How to open the production of drinking water. Water delivery business: nuances and recommendations

  • 30.09.2022

The competition in this market is very high. Today, almost all medium and large offices already use the water delivery service. It turns out that a newcomer to this business will have to, in the literal sense, poach customers. And to do this is not at all easy. Many companies will say that they already work with water suppliers and are satisfied with everything. A simple price reduction will not solve the problem: prices are not high anyway, and hardly anyone wants to work at a loss.

Market players note the following main success criteria in this case:

  1. Convenience of the order. The company must accept orders not only by phone, but also by SMS, through the website, in social networks, etc.
  2. Delivery time is very important. You can not force the client to wait for water for hours. The most correct format of work is to control the remaining water and replenish it in a timely manner.
  3. Quality of service - friendliness, courtesy, accuracy of delivery, clean cars, gloves and shoe covers.
  4. No problems with documentation - timely submit accounting documents, water certificates and quality analysis results.

Organizational moments

You should start by looking for a good supplier who can offer you quality water and low wholesale prices. The best option is to become a dealer of a local manufacturer. In this case, you can count on a dealer discount and additional privileges in the region. Approximate purchase prices for a 19-liter container are 70 - 90 rubles. (2015)

Then, if a supplier is found, it is necessary to register an individual business. Registration of an individual entrepreneur will cost 800 rubles of state duty. The receipt of payment of the state duty, the application for registration and a copy of the passport are submitted to the local tax office. In 5 working days you are already a businessman. As a taxation system, you can use the simplified tax system - this greatly simplifies accounting (a company can work even without an accountant). The most suitable OKVED for the delivery of water: 52.61 "Retail trade on orders."

You can not do without an office space where your dispatchers will take orders, and a warehouse for water. It is convenient if the office space is located in the same place as the warehouse. The size of the office space can be no more than 20 square meters. m. This space is enough to accommodate 2-3 operators. But the warehouse should be more. Bottled water is a fairly large product. With the growth of the client base, the need for additional space will only increase (this is partly solved by installing shelving). In order not to move from place to place, you need to think about this moment in advance.

Now it is necessary to decide on the personnel of the firm. You will need a dispatch operator to take orders, a customer acquisition manager, a warehouse worker and couriers to deliver water. Immediately you need to resolve the issue of transport for delivery. You will either have to buy a car or hire couriers with personal vehicles. There is one important point: the car must be with a spacious van, since most often you will have to transport up to 50 nineteen-liter bottles that will not fit in a standard passenger car.

Yield figures

An average office of 10 people drinks a 19-liter bottle of water (for tea, coffee) in 1.5 working days. In a month, such an office needs 15 bottles of 19 liters. The price of a bottle is 170 rubles, hence the revenue is 2550 rubles. The client base of 100 such offices will bring 255,000 rubles. From this sum we subtract:

  • Material costs (purchase of water) - 50%
  • Delivery and courier costs – 10%
  • Advertising - 3%
  • Taxes and other expenses - 5%

The total costs will amount to 68% or 173,400 rubles. Net profit - 81,600 rubles.
We took as an example only small offices. Large companies consume much more water. If you find several companies with more than 100 employees, then the income will be much higher.

You can also consider this: one person spends about 30 liters. drinking water per month. A company of 200 people will need up to 6,000 liters per month. With an average price of 9 rubles / l. monthly revenue from such a client will be 54,000 rubles.

prospects

If you organize your own water bottling line (full cycle), and not engage in repurchase, then the business will be the most profitable. Although this will require additional financial investments, but in this way we can offer customers a lower price without losing earnings. And this is an important competitive advantage.

To launch your own bottling line, you will need a separate room (rent), a well and equipment for water production, a water purification and disinfection system, and a line for bottling water into containers. Capital investments will amount to at least $50 thousand. Only one automatic line for bottling drinking water in 19l bottles will cost $15 thousand. You will also need to recruit personnel (including a technologist), obtain a declaration of conformity for products, etc. you will already have an established customer base, then the sale of products is guaranteed. And this is the most important thing for a new enterprise.

Against the backdrop of deteriorating environmental conditions, water delivery as a business looks promising. Let us consider in detail and figures whether it is profitable for novice entrepreneurs to do this and what is needed to organize a full-fledged project.

This direction is considered not only profitable, but also useful. After all, each person needs to drink 1.5-2 liters of clean water every day. By counting the number of inhabitants of your city, you can guess how promising this idea is. But in order to implement it and make money on it, you will need to take into account many nuances and correctly approach the organization process.

Business features

The relevance of the extraction, purification and delivery of drinking water in most cities is confirmed by the general deterioration of the environment, the poor quality of water resources and their lack to meet the needs of the population. The same water that is supplied by local water supply systems leaves much to be desired, and sometimes does not even meet the minimum sanitary standards. It is not recommended to consume such liquid in food.

Therefore, more and more urban residents are switching to bottled water, ordering its delivery directly to their homes, offices, restaurants and other establishments. In addition, doctors and nutritionists are increasingly talking about the benefits of fluids and the need to consume at least 1.5 liters of pure water daily. This also contributes to the growth of demand, which is beneficial for a budding entrepreneur.

But it should be noted that it will not be possible to do without investments at all, and you also need to think over a business plan in detail and draw up a competent project development strategy. You will have to deal with paperwork, find suppliers and customers in sufficient numbers so that the initial investment pays off as soon as possible. For this, many nuances should be taken into account.

