IVARIO may be a newcomer on the UK market, but the company has been selling its popular home water testing kits in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since 2013
IVARIO was founded in 2013 in Hamburg by Söhnke Mücke, Saskia Gerber and Sascha Zielinski. From the outset, the company has made it its goal to make water testing simple and accessible. What started as a small selection of conventional water tests expanded into an extensive range of water and asbestos test packages designed for a variety of purposes, and the company has since become Germany’s leading online shop for water testing kits. With business in Germany flourishing, the company aimed to replicate this success on an international scale. The launch of the UK online shop in July 2019 marked a significant step in these plans for international growth. While entering the UK market at such a turbulent political time may not be easy, the company sees great potential in the market and remains upbeat and excited for the challenge.
IVARIO’s vision is simple, and this simplicity is reflected in both the test procedure and how results are presented. First, the customer purchases a test kit online, which includes all the material needed to take the sample at home: sample bottles, instructions, return packaging, and ice packs if necessary. After taking a water sample, the customer then sends the sample back to the laboratory. After the analysis is complete, the results are uploaded onto the IVARIO website and the customer can view them online using a personal access code or download them. The results are presented in layman’s terms, with each result clearly juxtaposed to the maximum concentration of that substance set out in the UK Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations, and general tips are provided if that limit is exceeded. IVARIO also offers an English-speaking support service so customers can contact the company by phone or email for further advice at any point during the process.
IVARIO belongs to and works very closely with the GBA Group, one of Europe’s leading laboratory and consulting service providers. The GBA Group has been working in the field of environmental analysis since 1975 and owns an extensive network of laboratories and an impressive portfolio of analytical methods. The water samples are tested for potential contaminants such as heavy metals and bacteria using methods such as ICP mass spectrometry.
While the laboratory’s scientific expertise and longstanding experience in the industry ensure results are highly accurate and reliable, IVARIO’s know-how in the world of e-commerce and its customer-orientated approach guarantee an enjoyable user experience. It is this blend of tradition and innovation, and experience and entrepreneurship, that gives the company the upper hand: traditional ‘German’ accuracy with a modern twist, if you like. Add this to the wide range of available tests, affordable prices and ongoing customer support, and you have something quite unique. The laboratories can test any kind of water, but the tests are geared more towards those who want to privately test their drinking water and need confirmation that it does not contain high levels of contaminants.
IVARIO is excited to see what the future holds. Besides continuously expanding its product range, the company strives to keep optimising its logistic processes and customer service as well as building a solid customer base in the UK and abroad. Although there are challenges that come with international expansion, the company remains optimistic for the future and focused on its goal of making water testing accessible to everyone.
For more information on IVARIO and its products, visit:
www.ivario-hometest.co.uk
To contact the IVARIO team, please email hello@ivario-hometest.co.uk
For press enquiries, please email:
h.creech@ivario.eu
