Katrina Dalao: The Premiumization Of Water
Water has always been a basic necessity, but it is becoming something much more personal. As brands compete for attention in a crowded market, how did something as simple as hydration become a way for people to express their identity, values, and lifestyle?
According to Katrina Dalao, a CPG insights leader, water has evolved from a functional purchase into a product tied to self-expression, design, and culture. She explains that packaging, brand values, and the experience around a bottle can transform an everyday item into something people want to carry, display, and associate with. Her perspective shows how even the simplest categories can find new opportunities when brands create meaning beyond the product itself.
On this episode of the Firebelly Social Show, Duncan Alney talks with Katrina Dalao, Founder and Publisher of Grow to Market, about how water brands are moving from basic hydration to lifestyle-driven products. They discuss the rise of premium water, how packaging creates brand identity, and why consumers connect with certain water brands. Katrina also shares insights on how brands can compete through meaning and self-expression.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- [1:50] How water brands became coveted lifestyle accessories
- [3:16] Katrina Dalao’s unique graph mapping hydration to self-expression
- [5:35] What Iceland can teach us about tap versus bottled water
- [10:23] Packaging’s role in transforming basic water into a style statement
About Katrina Dalao:
Katrina Dalao is the Founder and Publisher of Grow to Market, a newsletter covering the business of food and beverage CPG through conversations, insights, and trends shaping modern brands. She highlights founders, operators, and industry experts while exploring how companies grow, evolve, and connect with consumers. Katrina brings a background in content management and multimedia production, along with a journalistic approach to covering the people and ideas driving change across the CPG landscape. Her work examines storytelling, design, culture, and strategy in building distinctive consumer brands.
Resources Mentioned in this episode
Quotable Moments:
- “I noticed that with something as basic and little differentiation, visually is water. It’s now almost like an accessory.”
- “I think with nice packaging, let’s say like a Voss or the Leunens, it’s glass, it’s refillable.”
- “So to say you’ve tried something for under $10 and being able to be part of that conversation.”
- “Once people get used to it, you know, it’s like sky’s kind of the limit.”
- “What other way can a brand show their values, show their like style, aesthetic, and what they’re bringing to the market?”
Action Steps:
- Look beyond functionality when building a brand: Creating products with meaningful design, packaging, and values can help consumers form stronger emotional connections with what they buy.
- Use packaging as a storytelling tool: Thoughtful packaging choices can communicate a brand’s identity, style, and purpose when the product itself has limited physical differentiation.
- Understand how products become part of consumer identity: Recognizing the cultural and self-expression aspects of a product can help brands create stronger connections with their audience.
- Create products that align with customer values: Brands that reflect beliefs around health, sustainability, or lifestyle can make everyday purchases feel more meaningful.
- Find opportunities in crowded markets by competing on meaning: When products become harder to differentiate functionally, brands can stand out by building experiences and associations that resonate with consumers.
Powered by Rise25 Podcast Production Company