It is very important to pay attention to the quality of the delivered product. After all, bottling purified tap water will not be the best option for doing business. Customers will not cooperate with you only due to low prices and a beautiful label.

And in the presence of competition among suppliers, it will be necessary to stand out and offer a more unique and useful product. It will be most valuable if you can find a source of natural and mineral-rich water. In extreme cases, you need to invest in special cleaning equipment.

To succeed in this direction, experienced businessmen recommend adhering to the following rules:

  • Offer only quality products.
  • Always strictly adhere to the delivery schedule and the time set by the client.
  • Carefully consider logistics in order to save on transport costs as much as possible and not lose the money earned.

The main advantage of this business is the constant need of people for water. It is ordered to homes and offices throughout the year, and even twice as much in summer when it is hot outside. Having successfully built a delivery system and established all processes, you can count on constant profit, and with additional efforts, on the growth and development of business within the selected region.

Ways to work

You can start a project through different types of activities, which implies significant differences in costs and in the process of organizing a business. Decide on what exactly your company will be built on:

  1. A full production cycle - in which you need to find a good place, drill a deep well and extract water. But first, before implementation, it will be necessary to carry out cleaning work using special devices. Such a project will require large investments and the execution of many permits.
  2. Dealership - that is, a water delivery business as an official representative of a major manufacturer. To do this, only trusted and reputable companies are selected for cooperation, with which it is desirable to conclude a mutually beneficial agreement for a long period of time. Often such firms offer some bonuses or discounts for active distributors.
  3. Franchise work - just choose a company with which you will work and carefully study their conditions. By paying these fees, you get not only a fully developed system and a high-quality finished product for implementation, but also assistance in marketing strategy, building and developing a network in the region.

In what format to open your business and what to focus on initially is up to you, as an entrepreneur. For example, if you want to start your own business, but there are not enough large investments for this, then gradual development will be a better solution. You can start by being a dealer in remote and unoccupied regions, and over time, when making a profit, expand your business or even drill your own well.

Required Documentation

If we consider a simple way to make money on the delivery of water from other companies, then there is almost no need to draw up special papers. It is enough to register as an individual entrepreneur (IP) or a legal entity (LLC) and register with the statistical authorities. The form of taxation in this case can be simplified (USN), which makes it possible to pay lower taxes.

Indicate the OKVED code 36, which refers to the activity of abstraction, treatment or distribution of water. But if you want to offer customers any additional services, then you will have to expand the list according to the chosen areas.

If you are only engaged in the distribution and sale of water, then no special documents are needed anymore. Only when renting a space for a warehouse, pass the inspection of sanitary and epidemiological control and obtain the appropriate permit. And when purchasing a batch of goods from a company with which you cooperate, check the water quality certificates every time.

Things are a little different when drilling your own well. First, you need a special permit for such activities from the city administration. Secondly, you will personally have to check and purify the water, as well as seek a hygienic conclusion about its chemical composition, safety and availability to eat.

Another document is a sales license, which is issued for only three years, so you need to go through the licensing process in a timely manner every time.

If at this stage there are any difficulties, it is better to pay specialists and use the services of law firms. They will take care of all the bureaucratic issues and significantly reduce the time required to obtain the required permits.

Norms for drinking water

According to the law, only water with the following parameters can be used for sale:

  • the level of general mineralization in the range of 50-150 mg/l;
  • meets food standards;
  • the liquid has been purified, after which the amount of artificial substances in the composition does not exceed 1%;
  • softened, without impurities of chlorine and iron;
  • can be additionally saturated with useful minerals and trace elements;
  • disinfection was carried out using UV installations;
  • poured into containers with a volume of not more than 18.9 liters;
  • storage periods should not exceed 3-6 months.

room

In order to carry out activities for the delivery of water, it is enough to rent or own a warehouse for products, a small office and a garage or parking lot for vehicles. All this can be in one place or in different parts of the city.

The exact location and choice of the area in this case does not matter. But note that when drawing up future routes for delivery, it is desirable that the warehouse be located near the majority of customers. Therefore, if you find inexpensive premises somewhere in the central part of the city, this will be an advantage.

To store water and bottles, 20 square meters is enough. m. Remember that here you need to arrange everything in such a way that SES and SPI have no complaints and issue permits for the sale of water the first time.

Think about the right conditions, as the product will have to be protected from direct sunlight, and the temperature in the room should be kept within +5 ... +20 degrees at any time of the year. An office for a dispatcher is not at all mandatory, since you can take orders by phone at home or even “on the go”.

Equipment and transport

To equip the office, you will need to purchase not only furniture for staff and office equipment, but also install a good telephone line or a full-fledged automatic telephone exchange. If you buy a computer or laptop and connect them to the Internet, you can increase the number of customers served by accepting online applications.

To make the delivery of water, you will have to purchase some kind of transport. Some opt for the domestic Gazelle, which makes it possible to significantly save on the purchase and maintenance of the car. It is quite roomy, has a good carrying capacity.

But more experienced entrepreneurs are advised to do otherwise - to buy a small-tonnage foreign truck that will last several years longer and require less cost for periodic repairs. With the same volume and endurance, such transport will be more economical with intensive use.

In addition, you need to take care of the container for water. After calculating the estimated number of customers, multiply the figure by three to get the exact number of canisters required. So, one copy is at the customer's place, the second, filled with water, is in the warehouse, and the third is sent empty to the supplier for a new batch of goods.

Some companies offer free coolers with a long-term contract to successfully expand their customer base. Therefore, in addition to the water itself, you can stock up on a number of such devices to provide them to customers, and you should also have parts from them that periodically require replacement in order to perform related maintenance.

