Selling bottled water in Kenya is one of the businesses that require low capital to start. The ease of starting a bottled water business is what has encouraged most entrepreneurs to take part in it. For example, if you walk in any street in most Kenyan towns, you will not miss a chance to see a vendor selling bottled water.
Many Kenyans today are
afraid of drinking tap water, hence, the increase in the sale of bottled water.
Some people also prefer to take water because it is a cheaper and healthier
alternative to soft drinks.
Why bottled water business
People enter into the
bottled water business for various reasons. The first being, the ease of
starting a bottled water business if you have little capital. You can also do
it to make a profit, to be proud of owning a business, and lastly if you have a
passion for it.
You can either sell
bottled water as a retailer or a wholesaler, depending on your budget.
Whichever you choose, you should first find a source of water that you will be
selling from. If you decide to be a retailer, then you won’t need packaging
materials, but as a whole seller, you may require packaging material, unless
you are distributing for a company.
Before you embark on
starting your bottled water business, you should have a clear business plan.
This way, you are less likely to overlook any major area of concern. A business
plan will also enable you to know whether you will be making profits or not at
the end of it all. You don’t want to start a business and abandon it halfway
because you don’t have enough funding to run it. A well-written business plan
will help you solve all these.
Cost of starting a bottled water business
As stated above, there
are various ways in which you can do this business. However, we are going to
discuss how to sell bottled water as a producer.
The amount of capital
you will need is dependent on the equipment you will need, the marketing
strategy, and shop rent for your water bottling plant.
As a bottled water
producer, you will need to acquire the relevant machinery for the business, and
this is where the huge chunk of the capital goes. You can purchase an
automatic, semi-automatic, or manual machine. You can even use a domestic
purifier when starting. All these depend on the amount of money you have.
Equipment
The type of equipment
to buy will also depend on the water source as well as the market density. The
larger the market/demand, the larger the equipment needed. These equipments are
available at most companies that sell water/borehole accessories like Davis
& Shirtliff, and they cost betweenKsh. 175,000/- to Ksh. 700,000/-.
Location
The location of your
shop is very crucial to the success of your business. As a bottled water
manufacturer you need to take your time and study the demand for your product.
Is your shop location accessible? Do the people around you consume bottled
water regularly? These are some of the questions you should ask yourself when
choosing a location for your water bottling plant. The answer you get will
determine how you will market your final product.
Quality Test and Certification
Ensure your water is
tested for quality before you sell it. Water testing is done before and after
treatment. This enables you to know what impurities are present in your water,
and if they have been removed by the treatment. Ideally, water testing is best
done before the purchase of the treatment plant.
This helps you to
determine the type of treatment plant you need to buy. The water testing
process will cost you between Ksh. 700/- to Ksh. 5000/-. If your water
passes the quality test, you will get a certification from KEBS (Kenya Bureau
of Standards)
Conclusion
Starting a bottled
water business can be very expensive if you do not control your operational
costs. It is advisable to start by purchasing a smaller water treatment plant
and expand later. Secondly, don’t spend money on unnecessary purchases until
your demand justifies the purchase, only buy what you will need to use at the
moment. Finally, you can combine your water business with another business when
just starting. This will help you reduce some of the costs.