Pahhni Alkaline Water is taking an innovative approach to producing the best water in the world
Superior hydration with award winning taste is closer than you might think. Pahhni, a private startup company is manufactured, bottled and delivered right out of Downtown Hamilton. Their space takes up 7,194 square feet inside the newly renovated Third and Dayton building, formerly occupied by Ohio Casualty. “We’re excited about this location. Everything about Hamilton has been positive. The people we’ve met, government officials, chamber of commerce, restaurant owners... We want to be in a positive environment where people are looking forward. The growth here is tremendous while still maintaining its old world charm.” Co-founders Erik Loomis and Dr. Satinder Bharaj said in tandem.
The story behind the name, Pahhni, is an inside joke between the two friends and business partners - “I would go over to his [Satinder’s] house a lot and his mother lives with him. She would always make us tea. She would ask us if we’d like some chai tea, and we would joke that chai means tea. So you’re technically asking for ‘tea tea’. We were trying to think of a name for our business so I asked Satinder what he called water in his native tongue [which is Punjabi], and he said, Pahni. So when people ask for Pahhni water, they're asking for ‘water water’” said Loomis.
Similar to how FedEx has an arrow in their logo, Erik and Dr. Satinder Bharaj decided to add an extra ‘h’ in the name so that it spells ‘ahh’. “It’s the ahh factor to superior hydration” Dr. Bharaj explained. The company began in January of 2021 and moved to their current manufacturing office later that summer. They decided to “begin with the best'' quoted Dr. Bharaj, as they use Hamilton’s award winning water as their main ingredient. If you didn’t know, Hamilton’s water is a two-time gold medal winner at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Competition!
Part of the Pahhni proprietary process to ensure superior hydration includes alkaline. “In addition to the benefits of drinking alkaline water, Pahhni starts with the best tasting water in the world and makes it a little better. Natural limestone filtration provides a different, and better, process than many competitors in the alkaline water industry which use artificial means such as electrolysis and/or ionization. This natural process is a huge part of the award-winning great taste. The unique benefit of Pahhni is the natural limestone filtration, giving it a naturally occurring high pH of 8+”
Erik and Dr. Bharaj originally met as colleagues at P&G, and both worked in healthcare where they learned about the benefits of high pH in the body. They found a clinical study that compared regular water to alkaline water which gave them the passion to begin their business. “It has faster absorption in the body which leads to superior hydration. There is also directional evidence due to our processed diets. Our body loves to be slightly alkaline. We see gut inflammation from sodas and processed foods that make us more acidic. Drinking alkaline water can bring our body back to homeostasis…Some people ask us how are you different from other competitors in the marketplace. Well, they will take municipal water and purify it through reverse osmosis, which basically scrubs out the water and then add electrodes to ionize the water. But when you put electrodes in water, it jacks up the pH. The only issue with that, is within 48-72 hours, the PH comes back to neutral. Water is such an incredible animal, I tell people. It loves to be neutral. They then add electrolytes or salt to bump up the pH. Our water is all natural. We don’t add anything or scrub it so to speak. The limestone filtration is what naturally imparts the pH to our water.” stated Dr. Bharaj.
Nearly two years in, Pahhni water is already on shelves in 125 stores across Ohio, Kentucky, and soon to be Indiana. The goal is national exposure, but part of what sets them apart as a company is strategic growth. Bottled premium alkaline water is only the first product of many. They have a plan in place for continual expansion over the coming months. Currently, Erik and Dr. Bharaj are the only official employees, if you don’t include their families’ help and support since it is a family owned business. The two of them currently spend one day a week bottling their product and then hand deliver it to the 125 stores the rest of the week. Their manufacturing equipment can finish 6,000-7,000 bottles in a four hour window!
“One hurdle as a startup has been figuring out how to work around other contracts or how to get in before it’s up for renewal. We tell people, if you like our water and it’s not where you hang out, ask them to get it!” suggested Loomis. To find Pahhni water near you, go to Pahhniwater.com.