If you are going to make a well for the extraction of water, then you will have to equip a plant for its purification with the appropriate equipment. This will require much larger capital investments, but they will quickly pay off, especially if there are no competitors in the region for the extraction of water from natural sources.

Staff

You can open a delivery company yourself. But in order to perform all the functions and serve customers in a timely manner, assistants will be required. So, for small amounts of work, it is enough to have in the state:

  1. A dispatcher who takes orders in the office or at home and makes the best route according to the established schedule.
  2. Forwarding drivers delivering water to customers on time; it is desirable that there be two of them, although the number of employees depends on the scale of the business, the size of the city and the client base.
  3. Sales manager - this function can be performed by the owner himself, searching for customers and drawing up long-term contracts, although a professional in this field will cope with this much faster, which will help to significantly increase the turnover of the company.

Marketing strategy

Decide who exactly will be your client. It is best to do this before the project organization begins. So, today the main customers are:

  • Individuals who wish to have access to clean drinking water at home for daily needs. On average, a family of two adults and one child consumes 40-50 liters per week. But in order to reach payback, you will have to find about 100-130 people who agree to conclude an agreement with you.
  • Offices and various government agencies are considered the main regular customers. Having concluded an agreement with the owners or managers for the implementation, you can not worry about constant income.
  • Sports facilities, fitness clubs - thanks to the fashion for a healthy lifestyle, they are increasingly paying attention to the availability of clean water in their establishment.
  • You can install special filling machines in any shopping centers, entertainment facilities and crowded places. This variety can be used as a separate line of business.

To get regular customers, it is desirable to make systematic advertising. To do this, use the available resources:

  1. Create a website where you can place an order for water delivery using a simple form.
  2. Print and distribute leaflets, business cards, place advertising posters and announcements around the city, at entrances, bus stops, etc.
  3. Use public transport to inform the public about your services.
  4. You can also place a list of services and a phone number for orders on your own car.

But don't wait for the first customers to contact you on their own. Efforts will be required to develop the business more actively. So, if you establish personal contacts with the owners of offices and various institutions, then you can conclude long-term contracts in a short time and significantly expand your client base in the first months of work.

To increase the profitability of the project, you can deal not only with the delivery of water, but also offer related services. For example, installation, sale, rental and maintenance of coolers, sale of related products (tea, coffee), etc.

Here you can download for free as a sample.

Financial questions

Depending on the form of activity chosen, the initial investment will be different. It is one thing to become a dealer of a large network and get by with a minimum number of people hired. It is quite another thing to start drilling your own well and pass the necessary certification for the sale of water in the territory of a large region. We will indicate the prices for organizing a simple business option.

Capital investment Price, in rubles
1 Company registration 20 000
2 Transport 550 000
3 The first batch of goods and packaging 170 000
4 Other 50 000
Total: 790 000

Remember that every month a certain amount of money will be spent on current expenses.

To understand how quickly you can return your initial investment, you need to calculate the average profits. If you act as a dealer, then you can sell goods at a markup of 75% or more. Experienced entrepreneurs say that in a year of work you can reach an income of 2,200,000 rubles. Therefore, after 12-13 months, all investments will fully pay off.

Video: water delivery business.

The availability of water from a tap in your apartment or from a well in a rural area is not always an indicator of the availability of a quality liquid that can be consumed in its pure form without additional processing. Unpleasant smell, color and taste are the least evil that awaits people when trying to quench their thirst. Perhaps the presence of microbes, viruses that cause dangerous diseases. Therefore, many today do not want to drink homemade water, believing that the bottled version is safer. The demand for liquid from a store or from a manufacturer is growing and giving grounds for citizens to think about how to open the production of drinking water from scratch? The competition is tough, but there is an opportunity to make money if you approach the matter in the right way. Our step-by-step instructions will allow you to understand how to start a business on the water, what documents to collect, how much money and effort to invest.

How to organize

This business idea for many will seem simple and easy to implement. He received permission to sell water from a specific source, passed it through a purification system, poured it into a bottle and sent it to store shelves. But it's not. Water is a product to which the special attention of regulatory authorities, especially SES, is riveted. If the liquid does not meet the content requirements, then the consumer will never see it.

Before equipping the production area, you need to find a source from which water will be drawn. The sample is sent to a laboratory for analysis. After a positive conclusion about the quality, you can get permission to use it to obtain water that will reach the buyer.

The opening of production is possible after determining the type of source:

  • Through the tap of the water utility, crashing into the overall system.
  • Drilling my own well.
  • Having found a spring or a key with good water in sufficient volume.

The entrepreneur chooses his option and begins collecting documents for the implementation of the project. It may take a lot of time.

What documentation will need to be collected

Having chosen the source of extraction of raw materials, we draw the liquid into a container and take it to a private or public laboratory. We find out the quality of water, the presence of microorganisms, harmful substances. The conclusion will show how difficult the next stage of purification and enrichment of the product with useful additives will be. If the composition does not meet your needs, you need to continue searching for a source or conclude a contract for the supply of raw materials from a trusted source of raw water.

