The LARQ Story
Posted by Adria Holtzinger on Sep 27th 2018
Hi. We’re LARQ, the world’s first self-cleaning water bottle. And here is our story.
We started with a simple vision where innovative technology can be combined with inspirational design to help people access pristine drinking water easily and sustainably.
Easy, right?
Well maybe not that easy, but with the help of a couple PhDs, design experts and some trial and error – we were ready to show the world.
The LARQ Bottle and its patented UV-C LED technology, which had been over 10 years in the making, made its debut in 2017 on Kickstarter. We surpassed our initial Kickstarter goals in under 24 hours and at the close of the campaign had raised over $1.4 million in funding (Whoa!). We became the largest hydration campaign on Kickstarter. Ever.
The next few months flew by, between finalizing manufacturing plans, fine tuning design and honing the UV-C LED technology everything was falling into place... and huh-oh! (But what is a good story without a little drama, right?) The issue was not with the UV-C LED technology, design or anything that would put a halt to our mission of giving people clean water on-the-go - but simply the name. We had been going by QUARTZ, but ran into a trademarking issue. So, it was back to the drawing board….
And that is how we became LARQ.
The adventurous and fun-loving nature of the word “LARK” resonates with our brand philosophy and deep appreciation for the natural world. The stylized “A” in LARQ gives a nod to a bird in flight as well as the Greek letter λ (lambda) – used in the scientific community to stand for the wavelength of light. And the unique spelling with a Q at the end, is just a gentle reminder of our humble beginnings and the support of early believers, back when we were QUARTZ.
We started with a simple vision, and what we created was simply the perfect fusion of design and technology. The LARQ Bottle looks as good as it makes you feel – with no chemicals, no scrubbing, no compromises.
You are what you drink. So drink brilliantly.