How to start a bottled water business production

What is Bottled Water?

Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. … Sizes range from small single serving bottles to large carboys for water coolers.

One of the Importance of Bottled water  is that it provides a vital supply of water where there is an emergency, natural disaster or where the municipal supply has been cut off or is contaminated. … The bottled water industry regularly donates bottled water during emergencies and to victims of natural catastrophes.

Is bottled water production business  profitable?

Bottled Water is a profitable business, According to industry analysts, after all the production, packaging and advertising costs are taken into account, the profit margins for convenience sized bottled water sales are a whopping 35 per cent. For the large home and delivery containers, there is an estimated 60 per cent profit margin.

Top 10 Bottled Water Production Companies In NIGERIA

• CWAY Nigeria limited Lagos.
• AQUAPAC limited Amuwo Odofin Lagos.
• RUSH premium table water limited.
• EVA table water by Nigerian bottling company NBC Lagos.
• NESTLE bottle water by nestle PLC.
• SWAN table water limited.
• RAGOLIS bottle water limited.
• AQUADANA limited Ibadan OYO state.
• MAB PURE Water limited LAGOS, ISLAND
• ASTRAL Water Limited, Surulere, Lagos

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How to get capital for starting your bottled water production business in Nigeria

Some people may have Financial difficulties to start this business while others may have capital. If you happen to fall at the latter, here are few places where you can seek for loan or funds to set up your business.

• The government; government have set up organizations which do assist individuals with funds to set up meaningful business provided you have a good business proposal.
• Microfinance banks; these banks lends out funds to loan seekers with interests. Make sure you have a good business proposal for setting up your bottled water/pure water business in Nigeria.
• Cooperative societies; there are some known societies which are known for allocating loans with interests. They could also be of help.
• Nigeria Financial Institution; First Bank, Wema Bank, Zenith Bank etc. are known for granting loans with fair interest. Feel free to walk up to any of these banks and enquiry the procedure for seeking loans, to know if you meet up with the requirement.
• Personal Loan lenders; there are lots of personal loan lenders online who can lend out loans with interest and without collateral. They might require some information’s like national ID, Bank verification Numbers (BVN), driving license etc. if you intend to borrow from them, make sure you properly and vigorously research about them before you deal with them because some fraudster are using this opportunity to scam people.
• YouWin Program; This is an empowerment Program put in place by Federal Government of Nigeria. It empowers Nigerians mostly the youths. It is a collaboration of the ministry of Communication Technology, ministry of finance, ministry of youth’s development and ministry of women affairs and social development – and supported by department for International Development.One of the cardinal objectives of Youwin is to generate over 80,000 jobs in 3 years and provide a onetime equity grant for 1,200 selected aspiring entrepreneurs to start or expand their business concepts and mitigate start up risks. It is targeted to people between 18 to 40 years.YouWin is one of the sources of business funds in Nigeria.
  

• Requirements for YouWin
  

  Step1:

  • You must have good business plan
  • You must be a Nigerian citizen between 18 and 40
  • You must have valid ID card (International passport, driver’s license and national ID card and voter’s card).
  • You must have a post-secondary qualification
  • You must prepare an innovative idea

  Step2: Go on https://apply.youwin.org.ng. After applying you will receive a confirmatory text.

  Step3: Complete New Business Application. Once you registration you will get an alert on your email. When you have successfully registered you need to log in and click the New Business Application button. It is only available one in a while.

  YouWin has given thousands of Nigerian youths opportunity to source business funds and help themselves grow. Remember YouWin gives youths grants and not loans.

