Of course, the biggest advantage of standardized bottles is that they can be used by all beverage manufacturers. You know the classic beer or water bottle. They just slap a label on it, and it’s done. Once you’ve finished it, it goes into a deposit return machine, gets collected centrally somewhere, inspected, cleaned, and sent back to the manufacturers for reuse. There are different types of bottles for different purposes, and everyone has adapted to them—cup holders, for instance.
And then there are the other companies that want to stand out from the crowd and think they have to do their own thing. In my daily life, for example, it’s the premium mineral water Adelholzener. At €0.89 per liter, it’s one of the most expensive mineral waters in the store. I love the taste of the water, but why is it expensive and also making my life difficult? A premium mineral water apparently needs a special bottle; the standard German well bottle, also called the “Perlenflasche” (pearl bottle), is probably too simple.
But this brings me to my gripe. Naturally, the Adelholzener bottle is also wider at the bottom than a normal mineral water bottle. On long car trips, though, I want to bring something to drink. And what doesn’t fit in the cup holder? That’s right, the water bottle. So it always ends up lying somewhere on its side between the seat and the center console. On the seat isn’t good, because it rolls around on curves. But even wedged in between, it’s not safe from sudden braking. Someone on the highway suddenly cuts you off and you have to slam on the brakes? Next thing you know, you’re desperately trying to fish the bottle out from the passenger-side footwell. At least it’s so sturdy that it hasn’t broken on me yet.
I asked Adelholzener why they don’t use the standard well bottles and received a prompt reply. Apparently, until 2018, they offered both their designer bottle and the standard well bottle. However, demand for the latter supposedly dropped, making the logistical and production costs of using the pearl bottle too high, so they decided to focus on one bottle type—their own designer bottle. I’ve been drinking this water for many years and I have to say, I’ve never seen it in a standard well bottle. Did usage decline because that bottle type wasn’t available in many supermarkets? At least, I’ve never seen Adelholzener in standard well bottles at REWE, Edeka, or tegut.
If only there were a place in the car specifically designed to hold bottles securely. Bottles… securely… hold. Bottle… hold. Bottle holder. The name says it all. But of course, that doesn’t work if the bottle doesn’t fit. Thanks a lot, dear beverage manufacturers. If you’re going to put thought into design, at least think about the basics. There are standards for a reason. But really, you should be thinking about the environment. In that case, the standard well bottle would be the best option…