  • We conclude an agreement with a partner or obtain permission to drill our own well.
  • We turn to the energy company to sign an agreement on the use of a separate line for the production of water.
  • We receive the conclusion of the SES on the condition of the premises, the compliance of the equipment with sanitary requirements (the absence of materials that emit harmful substances that can enter the water during processing and bottling).
  • Ready-to-drink water will also have to receive a separate quality certificate from the SES after the start of production. Inspections will be carried out frequently and at every stage of the activity to ensure that no violations occur.
  • Lease agreement for the premises in which the production will be located. If the building is owned, then proof must be submitted.
  • Documents on the legality of business are drawn up at the Federal Tax Service, where, after registration, a certificate of an individual entrepreneur or LLC is issued. You choose the form of registration yourself, taking into account personal circumstances. Do not forget to indicate the type of activity according to OKVED. In our case, we choose No. 11.07 - "Production of soft drinks, various bottled drinking water."
  • The conclusion of the fire department on admission to the production of water in the selected room will be required.

This is the main list of documents that will have to be collected to start water production and further work.

Project Specifications

In order for the water to be of high quality in taste and composition, you need not save on the premises and its equipment. Typically, production is located next to a well, a crane or other source of raw materials. Some manufacturers opt for the method of separately transporting raw water to a treatment facility and bottling it. The equipment must have a modern multi-stage filtration system to eliminate the risk of obtaining an incompletely purified product. This can contribute to the rapid deterioration of water, the appearance of a musty smell. It is better to choose a full-cycle automatic line from filling raw materials to bottling.

At the initial stage, you should not spend money on additional enrichment of water with salts, minerals, gas, sweeteners. It is necessary to understand whether production in the region is profitable and whether it can compete with other companies. The room should have enough space for the workshop, staff rooms, administrative sector, storage areas. The workshop must be clean and sterile. Therefore, it does not hurt to make cosmetic repairs. Raw materials must be stored in special containers that are tightly closed and do not react when in contact with water.

A separate issue is the supply of containers. Many entrepreneurs make plastic containers on their own, buying special equipment for blowing bottles from blanks. This eliminates the risk of microbes entering the container and makes it possible to choose the shape and color of the water packaging.

The cost of equipment depends on the configuration and manufacturer. There are many offers on the market. It is worth considering what a small business for the production of water is aimed at - small batches of drinking water without gas or a multidisciplinary workshop (carbonated water, mineral, sweet, medicinal). But saving on equipment of the production line is not worth it. Do not forget about consumables (filters and other devices) that need to be changed in a timely manner so that the water quality does not decrease.

Positive and negative aspects of the enterprise

In any business, there are pros and cons that you need to see in advance and try to find your benefit. Let's note the most noticeable shortcomings in this segment of small business:

  • Dependence on supervisory authorities. SES controls the quality of water, forcing them to take samples for analysis. If the quality decreases or microbes, viruses are found, production will be closed until the problems are fixed.
  • Tough competition. With a wide range of products in stores, from famous brands to little-known ones, it is not easy to find your place.
  • The need to find raw materials that would not require a large number of purification steps. Water should be to the taste of the consumer (such sources are not available in every region).
  • The high cost of equipment can be overwhelming for a young entrepreneur if an investor cannot be found.
  • For large-scale production, large areas are required, which are not always within the boundaries of the settlement. The farther away the shop is, the higher the cost of transporting products, which can increase the final price of water.

The following are the plus points:

  • The demand for buying bottled water is increasing because the quality of tap water in many homes leaves much to be desired.
  • Quick payback and high profitability if consumers like water.
  • The possibility of expanding the range at any time, if there is enough space for the installation of additional equipment.
  • The procedure for producing water is simple and does not require special skills if you hire a good process engineer.

Eventually

It is possible to open the production of drinking water if there is a good water source, funds for the purchase of an automated line and distribution channels so that the products are not stale in the warehouse. More complete information on this type of business can be obtained from the business plan for the production of drinking water, posted on our website.

♦ Capital investments – 425,000 rubles.
♦ Payback – 7–10 months.

Real businessmen can do business out of anything, even out of thin air.

If you dream of joining the ranks of entrepreneurs, but you can’t decide what kind of activity to do, think about what people always and everywhere need?

These are food and, of course, water.

business on the water- easy to start, does not require large capital investments and quickly pays off.

The specifics of business on the water

In an unstable economic situation, it is quite difficult to find a business that would bring good money no matter what.

The business of selling drinking water just belongs to such types of entrepreneurial activity.

Today, companies supplying bottled water are experiencing a kind of boom, and experts predict that this trend will continue in the near future.

If you decide to join those who do business on the water, it will not be superfluous to learn about the features of this business sector:

  1. The business, based on the production, bottling and delivery of drinking water, is recognized as one of the fastest growing.
    In the last year alone, its share in Russia has increased by more than 40%.
  2. On average, one office employee consumes half a liter of water per day and about 10 liters per year.
    Just imagine how much money you can make if you develop a wide customer base.
  3. The prices for drinking water and gasoline are not too different, but it is much easier to set up a water bottling company than an oil refinery.

Two business options on the water

If you want to do business on the water, you must decide what exactly your company will do, because there are two options for this type of entrepreneurial activity:
  1. A plant that extracts water from a well, pours it into glass or plastic containers and delivers it to end customers.
  2. Company for bottling and selling "foreign" water.

The first option is more expensive in terms of money and requires a lot of time to start, because you will need special equipment, qualified personnel, machinery, factory premises, the need to pay for expensive laboratory tests, and also special permits for extracting water from sources.

In addition, today it is quite difficult to find a free source of mineral or table water, which would not already be occupied by more efficient competitors.

If you do not have too much money, then it is better to start selling drinking water by concluding an appropriate agreement with the manufacturer.

This business can be done even by businessmen who do not have a large amount for start-up capital.

What should be the water to do business on it?