• SMEDAN; Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria is an agency was set up by Nigerian government to support individuals who have great business ideas but may not have enough resources to execute them. SMEDAN is one of the sources of business funds in Nigeria.They are located in all 6 geopolitical zones in Nigeria and the FCT. If you have a good business idea, just forward an application to SMEDAN on [email protected] and await their response.
• Personal finance; One of the ways individuals can get loans is by funding it themselves. People who manage to operate a local account (mostly fixed deposit) can empty it just to fund their business.You can also sell your shares to generate money to fund your business. It is often said that, “If you save money, money will save you.”This is the most common and the best of them all because you don’t need to beg anyone for support. Traditionally, this is regarded as the best but it doesn’t mean other methods shouldn’t apply when you don’t have enough to start or support your business.So, this method is one of the sources of business funds in Nigeria.
• Partnership;When we hear names like PZ Cussons (Paterson and Zochonis) is a good example of how partnership can transform businesses. Partnership means two individuals pooling their resources and using it to fund their business ideas which may not be funded by one person alone because of huge financial implication of such businesses.To form a partnership, the two parties must trust each other and each party’s contributions must be clearly defined.Dear reader, if you wish to get into partnership to fund your business, you must sign all necessary agreements with your partner. Verbal or oral agreement is not the best for partnership.
• Bank of Industry; January 18 2017 The Federal Government, concluded plans to disburse N140 billion to petty traders nationwide to improve the country’s economy. Bank of industry gives loans to small, medium and large industries, excluding cottage industries.They also borrow to credit worthy promoters who will be required to prove their commitment to the project.Part of their objectives is to lend to clients with demonstrable ability to meet loan repayment. To access BOI loans, do the following: Write an application letter requesting for the amount you will like to accessComplete Bank of Industry questionnaire. Download their forms HereSubmission of form and questionnaire

  Note that there are no limits to the amount BOI can lend to borrowers and a loan of about 75million can be approved in 2 weeks if all necessary requirements are met.

  Also, note that you can apply more than once they meet all necessary requirements. For more information on BOI loans, please log on to www.boinigeria.com. Bank of industry is one of the sources of business funds in Nigeria.

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Steps to start a Bottled Production Business in Nigeria

• Write a business plan; whenever you want to setup any business, you should setup a good business plan/proposal. This plan should include the step by step procedure. The right equipment’s to buy, the amount of workers needed. The amount you intend to start with, and also a possible estimated income. This plans/proposal can also aid in the collection of loan if needed.
• Proper Research; this step is not just specifically for only abottled water/pure water business in Nigeria but can also be applied to any other business too. Before setting up any business you should do a vigorously research on it; meet experts and if possible consult entrepreneurs who are already expert in it.
• LOCATION For a bottled water production plant, you will need sample space. Your location must be able to contain all plants and machinery, management office, store for bottles , finished products and parking space.You must ensure that the environment is clean with well built drainages to avoid water lodging. Maintaining proper hygiene is very vital because you endanger your business and human lives if your products are contaminated from a dirty environment. Apart from these, you must also consider accessibility, power supply when sourcing for a location.
• Family and friends; One of the sources of business funds is family members and relatives. Borrowing from friends, parents, siblings, uncles, is significant and good if you come from a family where there are able and capable people to lend you. Sometimes they offer such moneys without asking for interests and you don’t have service the debt. In some families, they have meetings on how to collectively support one of their own. It is a common practice in Nigeria.
• Get a good business site; after laying down your plans and developing your research, it is now time to find a good site layout or land for your bottled water/pure water business in Nigeria. Depending on the capital, some people might want to buy a land then build a four or five bungalow with toilet in it. While others might choose to lent it. But whichever one you choose, you must need a bungalow, because you will need rooms for many activities like;

1. A big finished product room for storage
2. Spacious production room directly in front of (1) above.
3. A raw material store
4. A mini lab room
5. Production Manager Office.
6. A waste material room which should be separately built
7. A waiting room for visitors
8. Director’s office.
9. Clock room; where your workers can change their clothes.
10. And finally a toilet and bathroom (do not overlook this because it part of the requirements of NAFDAC for approval in bottled water/pure water production business in Nigeria).

As you can see, my listing is up to ten, which shows, its left for you to manage your resources according to your standard. Also, the house should be well ventilated and also make provision of a stand-by electricity provision; it could PHCN, Solar or diesel generator. It all depends on your choice.

When choosing the land or site which is suitable for setting up your bottled water/pure water business in Nigeria; you should get an area which is not near a cemetery, waste dumps, sewage deposit, petrol, chemicals or anything that can contaminate your water source. In this business, aside seeking for NAFDAC approval, you need to be extremely neat, remember you are feeding a lot of people; and you don’t want to spread typhoid cholera or diarrhea.

