Making Sustainable Hydration Fashionable
BKR are trail blazing the path to making hydration cool and sustainable. Once you own a BKR glass water bottle we guarantee you will stop buying disposable plastic ones. These beautifully styled glass water bottles are total eye candy!!!! Water never tasted so good!
We interviewed the founders Tal Winter and Kate Cutler, two incredibly inspiring female entrepreneurs to find out their secrets to this cult brand.
Q1. Firstly, for anyone who doesn’t know you and the brand, what would you love to tell them?
At bkr we’re perfectionists. We never just create to create, we want to innovate, make things that didn’t exist before and make them the very best. When we created the bkr, there were no glass water bottles and we took our time to create something unique that would feel like luxury and help people to drink enough water without drinking from disposable trash. After we had solved the hydrating-is-hard problem, we were annoyed that we still had dry lips. We decided to create the hydrating, holy grail, omg, cosmetic soulmate of lip balms ourselves. Our introduction of the lip balm cemented our commitment to holistic hydration, clean beauty and wellness. If you haven’t tried a bkr bottle or the balm, you must - they are life changing.
Q2. How do you prioritise your health as a busy entrepreneur?
It’s very easy to forget yourself – between the business, two kids and a husband you can lose yourself. We don’t get a lot of time to ourselves but taking care of your health - both physical and mental - is so important. We always drink a lot of water, try to choose healthy foods and try to find time to work-out, take walks, go to yoga. You have to view that self-care time as important as a meeting or any other appointment. And, if that work out we planned doesn’t happen we try not to beat ourselves up and do better the next week.
Q3. What inspired you to set bkr up?
We always knew that the prescription for gorgeous skin is sleep and water but we found ourselves drinking from tons of plastic disposable water bottles. It didn’t make sense that intelligent people like us were essentially drinking from trash. We couldn’t find a reusable bottle we loved. And to us, drinking out of metal wasn’t an option - it smelled weird and tasted tinny and wasn’t dishwasher safe. We decided to make exactly the bottle we wanted: something beautiful, effortless, pure and chic. We knew if we wanted it, other people would too.
Q4. What is one of the biggest lessons you’ve learnt on your journey so far?
We have learned so many. One important lesson is if you want to change your life, you can do it. We decided to leave established careers as lawyers and jump into something unknown. It was definitely scary but nobody's born knowing everything. We researched and found mentors and we just did it. You only live once (as far as we know) so you have to evolve as a human and feel inspired and passionate about what you’re doing. You spend more time at work than just about anywhere else, you better like what you do.
Q5. When you feel overwhelmed or unfocused, or have lost your focus temporarily, what do you do?
We’re big fans of getting outside and going for a walk. We grab our bkr kiss kits and even if we’re exhausted we just go. Fresh air, sunshine and exercise are great for clearing your mind.
Q6. Do you have any habits that form your daily routine that you swear by?
We always have our bkrs with us and are constantly sipping. If you think about the times you feel (and look) your worst, it’s often when you’re dehydrated; when you’re flying, when you’ve had only coffee or when you’ve had too much the wine the night before. Having a cute bkr by your side is the best reminder to stay hydrated.
Q7. We love what you have built with bkr and think you are so inspiring! Who inspires you?
So many women. Madonna, Beyonce, Diane Von Furstenberg, Michelle Obama and JK Rowling – powerful, creative, inspiring and badass women who did it all with children at their side.
Q8. What would be the best piece of advice you would give to someone thinking about starting a business?
Make sure you really love and believe in your idea and are prepared to stand behind it and fight for it no matter what. Put one foot in front of the other every day, and if you find that you don’t know what you’re doing, well, welcome to the club. If you’ve resolved to never give up then you can figure it out. You might not sleep for a few years, but it will have been worth it.
Q9. The fitness and lifestyle industry is such a busy space, with so much information on offer, it can be overwhelming! What are bad recommendations you hear in your profession?
We tune out anyone too extreme or unrealistic. We’re definitely about moderation. We try to move our bodies and eat healthy but we’ll also eat french fries and have a martini. There is so much pressure (especially on women) to be perfect and it’s not realistic or even enjoyable to live that way.
Q10. What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made? (Could be an investment of money, time, energy, etc.)
Investment in our female friends. Many people are very focused on romantic relationships which can be amazing but don’t forget your women friends. We have girlfriends that have celebrated our successes and also been there in the hard times. You never regret the time you spend with your close women friends. And, there is nothing better than laughing with someone who remembers you with asymmetrical hair or braces.
These beautiful bottles are a greart addition in the gym, styled with our KIHT hoodie - https://kiht.co.uk/collections/ethical-hoodies
And if your looking for sustianable gift ideas then check out our blog Sustainable Gifts for Her - https://kiht.co.uk/blogs/blog/sustainable-gifts-for-her
Huge thank you to both Tal and Kate for this interview! If you found this inspiring or have any questions, just drop a comment below.
Also make sure you check them out!! We have linked all their socials below:
https://www.instagram.com/mybkr/
https://www.pinterest.com/mybkr
If you enjoyed this and are looking for some more inspiring female founders of sustainabale businesses, check out the below :
Laura Beckford - Superwoman and Supernova Protein Co-founder
Spectrum Brushes, Building a Cult Brand with Co-Founder Sophie Pycroft