It doesn't take much effort to do something, much more is required to decide WHAT to do.
Elbert Hubbard

The business of selling bottled water is not as simple as it might seem at first glance.

Only water that complies with state standards is considered bottled, it is packed in hygienic containers and can be used by a person for drinking or cooking.

You can't just get tap water, bottle it up, and start delivering it to offices.

Wanting to save money, you will simply lose customers and destroy your business in the bud.

Drinking water should not contain more than 1% of various artificial additives (for example, flavors or essences).

If one of your clients conducts a chemical analysis of the drinking water supplied by you and finds out that it does not comply with GOST, then the least that can happen to you is the loss of a client, although everything can end up much worse, for example, by opening against you a criminal case on the fact of fraud.

The sale of drinking water cannot be carried out until you conclude an agreement with the manufacturer (a company that extracts water from wells) or purchase equipment that can completely purify water from harmful additives.

The first option is easier and cheaper for beginner businessmen.

Business on the water: advertising and customer search

The water selling business, like any other, needs good advertising, because the number of your customers depends on it, and, accordingly, the amount of profit.
  1. In mass media.
  2. With the help of outdoor advertising in places with high traffic.
  3. Distribution of flyers and business cards.
  4. In social networks and on the Internet forum of your city.

Since the main customers of companies selling drinking water are offices, a good publicity stunt would be to go around the office premises of your city with an offer to conclude an agreement with you for the supply of bottled water.

If you manage to get a few large customers who are satisfied with the quality of the water you supply, then word of mouth will advertise your water business in the future.

Calendar plan for starting a business on the water

It doesn't take long for you to start selling bottled drinking water.

Of course, you have to carry out the traditional stages of starting a business (registration, search for premises, purchasing equipment, hiring staff, advertising campaign, etc.), but all this will not take more than 3-4 months with the right approach.

StageJanFebMarApr
Registration
Contract with the manufacturer
Warehouse rent
Purchase of equipment and transport
Hiring
Advertising
Starting a business

Registration

You will not be able to conclude a formal contract with a drinking water producer until you legally register your business.

You can choose one of two forms (IP or LLC).

Both forms have both advantages and disadvantages.

The most acceptable form of taxation is UTII.

In addition, you will have to officially employ your employees (you will not be able to do business on the water on your own) and register a cash register.

room

Companies that deliver bottled water do not need luxurious offices, since you will communicate with customers mainly by phone, but what you definitely need to worry about is a warehouse with an area of ​​​​at least 60 square meters.

It must be heated (the air temperature should not fall below +5 degrees) and air-conditioned (if the water is stored at a temperature higher than +20 degrees, then you risk dissatisfying customers by supplying them with warm water).

The location of your warehouse does not play a big role, the main thing is that it is not too far from your customers, otherwise you will incur high gas costs.

Its size depends on how many liters of water you are going to store in the warehouse and what volumes of supplies you are targeting.

You can negotiate with customers and accept applications directly from the warehouse by purchasing a minimum set of furniture and a telephone.

Equipment

In fact, the only thing you will have to spend a large amount on is the transport with which you will deliver drinking water.

If you are just starting to promote your business on the water, then it is quite enough to purchase one used "gazelle" for 300,000 rubles.

There is no need to equip a warehouse - bottles of water can be stored directly on the floor.

In addition to transport costs, there are some other equipment costs to expect:

Item of expensesQtyCost (in rubles)Total amount (in rubles)
Total: 100 000 rub.
Cash machine
1 20 000 20
Telephone set
1 1 5000 1 5000
Mobile phone
1 5 000 5 000
Table
1 4 000 4 000
Chairs
3 2 000 6 000
Empty 20 l bottles

300 200 60 000
other 3 500

Staff

Many entrepreneurs, wanting to save money, want to do business on the water on their own (without assistants) or with only one assistant.

This is the wrong move.

Even at the initial stage, you should hire at least two team members: a driver and a forwarder.

You yourself will be able to take on administrative duties, taking orders, communicating with customers, bookkeeping.

In this case, the monthly cost of staff salaries will be as follows:

If your business starts to expand and you find that your employees cannot keep up with such a volume of orders for the delivery of drinking water, then you will have to purchase another car and hire another team consisting of a forwarder and a driver.

How much does it cost to open a business on the water?

The water selling business is not one of those start-ups that require a huge amount of money to start.

In fact, the biggest expense you have to incur is the purchase of a "gazelle" to deliver bottled water to homes and offices.

If you have such a car, then it is quite realistic to start doing business on the water, having only 100–125,000 rubles. starting capital.

If you don’t have a suitable car, then the amount of capital investment increases by another 300,000 rubles.

Do not forget about the mandatory monthly expenses that entrepreneurs who decide to do business on the water expect.

Their amount will fluctuate at the level of 60,000 rubles:

How promising is the water business and how much can you earn on it,

see also in the video:

How much can you earn doing business on the water?

Experts estimate the profitability of the drinking water business at 15–25%. The purchase price of 1 liter of water is 2 rubles, but the selling price is 6-8 rubles.

That is, you buy a 20-liter bottle from the manufacturer for 40 rubles, and sell (let's take the average figures) for 140 rubles.

Let's say that you deliver 50 bottles a day and earn 7,000 rubles.

Your bottled water company operates with one day off a week, which means that in a month (given that you will have an average of 25 working days) you will earn 175,000 rubles.

Naturally, this is a "dirty" profit, because from this amount we need to subtract 50,000 rubles (the purchase price of water) and 60,000 rubles - the amount of expenses for servicing your business.