• Source of Water or Water Provision; for this bottled water/pure water production business; your source of water should be properly dug borehole water which should be deep enough for the source of clean water. Do not even consider paying for water tankers provider to provide you water. You should dig a proper borehole, remember this is the number one raw material of your business and shouldn’t be joked it. You should also get about one or two overhead tank which you can use to store up water. These tanks should be watched periodically and be taken proper care of

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• Production equipment’s; These are equipment’s which you will require for your bottled water/pure water production business. These items are highly needed and have its own importance. Before or when you intend to get this equipment’s, make sure you make a proper research of them to know the perfect ones that will fit in in your business.

1. Industrial water filters and distiller; this are high custom designed equipment’s which can provide you high quality water treatments and equipment to handle high water volumes under extreme conditions. Like I said earlier, this equipment is a must have and will provide your bottled water/pure water company a high clean water. The one mistake most bottled water/pure water company owners make is trying to install this equipment’s by themselves. If you are absolute sure of how to install them, then you are good to go but if you are new to it, then its highly advisable to seek the help of an expert in this.There are companies whose work is to provide installation service of this and getting paid. Do not try to experiment with this equipment’s, because doing it wrong can attract, money wastage, contamination of your water, queries from NAFDAC officials. And most especially, you are dealing with people’s life so you should handle this with care.

Some of these equipment’s are;

• Commercial Water Softeners and Filters
• High Volume Reverse Osmosis Skid and Mobile Units (it’s one of the most widely used, highly effective and it’s easier to install.)
• Distillers
• Storage Tanks
• Pressure Vessels
• 3 Phase Pumps and Control Panels
• Metering Pumps
• Resins and Other Filter Media
• Ultra Violet lights
• Ozonizer (if needed).
• Ultra air sterilizer and Much More…

Note; most installation company may have their own different mode of installation and may not use all this equipment’s and yet provide a perfect job. Don’t be cheated, most installation companies are known to make you install more unnecessary machines which may not be required; be alert!  You should make a proper research and use companies who know what they are doing and also collect cheaper rates. If possible, you should ask for previous installed works they have done and question their previous consumers for any negative or positive feedbacks to avoid wasting money.

. 2 Automated form and sealing machine also for Nylon bags/plastics bottles); this is a highly effective automatic production machine for sealing your products. This machine is a must have in your bottled water/pure water production business. Depending on your budget you might get two or more but nevertheless one machine is okay. In Nigeria, the recommended sealing machine to buy is Koyo sealing machine which is the most used and advanced machine.  This Koyo advanced machine can produce packing bags or plastics bottles (depends on the type of machine).

These are items for filling in water for bottle water and pure water. This advanced Koyo machine can also be used in bag making, filling, sealing, printing, cutting and counting. It is also controlled by microprocessor and automatic photocell.

• Human Resources and others; these are other resources that you will need for your bottled water/pure water production business in Nigeria. These are;
• Labourers; these bottled water/pure water production business in Nigeria is not something you can do alone; these production business needs division of labor to make production and work effective. These laborers are helpers whom you will need that will also boost the production of your bottled water/pure water production business.

1. Cleaners; these are people whom you will pay to keep the industry clean.
2. Operators; these are machine operators whose duty are to operate the machine for quicker production.
3. Packers; these are workers who will pack the pure water or bottled water neatly into the packs to be distributed to consumers.
4. Driver(s); you can have one or two. These drivers will be the one to transport the truck to various destinations to your costumers.
5. Motor boys; these are workers whom follow the truck wherever it goes when supplying bottled water/pure water. Some people might want to have only driver without a motor boy but know that it will exhaust the driver especially when you have a big truck.

These are the various list of workers you might need depending on your project, it might varies.

• Truck; know that you will also need a truck for marketing and disturbing to your costumers. In case if you cannot afford a truck a portable tricycle can also serve as an alternative.
• NAFDAC REG. NO; before you start distributing or marketing your product you must get a NAFDAC registration number. This is highly required and sometimes do take up to three to five month to achieve. To attain this you can start by going to their website to download their registration requirements or feel free to walk into their office for a face to face contact.

