problems that fitness enthusiasts face every day.