Timestamps:

5:20 - Making a business out of free water

8:12 - Competition in the advertising world

10:00 - The decrease in the quality of online advertising

13:09 - Distributing 25K bottles

17:21 - Fundraising through the Swisspreneur Syndicate

About Christoph Bertschy & Gaël Riesen:

Gaël Riesen is a co-founder and the Head of Production/Distribution at Gratiswasser, and his co-founder Christoph Bertschy is the owner of the company. Gratiswasser is a startup placing ads in free water bottles to be distributed in stores, at festivals, cafés and in general around town. They aim to offer companies a cost-effective advertising opportunity that also has a positive impact on the community.

Gaël and Christoph were motivated by a belief that water as a commodity should be free, and by the motivation to make this possible in a market economy: so they decided to use water bottle labels as advertising slots! One of their partners, VIU eyewear, receives the water bottles at their stores and distributes them to customers who drop by.

Placing ads in free water bottles has the benefit of associating the advertisement to the positive feeling of getting free stuff, instead of to the frustrating 30 second wait before you can watch a video on Youtube. It also is a more trustworthy form of advertising than online advertising, which nowadays seems to have become riddled with deepfakes and other shady ecommerce practices.

Gratiswasser is currently fundraising CHF 500K, part of which is being done through the Swisspreneur Syndicate (the 2M mentioned in the episode is a goal for future funding rounds). Click here to learn more about the deal.

EP #405 - Christoph Bertschy & Gaël Riesen: How to Make Water Free & Profitable