How to start a bottled water company in 2021 is quite a difficult question for those who are just starting out at this time. However, every question, no matter how difficult, has an answer. The following article will show you the exact formula to start the most successful bottled water company.
1. Research bottled water market in 2021
The first step in learning how to start a bottled water company is market research. In particular, in 2021, the global economy in general has suffered extremely strong impacts due to the Covid epidemic. Therefore, if you want to start a successful business at the present time, you must not skip the market research step. Market analysis not only helps you understand the growth potential of this industry, but it also helps you understand your competitors and customers.
According to Grand View Research, the global bottled water market size reaches $217.66 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.1% from 2021 to 2028. Convenience, ease of use, installation and maintenance will be the strength to help promote the bottled water industry to develop evenly in the future.
Not only that, customers’ demand for bottled water for purposes such as health promotion, energy maintenance, refreshments, etc. is always increasing. Young people today are very interested in the dynamism and portability of bottled water, so this is also a sign that this industry will grow significantly in the coming years.
The variety of bottled water such as soda, fruit juice, smoothie, energy drink, milk… and long-term preservation are the main attractions of bottled water products.
However, the new trend of the beverage industry today is calorie-free soft drinks, healthy drinks, nut milk instead of animal milk, etc. You can refer to trending bottled drinks to have better product orientation.
Understanding the bottled water market situation will help you better orient your company
2. Research how a bottled water company works
The second most important part of starting a bottled water company is understanding how it works. The way the company operates here is not simply manufacturing, packaging products or shipping goods. The most important thing is how to have a safe and healthy bottled drink. To make it easier to understand, it means that you need to ensure that your water purification, bottle sterilization and product packaging equipment is 100% efficient.
Only 2% of tap water is safe for consumption. If you don’t have the capital to secure an FDA-approved water purification technology, think about partnering with private label bottled water suppliers. This will help you reduce costs while ensuring product quality and safety standards.
For those who have limited capital, need a lot of safety in their investment at the beginning, it is absolutely a smart choice. In addition to not having to worry about the quality and safety of the product. You also cut a large amount of money to pay for labor, and install production lines… Instead, you have more capital to invest in product quality, promotional campaigns and distribute goods to major partners.
Do not worry about whether your product is too popular or not? Currently, companies that provide private bottled water brands all support logo design and product packaging as required. This is really great, isn’t it?
Learn how a bottled water company works before you start building your own
3. Learn about the required legal documents
Knowledge and understanding of the law is extremely important for anyone who wants to do business. When you know the law, your company can grow and do business legally, as well as being partially guaranteed if there is a risk of trademark disputes or other legal regimes.
Not only that, you also have to understand what the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) regulations on bottled water are? Although when it comes to bottled water, most of us assume that any beverage produced in a glass bottle, tin can or paper box will collectively be referred to as bottled water. This is completely against the norm.
According to FDA regulations, bottled water can only be one of the following:
– Mineral water
– Water wells
– Clean water
– Artesian well water
These waters all have one thing in common: they don’t contain anything other than anti-bacterial agents and fluoride. All standard water needs to be treated through distillation, reverse osmosis, ozonation and other filtration methods to produce pure water before being bottled.
All bottled water products must be tested and certified by the FDA before being released into the market. This is to ensure all your products are safe for health, and don’t exceed the maximum limits of physical, microbial and chemical contaminants.
Even if you choose to partner with a private label bottled water company, you need to ensure that the company is FDA-approved to meet health and safety criteria within a short period of time at least 1 year ago.
Make sure your product meets FDA standards before being put on the market
(photos are for illustration purposes only)
It’s best to partner with a company that supplies bottled water with BPA-free products. Bisphenol A or BPA are substances commonly used in the manufacture of plastic containers. They can leak into foods and beverages during use. These substances adversely affect blood pressure, endocrine function, fetal development and more.
4. Develop a specific business plan
Once you have a clear understanding of how a bottled water company works, you will need to create a specific business plan in the next step. This is the 2nd most important stage of how to start a bottled water company. This business plan will need the most detailed, clear and specific information on factors such as:
– Development Goals
– Oriented development
– Detailed description of the current bottled water market situation
– Product portfolio
– Ideal customer
– Competitors
– Product promotion plan for each stage
In addition, you also need to take care of your budget. Budget plays an important role in deciding where you can start, with what business model. If your budget is not too big, only about $1000 – $5000, think about a small business model first.
With this capital, you can start a bottled water business as a distribution affiliate for a big brand to learn more about how to operate the production line, the steps to transition from production to production. export to product distribution. Or cooperate with a private-label bottled water company to minimize all costs for labor and machinery, while still being able to own your own private label.
If your budget is at $50,000 or more, you can be confident about starting your own bottled water company.
Whether the company develops smoothly or not depends on the effectiveness of the business plan
Overall, learn how to budget for everything from production, packaging, and marketing to distribution and shipping. Only when you have established a specific budget for each item can the business start. It is best to plan daily, weekly, monthly and yearly expenditure and income reports. Only then will you know whether the company’s growth is at a safe level or not to make timely changes.
5. Register business license
When you’re ready to start a company, complete the business license registration process right away. This is to legitimize your company in the market, from your brand name, company business structure, tax identification number to your corporate bank account. Only with a business license can you get full support from various types of business insurance, or apply for financial loans (if needed).
The relevant documents required will depend on the type of business you are registering. However, the general registration form still needs the following information:
– Business name, address, type of ownership and other relevant information
– List of bottled water products to be produced
– Average weekly gallons
– Brand name of product bottled at your facility
– Water source
– Name and address of source or water district
The licensing fee will depend on the regulations in the country in which you apply for the business license.
Only with a business license will your company be protected by law
(photos are for illustration purposes only)
6. Develop a product promotion plan
The last part of how to start your own bottled water company is to have a phased promotion plan. Every stage of company development, or every major event requires the most detailed marketing plans.
A product promotion plan will help you effectively position your brand in the market. First, it is essential to promote the brand when launching into the market. This will be the lever for the development of the company. Make sure that the products launched for the first time are the best in terms of quality, taste and trendy packaging design.
A product with eye-catching, unique packaging and highlighting the brand’s own features will help attract the attention of customers, make multimedia communication easier than products with packaging design not too prominent. Besides, a short slogan with a strong initial impression will increase attention and search more than safe and general slogans.
Currently, a product with environmentally friendly packaging or a company with “green” campaigns, helping to protect the environment will always be preferred over a company that ignores this factor.
A smart product promotion plan will bring good revenue for the company
Marketing methods that are too offensive, ridiculous, controversial, and negative are also not recommended in any situation or stage of company development. That could make you bankrupt in the blink of an eye because of your customers’ hate for your brand.
Be friendly and listen to customer feedback and contributions. At the same time, please deal with complaints in the most satisfactory way. The trust and sympathy of customers is always decisive factor in the revenue and survival of your company.
The above are helpful tips for anyone wondering about how to start a bottled water company. If you want to learn more about the bottled water industry in particular, and the beverage industry in general, follow our BLOG for more useful knowledge.
Tan Do is a global beverage ODM/OEM manufacturer and supplier located in Vietnam. Since 1996, we have built trust and credibility not only throughout Vietnam but also in many parts of the world. Leveraging state-of-the-art technology, we have crafted thousands of products that align with ISO, HACCP, HALAL, FDA, and many other standards.
