Recently, through our friends at Hypetap, we were give the opportunity to collaborate with the worlds first free water brand, Free is Better. Working with Free is Better allowed us not only to work with one of Melbourne’s cutting edge start ups, but to create our own limited edition bottle.
We hung out with Hwi from Free is Better to get an understanding of the brand.
You have said before, that free is better was created out of frustration, tell us about that process?
Honestly, we are just a bunch of friends who got sick of feeling ripped off every time we had to buy a bottle of water. We started talking about how bottled water is just an industry invention extracting capital from something that is actually just a fundamental human right and necessity. It made us kind of angry.
We started looking at ways to shake up this model. We developed the goal of changing the way people think about paying for water and realised that by having sponsors on our labels we could offset production and distribution costs. We got a great team of passionate young people together and the world’s first ever totally free bottled water company was born.
You have gone in the opposite direction from your peers in the bottled water market. What do you think are the fundamental attributes that make your small team so effective, in terms of brand development and gaining traction in the marketplace.
The reason our team is so effective is because we are our target demographic. We know what our peers’ want and our branding reflects our own tastes and values. We are committed to supplying water at zero cost to customers and determined to keep Free Is Better exclusive to sponsors and stockists with similar ideals.
The response in the marketplace has been really encouraging. Our sponsors have realised that we have tapped into something special and created an entirely new channel to reach customers.
Who has been the biggest influence on you in your business?
My biggest influence in the advertising world is probably Steve Stoute. He founded his marketing firm with a mission to ‘relate’ to consumers instead of ‘selling to them’. The idea of creating a dialogue with our niche audience has definitely played a major role in our approach to business at Free Is Better. For those that aren’t familiar with Stoute, he is also a straight-up badass record industry legend who helped launch the music careers of Mariah Carey, Will Smith, Nas, and many more…
If you could give any advice to other entrepreneurs, what would you say?
Commit. You need a lot of energy and dedication to start your own business, especially if you have a really new or unusual idea like ours. It’s very important to realise the workload involved and to make sure you can sustain your enthusiasm for the business in the long run. On the other hand, I think it’s also important to take a few risks. There is always room for innovation and the key is not getting too disheartened when ‘in the box thinkers’ start to push against your ideas.
Whats it like for a cutting edge start up in Melbourne?
We’re having an absolute ball. Melbourne has a great start-up culture and we have created such a supportive network of sponsors, outlets, and events people etc. Melbourne youth culture is thriving and our team loves collaborating with other start-ups and young artists and designers. Our office space is right in Fitzroy, surrounded by some of the best restaurants in Melbourne. We try to keep things pretty light at the office; we have a really hard working team so we want the office to be a place where they can relax. Most days you’ll find us pumping music, sipping tea and brainstorming big plans.
Where are the first five places you would take a friend who has never been to Melbourne before?
- My first stop, like say if I just picked up a hungry mate from the airport, would probably be 8Bit for a burger. Their burgers and shakes are just so good; I’m salivating just thinking about it.
- For something a little touristy I would go to Degraves to give them an idea of the cool little alleyways downtown has.
- Melbourne’s café and bar scene is something that makes me really proud to live here and Degraves is a classic example of our booming restaurant scene.
- At some point I would have to take them to St Ali (either the north or south location). In a city full of coffee lovers I feel like these coffee roasters really stand out against the crowd and showcase just how good Melbourne does coffee.
For shopping we’d hit up Emporium Melbourne. The city has so many quality retail locations but I’d choose Emporium because it has a few of my favourites in one place: Zoo York, Autonomy, Capsule, and Shakuhachi to name a few. - Lastly, I wouldn’t let anyone visit Melbourne without giving them a tour of Brunswick St. I’m a Fitzroy boy at heart, I love Brunswick St Gallery and all of the little restaurants, bars and stores in the area.
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