supermarket
Today's Supermarket Green Analysis
10/17/2007
Water Bottle Exit Strategies Explored
Competing nicely with the wine section is the ever expanding water bottle aisle. But it is time to plan your exit strategy. The merits of better water for health are now losing top concern. The new rage is how much plastic is being consumed and adding to carbon footprints. Tap filters are all that.
Corn based biodegradable bottling has been proposed as an alternative by such companies as Chicago based Biota Spring Water but the solution is dubious. In fact, BIOTA had to seek protection and re-organization under Chapter 11 in April, 2007, which of course, they refuse to admit has anything to do with a lack of a truly marketable solution. They are claiming instead that it is the fault of their lender, US Capital.
Right.
Biota's woes really don't matter. On the one hand it's just as easy for consumers to use a recycle bin as it is to compost. On the other, home compost Biota's way would have taken nine months to a year for the poly lactic acid plastic to deteriorate. So just picture how much room you would need for that if you were an average consumer drinking about a bottle every two days.
Consumers are good at thinking before buying or eating. Not so good at thinking after the deed is done. Meantime the problem is real and continuing. 30 million empty water bottles are currently disposed of across the country daily, only 15% of which are placed into recycling bins. And that's just the USA. Increased use of the bins is being outpaced by increases in bottled water sales.
Alternative solutions are required and progressive grocers should be on this like ions to ozone. Here is SMGN's suggestion:
- Sell brand name water from the tap at the store. Taps must be sterile so if manufacturers use plastic kegs make sure they use a service such as that offered by Acorn Industries.
- Dispense it to plastic bottles designed for reuse, including your store's name. Don't forget to add the recycle symbol to the empty bottles you'll sell.
- Use a stronger than average bottle for your own store brand. Try a manufacturer like Nalge Nunc Internationall, which uses a combination of polyethylene and polycarbonate. These bottles are built to last but are still recyclable.
- Create your own highly filtered brand and tout its merits with a smart button in the aisle.
- Run this by your accountants. You'll find that the reduced space required, combined with less frequent reshelving will more than offset the high profit margins you've enjoyed in the past on pre-bottled.
- Add water tasting to your freebies to customers.
- Encourage vendors to convert from bottled to barreled for your line of taps. If they don't get with the program then, well, others will. But you, the environmentally friendly grocer, are no longer selling from the bottle.
Progressive grocers will take the lead. Admitedly, the ideas above are all my own. But I'm a friendly guy and happy to share them free of charge. Having thought of it, I got online to see if there were actually any water "producers" selling by the barrel. Not yet.
Article by James Carvin
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