“What does it do?” my friend asked as we sat there staring at the chrome-pink, futuristic looking cylinder set on the table. “It’s just a water bottle,” I said.

“It doesn’t filter your water? Keep track of how much you drink?” she asked. I shrugged. “Nope, I guess it does look cool though.” My friend was asking because Okapa, a brand with just one product, sells its flagship water bottle for $295 .

For context, most high-end water bottles top out around $50, or maybe $100-150 if they have fancy features like self-cleaning UV lights, built-in filters, or app connectivity to monitor your drinking habits. When a brand charges that much more than market value, it’s usually for one of two reasons: either it’s a luxury product meant as a status symbol, or it’s solving a consumer problem n

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