BRITA

What they do

BRITA develops and makes water filters for homes, offices and the food service trade: table filter jugs and their replaceable cartridges, filters built into kettles and coffee machines, mains-fed water dispensers and professional cartridges for coffee machines, ovens and dishwashers in restaurants. The company is headquartered in Taunusstein near Wiesbaden and opened a new production plant in Bad Camberg in 2021.

Why it matters

The company's own history describes how Heinz Hankammer built his first filters in 1966 under a pear tree in his garden in Taunusstein. His first product, AquaDeMat, was not for drinking water at all. It used ion exchange resin to demineralise water for car batteries at petrol stations. Hankammer then wondered whether the same principle could work at home. In the early 1970s BRITA launched what it calls the first water filter jug for household use, together with patented replacement cartridges, and the company was later renamed after his daughter, Brita.

In 1992 BRITA became, by its own account, the first firm in the industry to collect and recycle used cartridges. In Germany the brand name became shorthand for the product itself.

Products to know

• Filter jugs: with MAXTRA cartridges.
• Built-in filters: for kettles and coffee machines.
• PURITY professional filters: for cafés and commercial kitchens.
• Water dispensers: for offices and schools.

The German angle

BRITA is a private family business in the second generation. Markus Hankammer took over management in 1999, and his father became chairman of a newly formed supervisory board. Wikipedia reports group revenue of 664 million euros and about 2,240 employees for 2022. The company describes itself as an innovation leader in drinking water optimisation, active in 69 countries. It is a good example of a German niche product that became a global everyday habit.

Sources

• BRITA: Group history
• BRITA Australia: History
• Wikipedia: Brita (company)
• BRITA: Celebrating 60 years