Treating A Water Bottle Like Art

WHEN S’WELL FOUNDER Sarah Kauss locked in a distribution deal with Target, her first reflex was to make sure someone on her team actually toiled through the vendor’s phone book–size guide for new partners. It’s not all that surprising, considering Kauss began her career as a CPA at Ernst & Young and then got her MBA at Harvard Business School. “I’m so organized, it drives everyone nuts,” says Kauss. “Really, I’m a recovering accountant.”

- Kimberly Weisul

Most recovering accountants aren’t known for their style prescience. But Kauss decided the reusable water bottle needed a makeover. Hers, which was often stashed in her designer purse, impressed her—but mainly for its ugliness. “I was paying a lot for a handbag and pulling out something that looked like a hiking accessory,” says Kauss.

In 2010, she founded S’well, a water bottle company that behaves like a fashion brand. Its bottles are not simply utilitarian devices—double-walled, copper-coated stainless steel vessels that keep beverages hot for 12 hours and cold for 24; each one doubles as a canvas. Twice a year, 30 new bottle designs are released. They might feature modern patterns or be made to resemble teakwood or textiles from India and Africa. Then, without warning, collections are discontinued. The result: S’well has trained its fans to swoon over its fleeting, ever-changing bottles, cleverly transforming them from mere customers to avid collectors. The average S’well owner purchases more than five of these $25 to $45 bottles, a fairly irrational act, given that no one needs more than a couple of liquid-carrying receptacles.