That is, you are left with a net profit of 65,000 rubles.

The amount of our capital investment (including the purchase of a car) was 425,000 rubles.

Earning 65,000 rubles a month, we can make our water business self-sustaining in 7-8 months if we do not spend too much time building a client base.

As you can see business on the water- a fairly cost-effective business that does not require any special knowledge, or the purchase of sophisticated equipment, or large investments.

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Issues discussed in the material:

  • What are the benefits of a water delivery business
  • What are the features of the water delivery business
  • What are the ways to run a water delivery business
  • How to write a water delivery business plan
  • What organizational aspects of the water delivery business need to be considered

Water is the source of life, without which no living organism can do. The ecological situation in the world is deteriorating more and more and, accordingly, the quality of water is also declining. To a greater extent, this problem concerns large cities. As a result, people do not want to drink tap water. Therefore, the need for high-quality drinking water is growing more and more. The service of providing the population with this product is gaining popularity every day. Therefore, the water delivery business is a profitable and promising direction. We will tell you more about this in our article.

The water delivery business is a type of activity that has many advantages that allow you to gradually develop from a small intermediary to a large company without significant obstacles. And not everyone knows this. At the beginning of the journey, huge profits should not be expected, but if you act correctly and invest your efforts, the costs will pay off. So what are the benefits of a water delivery business?

The main advantage of the water business is the constant need of people for water. You can’t do without it either at work, or at school, or at home. It is also the only product that has no analogues.

Not only residents of apartments and houses need drinking water. Offices also need water. But firms don't install filters. And this is where the need for water delivery comes in. Opportunities for finding regular customers are huge, the number of potential consumers is large, so this type of activity can bring a decent profit.

Delivery of water can be organized in two ways: either to buy from companies producing it, or to open your own well, and then produce and sell water. The first method is good because you do not need to invest large sums of money to find a place for a well, open it and develop it, install the necessary expensive equipment. But the second way would reduce the cost of purchasing water from intermediaries, because it is yours.

If this does not suit you, then choose a simpler option - you buy water from intermediaries for further delivery to consumers. Currently, there are a huge number of companies producing and selling water. Imagine that only in the vicinity of Moscow there are 15 organizations involved in the production and sale of water. Therefore, finding such a company will not be difficult. Prices differ slightly from each other. The following pattern is observed: the farther the company is from the city, the less water costs. When starting a water business, pay attention to the smallest details.


However, starting this business is not an easy task. First, it is necessary to always watch many things. Secondly, significant financial resources will need to be invested. An important role will be played by the quality of the water sold and the thoughtfulness of the smallest details. What are the features of the water delivery business?

  • The first is the uniqueness of water.
  • The second is the disinfection and removal of microparticles hazardous to human health, so the water is fully purified before being delivered to the end consumer.

High-quality and efficient water treatment equipment is the key to successful business development. Water should be obtained best from natural springs. But not everyone has such an opportunity, so it can be mined outside the city from deeply drilled wells. Do not take water from the tap. Even if it is cleaned with specially designed equipment and then poured into containers, the quality of the product will still be far from ideal.

Also, for the successful operation of the enterprise, it is necessary to focus on creating an effective customer base, on organizing transport delivery to the consumer and a high level of service. But what a novice businessman should not do is pour low-quality water into beautiful containers and sell it to a client.

Ways to Run a Water Delivery Business

Let's see what are the ways of doing water delivery business.

  1. Own production of a full cycle. This type of water delivery business is the most expensive. It will take a lot of money for the first investment. If your own funds are not enough, you can use a bank loan. The most reliable way to extract water with this method is by drilling wells.

    It is also necessary to build a plant that will produce full-fledged water purification and pour it into containers. The last stage in the production cycle is the marketing of finished products. Here, the company has two prospects: to deliver to customers on its own or to sell through dealers. A good business can be built on this method, but large investments are required.

  2. Buy a water delivery business franchised by a well-known company. This method is suitable if you have an established client base. The franchisor will provide ready-made business solutions and strategy.
  3. Dealership. The supply of water is carried out from the manufacturer to the final consumer. With this method, the drinking water delivery business is the most inexpensive and simple. It is only necessary to find a proven water company that has a good reputation in the market. Income consists of a margin on the products sold. The advantage is the discounts that can be obtained from the company with an increase in regular purchases of goods.

How to start a water delivery business

1. Official registration as an individual entrepreneur or LLC

First you need to decide which form of business is right for you. If you plan to carry out a full cycle of water delivery, then it is worth opening an LLC (suitable for organizing a large business). In other cases, IP registration is required.

It is mandatory to complete:

  • hygienic permit for water (for full cycle enterprises);
  • sales license (issued by the Licensing Office for a period of 3 years).

Registration is best done through special law firms.

To determine the scale of your business, study the consumer demand in the market in your area. With a small demand and budget, a water delivery business in 19-liter bottles is suitable.

2. What will it take to successfully sell a product?

  • Automobile

At the very beginning of opening a business, your personal car is also suitable for small deliveries of the product. In the future, with an increase in turnover, you can purchase a Gazelle or a similar foreign-made car. When buying a car, do not forget that repairs and the cost of gasoline will be included in the cost of goods. It is best to choose a budget vehicle. The car can be leased or rented, then the rent must be taken into account.

Requirements for the dimensions of the car: small, so that you can easily turn around and drive through narrow courtyards in the city; the door is most practical side.

