Bottled Water Business

[minnesotacold]

Anybody here has experience in the bottled water business? I did some research on it and it seems like a great business but I guess I am failing to see the drawbacks. Basically, it is not a very regulated business, there are some EPA requirements here in the USA but they are minimum, all they want to know is the source of your water. I even hear Dasanni and other top brands use municipal sources for their water, basically tap water. I guess, my concern would be, how to diferentiate your product from others, since they are basically all water. Any thoughts?

[Gaulkin]

You want to be successful? Start the first bottled water company that doesn't put harmful drugs in the water, and claim it.

[mike810]

I worked for a small business water company and they were and are doing great.. I do know that their factory was checked frequently to make sure it was up to code and passed the federal standards for water beverage companies. I do know that some of their machines that bottle the water cost over a million, so that might be something to think about.. At the moment i am also making a water companies website.. Its going to be awesome, all flash and stuff.. Anyway i worked closely with this company so if you have any questions about the industry i would be glad to ask the owner of this company, they have been in business for about 20 years.

Edit: forgot about this too: This particular company chooses to be regulated frequently. You are right its not a very regulated industry.

[abou]

I am starting a vending machine business and i want to know how can i do market rescreach on this business?

[mike810]

Also, I forgot to mention. Many bottled water companies do something called private label bottling.. This is where they create the bottle, bottle the water, and put the label of your choice on it. You can create the label to say whatever you want. This is really cheap and i know of many business that have nothing to do with bottling water and get their products in this way.. Feel free to contact me for more info.. GL

[jorgeolson]

Bottled Water is a great business. You just have to know what you want from it. You can be the brand owner, you can distribute, import, broker, etc.

You also have to carve a niche that might include high end water (imported, spring, etc), or purified water. Remember purified water has high volume but low margin as you can sell it for $3 per case of 24 bottles.

Your channel is also important. Might include convenience stores, supermarkets, bars, restaurants, schools, etc.

I've worked with bottlelers, distributors, importers, retailers, etc. with manufacturing, branding, sales, distribution, and more. It is a good business but requires investment and time.

Thanks,

Jorge Olson
Liquid Brands Management, Inc.
LiquidBM .com

[Jeffwebs]

I remembered few years ago a guy was selling "Holy" bottled water. The difference between his and the rest of the brands out there was the label on the bottle. Plus he claimed the bottles were blessed by a priest before distribution.