Know that this stage is the most difficult part and without this registration number, you can’t sell. Also know that you will be delayed but never you give up.

• Marketing; after you have gotten your NAFDAC number, you are then free to sell your product. As you know that a lot of producers are into bottled water/pure water production business in Nigeria but do not be afraid you can still boom. Since your water is clean, odorless and tasteless; just make a vigorous marketing of your product and watch it start selling in no time.

Pros of Bottled Water Production

1. It is a good hydration solution on the go.
Bottled water offers you the option to drink water anywhere. It is highly portable, durable (the bottle it is) and can be sealed. These reasons make it ideal for working out, traveling or doing virtually any activity where you may need to drink water.

2. It spells convenience.
Just connected to the first advantage, bottled water is very convenient to transport or carry, especially in places where drinkable water is not guaranteed, hard to find, found at a great distance or not available at all. This is certainly one of the top benefits of bottled water, where you can just purchase it anytime and anywhere conveniently. Convenience is definitely its main selling point.

3. It can easily be stored.
Due to the fact that it does not expire and can easily be stored, bottled water is ideal for emergency and disaster situations. It is really always a good idea to keep some of this product stored in a safe place at home just in case.

4. It has a great taste.
Most of us would agree that bottled water tastes exponentially better than tap water. This is because of the purification process that it goes through before it is made available for drinking, unlike tap water.

5. It guarantees cleanliness. 
Production of bottled water is strictly regulated and monitored to make sure that it is clean and free of contaminants. This puts the product highly in demand because clean and safe tap water is not always available. After a natural disaster, water lines might be disrupted, leading to contamination of water supplied to households. In situations like this, bottled water can be life-savers because it is clean and safe to drink.

6. It is safer to drink than tap water.
Directly relevant to the previous advantage, bottled water is safe to drink due to the tests for all sorts of chemicals and bacteria it would undergo before being bottled. For tap water, it can easily become contaminated, leading to severe illnesses, especially in developing countries.

7. It is highly available. 
Bottled water is readily available in supermarkets and grocery stores and comes in various sizes and content per bottle, giving consumers more choices depending on their needs.

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Cons of Bottled Water Production

1. It is more expensive than tap water.
The costs of purifying, bottling, advertising, transporting and storing bottled water can trickle down to the cost of the water itself. This means the product is significantly more expensive than tap water.

Buying bottled water is even more expensive if you are doing it very often. However, the cost will still depend on its size and brand. Remember that its price usually covers packaging, advertising, shipping and administrative operations. Experts even revealed that it is more costly than milk.

2. It is not a money-saving option.
Though you are drinking bottled water with a water-filtering system, you can still save more money in the end by filling your own water bottles, if you like to drink bottled water every day.

3. It poses health risks due to the chemicals in plastic.
Mostly, bottled water products contain chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA), in the plastic container. These compounds can seep into the water, which means you are most probably consuming them. This risk is greatly increased if the content is stored in hot areas, like those where direct sunlight is present.

4. It offers no difference with tap water in many cases.
Truth is, many bottled water products are just filtered tap water. This has been a troubling fact for many of us, but it has been proven time and time again. Most bottled water is produced by the same factories that are making soft drinks, using the same water.

5. Bottled water can have similar (or even worse) quality than tap water.
Considering that you may not even be getting better quality water when you buy bottled water, it can be a plain common sense to fill your own instead. You just need clean water and a good water bottle.

6. It has no fluoride.
Governments supposedly add fluoride to tap water to help protect our teeth from decay and other dental problems. On the other hand, bottled water are produced without the substance.

7. It promotes more use of fossil fuels.
Production of bottled water increases the use of fossil fuels. With this in mind, you will be avoiding this by filling your own water bottles. Also, the manufacture of the plastic for the bottles actually utilizes more water than it takes to fill your own water bottles.

8. It poses many unfavorable environmental hazards. 
The problem can start when empty water bottles are not properly disposed, which contributes greatly to the whole pollution problem. Huge percentage of bottles are ending up in trash cans and landfills, having harmful effects on the environment.

CONCLUSION

Starting a bottled water business production is a time taking but profitable business idea, however it requires proper planning and suggestions from business experts, and business individuals in your field for more startup advice.