The first step is to compare prices for containers from competing firms. Calculate as follows: the purchase price + your margin (less than 50%) must be lower than your competitors. Based on this, you select a container supplier.

Do not forget that for large purchases, suppliers make discounts and the cost of one bottle is reduced, so you can get additional profit.


  • Caps for cooler bottles

Can be purchased from the same vendors that sell containers. The same principle works here as with bottles: the larger the order, the greater the discount and the more profitable for you.

  • Manual bottle pumps

Research pump companies before buying. It is not worth saving on pumps, it is better to overpay a little in order to get a high-quality reliable product. Clients will appreciate it.

Follow the price-quality rule. Buy coolers under the order of customers, so save money, nerves, and time. After all, there is no guarantee that the coolers that you buy in advance will be in demand.


3. So, there is everything necessary for transporting water, and the main question arises: where to get water from?

You can arrange the supply of spring or artesian water. Moreover, the second is extracted from wells, so it will take about 2 million to drill the well itself, install filters, draw up documentation and perform other work. Therefore, it is better to use spring water.

Surely somewhere outside the city there is a clean spring. The quality of water depends on the distance from the city, so we choose according to the following principle: the farther the spring, the better.

The price should be slightly less than your competitors. The next step is to promote your business. At the first stages, it will be enough to place a message in the local newspaper, put up ads at the entrances, distribute leaflets in places with a large crowd of people. Then you can make high-quality commercials and launch them on radio and TV, focusing on your target audience. A newspaper could run an article about the difference between tap water and your water, listing the clear benefits of the latter.

Don't forget to hold promotions, thanks to which you will find loyal customers. Give discounts to regular customers when buying a large number of goods.


Make your order available. To do this, organize the acceptance of applications by landline and mobile phones, by e-mail, through social networks, create your own website and accept applications there. Also arrange payment in all possible ways: cash, non-cash, via the Internet.

Develop a neighborhood itinerary and always follow it so that customers adjust to you and know that if you carry water to one area in the morning, then you will bring it further at that time.

High-quality customer service is the key to long-term cooperation, so do not neglect this item.


4. Consider expenses and income:

  • Wholesale price of a bottle: 110–170 rubles. +% markup = 140–210 rubles.
  • Hand pump: 160–210 rubles. +% \u003d 220–320 rubles.
  • Fuel costs: 350-450 rubles / day.
  • Water price: 50–100 rubles. for 19 l.

When selling 100 bottles per day, the revenue will be about 8,000 rubles. After deducting the costs, a very good result is obtained! At the first stages, this is an activity without large investments.

Consider how to write a business plan for a water delivery business.

1. We make a plan on our own

When developing a business plan, use the following rules:

  • consider all the pros and cons;
  • determine the competitiveness of your type of product;
  • study the sales market and the period of profit;
  • determine the amount of financial investments in stages;
  • study the payback and attach its calculations;
  • make a sequence of your actions, adhering to the recommended structure.

The structure of the business plan does not have clear norms and standards. The businessman himself decides how many points to include in the document and what size it will be. If you plan to attract investments from third-party sources in the project, you will have to strictly adhere to the business plan. Also, if your intentions include the search for financing, then it is better to entrust the preparation of a business plan to experienced professionals.


The business plan must reflect possible profits and losses, ways to find customers, attract investments, loans, bank allocations, product advertising and other information that reflects different aspects of the company's activities.

This is the introductory part of the business plan, in which you need to make a positive impact on investors. The further development of your business will depend on writing a resume. Here it is necessary to give a general description of the project. It consists of 6-7 sentences, so it will take a minimum of time to describe it.

Make up your resume with the following items:

  • direction of activity;
  • brief description of the company:
  • the amount of planned investments;
  • the expected maturity of the borrowed funds;
  • project profitability.

3. Description of the company and goods (services)

The section consists of two sub-sections:

  • Company:

Description of the industry in which the company operates and the prospects for its development;

Strategic development plan;

Characteristics and structure of the firm.

  • Goods (services):

Name of goods (services);

Analysis of the disadvantages and advantages of the product;

Description of the product and its scope;

Definition of the target audience;

Patent rights;

Ways of producing goods, selling or providing services.

The purpose of this section is to provide the investor with evidence of the relevance of the product (service).

You need to write down the following points:

  • analysis of the market environment;
  • definition of target buyers;
  • identification of the competitive environment and its analysis;
  • promotion tools;
  • drawing up a sales plan by quarter;
  • pricing.

Here they describe the full production cycle, determine the amount of production capacity and its implementation. It is necessary to visualize the entire production process, which will avoid problems during the implementation of the project.

The section includes:

  • basic information about production: location of premises, required resources;
  • equipment planning, search for sources of supply;
  • labor requirements;
  • the planned volume of output, the cost of raw materials and production;
  • calculation of the cost of production;
  • plan for raising the technical level of production.

In this part, you need to describe the details of the business organization in stages with the establishment of a responsible person for the implementation of a specific task.

We describe:

  • structure and legal form of the enterprise;
  • partners, if any;
  • the composition of the staff;
  • the procedure for recruiting personnel;
  • definition of the stages of project implementation.

This section includes:

  • planning of fixed and working capital;
  • calculation of profitability;
  • payback period calculation;
  • determination of the break-even point;
  • risks and ways to avoid them;
  • forecast budget.

8. Application

Visual materials, which were discussed in the business plan, are applied here. These are various schemes, contracts, photographs of product samples, plans, licenses, market research results in the form of graphs and diagrams, creditworthiness certificates and others.

