Smart bottles and dumb trackers: comparing solutions for water mindfulness
Conducting secondary and comparative research in the water habit-tracking field.
This quarter, we’re interested in tackling water mindfulness—that is, we’re interested in the successful behavior interventions that lead towards better water intake and attitudes. As part of our review in this well-trodden but rarely-researched field, we looked to compare a few different solutions introduced in this space (as well as a few solutions outside of this space that we think can inform our approach to water mindfulness).
Deep-diving into the market 🤿
Below, we document nine representative solutions in the habit-tracking and habit-changing space along with their affordances, drawbacks, and perceived unique value proposition.
WaterMinder, app
WaterMinder is a mobile app which uses body weight and other metrics to calculate ideal water consumption, then sets reminders to drink and log water intake. The app also makes progress and reminders visible through anApple Watch complication. We think this app is a great logger for water intake, but doesn’t necessarily motivate continuous intake beyond reminders. It seems like the extrinsic motivation of achievements and badges may wear off after a while (if it’s ever effective). Unique value proposition: a thought-through water logger for folks already well-invested into changing or maintaining their water intake.
Productive, app
Productive is a general habit tracking app that allows for habit management and personal challenges (not unique to water, but certainly adaptable to water intake tracking!). The user interface is customizable and aesthetically pleasing, and allows for reminders. The app isn’t water-specific though, and doesn’t contain the same useful level of functionality as other water-specific loggers out there. Unique value proposition: an aesthetically pleasing, utility-minded app that acts as a jack-of-all-habit-trackers.
Sleep Cycle, app
Sleep Cycle is a mobile app that uses sounds and movement to track the quality of the user’s sleep. This one is not water-specific (and in fact, isn’t related to water intake at all!), but seems like a good parallel for comprehending the health tracking space of the market. The app doesn’t implore users to track sleep all the time and runs while they’re asleep, but it provides a great deal of useful information by the time the user wakes up in the morning. These kinds of apps are special because they are so low effort yet so insightful that there’s almost no downside. Business-wise, the biggest potential loss is that once a person feels good about their habits, they might not need the technology anymore. Unique value proposition: a simple app which improves quality of life by using data to improve quality of sleep.
Plant Nanny, app
Plant Nanny is a fun app which keeps track of how much water you drink and corresponds each glass to water virtual plants in the app. Plant Nanny takes into consideration your weight, exercise regiment, and goals to allow the user to set custom reminders for drinking water. It has a clean interface to view tracked water history, and also includes a rewards and point system for drinking water. However, Plant Nanny only accounts for water and not any other beverages or foods containing water. Unique value proposition: a cute, gamified system of incentives and rewards that is fun and water related.
Fitbit, wearable + app
FitBit is a well-known piece of wearable technology that tracks health metrics including steps, heart rate, and even sleep quality. FitBit is not water-specific, but it’s interesting to see how apps and the intersection of digital/physical technology can motivate users to take action on their health. This is a parallel comparator to our habit to learn more about popular and successful habit-tracking at-large. Unique value proposition: wearable with connection to design motivation to move and exercise into everyday life.
Smart water bottles, smart technology
Several types of smart water bottles exist that are designed to help people keep track of their water consumption and encourage people to drink more water. These water bottles have varying features that include infusing vitamins/flavorings into water, using sensors to measure exact water consumption, and using LEDs to remind users to drink water. Some of these water bottles are even connected to smartphone apps that can keep more detailed track of water consumption. However, these water bottles are often expensive and require set-up and maintenance. Unique value proposition: smart containers with the ability to automate water intake tasks and encourage users to drink water with a low-friction method.
SodaStream, home appliance
SodaStream is a home carbonation system that makes ordinary water more exciting to drink through flavorings and carbonation. This solution is uniquely eco-friendly in that it also eliminates single-use plastic (since carbonating bottles are reusable for up to three years). Sparkling water and seltzers are more enjoyable for some than regular water, so this encourages water consumption without having to buy cans of seltzers; moreover, the convenience makes it easier to transport. However, it asks a bit from users to convert water into sparkling, and there appear to be almost no materials focusing on the health benefits of sparkling water. Unique value proposition: an appliance that uses other, more desirable beverages to help increase water consumption.
Flavored & sparkling waters, products
Flavored and sparkling waters have become increasingly popular with consumers as a way to drink more water in-lieu of unhealthier sodas and juices. Options range from cans of sparkling flavored water sold like soda to flavor pods that consumers can add to tap water. The sparkling water industry is on pace to be worth $3.1 billion in sales by 2022, and is one of the fastest growing beverage segments. While valuable and an attractive option for some, though, they may prove to be costlier in the long term for some consumers. Unique value proposition: a remix to regular water that provides a more enjoyable way to drink water to incentivize consumption.
Marked (dumb) water bottles, products
Marked and motivational water bottles are uniquely design bottles that encourage users to drink more water by tracking water consumption and/or tying water consumption to goals. Unlike smart water bottles, these water bottles do not utilize technology to motivate users. Some popular water bottle brands, such as Nalgene, have marking lines to show users how much water is consumed in ounces. Other water bottles take this idea further and write motivational phrases on the sides of the bottle or recommendations about how much water should be consumed for each hour of the day. Similar to water-tracking apps, however, this requires a level of personal accountability in order to change a user’s behavior. Unique value proposition: bottles which provide a way for people to easily understand if they’re hitting self-initiated water consumption goals.
Everything’s better with a map! 🗺
Taking these solutions we found, we mapped them on a comparative matrix where we measured activation (that is, the level of effort users must put into tracking and/or changing their water consumption habits) and intervention (the level of disruption promoted by the solution).
We found that solutions were generally crowded around high activation, high intervention spaces (which we labeled New Year’s Resolutions in that they ask a lot of self-initiative from users in order to be effective) and low activation, low intervention spaces (passive data collectors and other lifestyle products that didn’t ask users to change their behavior or consider it more thoughtfully).
From this matrix, we’ve tentatively found ourselves interested in developing a solution in low activation, high intervention space, one we’ve nicknamed natural+ in reference to our desire that we can make water mindfulness explicit and natural with the aid of some intervention (perhaps a hybrid digital-physical solution?).
