#CHANGEMAKERS: ÁGUA MONCHIQUE

Henrique Prucha, Marketing and Commercial Director of Água Monchique, talks to ModaLisboa about Mission, Creativity and Humanity.

The sponsoring brands of MODALISBOA METAPHYSICAL are, in essence, powerful engines of change. #CHANGEMAKERS are short interviews that give voice to those who work daily to build a solid, transparent, inclusive and sustainable future.

Água Monchique assures that Lisboa Fashion Week’s entire team keeps its hydration— and pH — levels just about right. But that’s not all: at MODALISBOA METAPHYSICAL, our Social Lounge is once again offering a cocktail bar — yes, water cocktails.

This is the first Lisboa Fashion Week of 2022 and, together, we want to start the year in a mood of change. What are the fundamental values ​​that guide you today?
At Água Monchique, we base our activities on the mission of contributing to the construction of a better future for all. We want to effectively make a difference in the lives of people, society and the planet and, as such, our performance is guided by a strong environmental awareness (minimizing the environmental footprint), focused on human and social responsibility (generating opportunities and significant changes in the lives of people and employees, promoting their personal and professional development), and in the well-being and health of our consumers. Transparency and trust, equity and diversity are values ​​that we do not abdicate in our work and that we believe contribute to building a better world.

Creativity is at the root of everything we do. What still needs to be created?
Creativity and innovation are the basis of our daily activities at Água Monchique. Every day we create new ways to be relecant in the market and to communicate with our Monchique Lovers. The only thing that remains unchanged is the quality of our Água Monchique.

We are running towards an era where the consumer is moved less for the product and more for the purpose. What steps are you taking in that direction?
Fortunately, we are lucky to have a product with unique features. Associated with the uniqueness of our Water, we also have a very specific way of acting and being in the market, always guided by transparency, respect for the environment and people, and ethical values. We believe in relationships of trust and proximity, we respect the commitments assumed with employees, the community and the environment and it is this character that makes Água Monchique the reference we are proudly today. Brands and companies are increasingly valued for their ability to stand alongside people (employees, suppliers, communities and customers) in building practical responses to scenarios of uncertainty and vulnerability, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, elements that were not so valued before, such as ethical behavior, purpose, generation of value for the interested parties, cooperation, activism, started to be widely valued by consumers.

What continues to inspire you every day?
The Passion for our Water and our Monchique Lovers and the way we “can” influence the world.

What do you believe to be the role of brands in building a more humane, transparent, ethical and inclusive future?
Brands have the immense power to influence and contribute to changing mentalities and, as such, play a very important role in building a more human, transparent, ethical and inclusive future, whether through their performance as an entity inserted in a certain community, or in the way they relate and interact with their various stakeholders. The example is fundamental, as are the principles that guide their activity and the values ​​they transmit. Brands are a strong driver of positive change.

Community building is one of the greatest powers — and responsibilities — of a brand. How would you describe your community?
Our Monchique Lovers are unique. They are passionate, faithful, close, attentive, critical, concerned with the world around them, proactive and share the same values ​​as Água Monchique and our way of being in the market.

And since Lisboa Fashion Week is part of that same community: if you only had three words to describe your relationship with ModaLisboa, what would they be?
Trust. Proximity. Respect.