  • It is necessary to briefly state all the necessary information.
  • The business plan must be individual.
  • Reflection of reliable information.
  • The first year of activity development is predicted by months.
  • Supplement information with visual aids.

Organizational aspects of the water delivery business

What organizational aspects of the water delivery business need to be considered?

Before starting a business, you need to purchase or rent a room of 20 square meters. If you also accept used plastic bottles, you will need an additional area of ​​​​10 square meters.

For a business on a large scale, you need 2 premises:

  • office - a modest room of about 15 square meters. m, as work with clients will be carried out remotely; from the equipment you need a computer, a multi-channel telephone, a table and chairs;
  • warehouse - required if large-scale trade is carried out; area must be 20 sq. m; temperature regime: +5 - +20 ° С; protection from direct sunlight; should be located in the area where the majority of potential customers are located in order to save on the delivery of goods.

With small volumes, you can do without staff, maintain a customer database yourself, deliver water from the manufacturer to customers, and compile reports. But with the expansion of activities, it is necessary to hire staff.

3. Transport

Transport is one of the main components of this business, because it is necessary to deliver water from the supplier to customers promptly. This includes the cost of renting or buying a vehicle, gasoline, maintenance, driver wages (for large businesses). These costs may decrease if you have your own minibus or Gazelle.

If you plan to buy a vehicle, then it is most profitable to purchase a Gazelle on gas, as it can hold up to 70 canisters.

The number of vehicles is determined on the basis that up to 5 tons of goods can be bred on one vehicle per week.

Thus, at the very beginning of the business path, $ 300-400 will be enough.


4. Purchase of containers

One empty bottle costs $4. 3 containers are required for one customer: one is at the customer's, the second is in the warehouse, filled with water, the third is at the supplier for filling. To calculate all the necessary packaging, the number of customers is multiplied by three. One bottle will be enough for at least one year. Empty bottles are purchased from the supplier.

Business does not have a pronounced seasonality, which pleases start-up entrepreneurs. Bottled water in small containers is bought mainly in the summer on hot days, but the demand for water in canisters is always stable.


Basically, your niche of customers will be made up of various organizations - catering establishments, business centers, reputable companies. The share of ordinary citizens and private clients will be insignificant. Therefore, you need to think over a plan for promoting your business.

As practice shows, consumers first of all pay attention to the price and delivery time, and then study the documents that confirm the quality and purity of the delivered goods.

To attract the attention of potential customers, it is necessary to organize a presentation of your business in the drinking water delivery market. Show and explain with real examples the difference between tap water and your drinking water in the form of chemical analysis results. Conduct a product tasting.

At the initial stage, develop a discount system for the fastest dissemination of information about your company, in this way many people will know about you.

Along with water, you can also sell additional goods, such as tea, coffee, sugar, cream, confectionery bars. For a more pleasant use of your coolers, organize a service for their maintenance.

Delivery must be carried out within the agreed time. Be aware that reputable companies place considerable emphasis on punctuality. The service must be transparent to the customer's employees.

Develop delivery methods.

First of all, create a route in accordance with the principles of logistics. Divide the territory of the city into districts and carry out deliveries there at the same time. Next, decide how you will deliver water: in a private car or it is better to hire a driver with your own car.

Previously, no one carried water to the house. The payback and profitability of this option was at zero. It took a lot of money to bring water to the outskirts of the city to a single client. This is wages, and the cost of gasoline, and the time spent.

To benefit from the water delivery business, you need to sell 15-20 19-liter bottles daily. This is the bare minimum to stay profitable. So, let's calculate: for a family of two adults and one child, one bottle of water is required per week. For the normal functioning of the business, you need to have 100-140 families a week who will use your services.


Of course, you won’t get a big profit from this, but a stable income will be provided. If you form a customer base of individuals and corporate entities, then the number of the first ones can be reduced with confidence, because delivery to companies is much more profitable. After all, legal entities consume much more water, and their location is usually in the city center. This circumstance allows to reduce transportation costs.

The main consumer of drinking water is an office worker. Market analysis showed that 80% of the entire water business niche is made up of legal entities. And recently there has been a downward trend in their share. This is explained by the fact that the provision of drinking water from a cooler is included in the social package. Shipping costs reduce a firm's taxable income. But during a crisis, accountants reduce this item of expenditure, and the water business loses its customers.

This fact should not be overlooked, it is worth developing the direction of delivery to private homes, because this niche has not yet been mastered by competitors and is now much more stable.

Demand for clean water is growing and firms are moving in. One office orders 7-12 bottles per week. A person drinks 0.3–0.8 liters per day. To provide water in the office of 40 employees, 12–32 liters are required.


Develop strategies for capturing such market segments as schools, kindergartens, shopping and entertainment centers, feasts, gas stations, companies specializing in organizing holidays.

From advertising, you can use flyers, newspaper ads, banner ads on the Internet. Conduct a competitive analysis on the Web, if necessary, create a site with the possibility of placing an order. Send emails to potential customers.

If you start a delivery business and do not follow the above recommendations, then you will have to close your business or a sale of the water delivery business will follow.

drinking water requirements

The quality of the offered products is the main tool in acquiring permanent loyal customers. So what are the requirements for drinking water to be met in order to run a water delivery business?

  • mineralization can be at the level of 50–150 mg/l;
  • can be used for cooking and drinking;
  • the amount of additives of artificial origin - up to 1%;
  • water is pre-softened, iron and chlorine are absent;
  • disinfection with UV devices;
  • the presence of useful components - fluorine, calcium,