Business selling water. What documentation will need to be collected. Important details of the business for the production and sale of drinking water

In connection with the current environmental situation, the problem of high-quality drinking water is quite acute. It is especially relevant in large cities. It is not recommended to drink tap water today, because it not only has an unpleasant aftertaste, but can also contain a variety of substances that are hazardous to health. In this regard, the population demonstrates a high demand for the purchase of bottled drinking water. Despite the fact that there are many companies that satisfy such needs of consumers, it is quite possible to take your place in this niche. We will talk about how to organize a business selling water today.

Organizational moments and business perspective

To start the production of drinking water, it is necessary to draw up a detailed business plan that takes into account all the main stages of opening and doing business.

As for the prospects of this event, they can be called colossal without exaggeration. This is due to the fact that, according to studies, today drinking water for a cooler is consumed by at least 30% of the population of our country. This percentage is only increasing every year. Accordingly, the business of selling water will be very relevant for many more years.

Source for production

First of all, you need to decide where you will take water for its further processing. Sources can be both specially equipped wells, as well as lakes, rivers and other bodies of water, as well as ordinary water supply.

The cheapest option, of course, is to use tap water. If you decide to drill a well, then this venture will cost you a very significant amount, however, the extracted water can have unique qualities, which will bring significant benefits in the future.

Company registration

Due to the fact that most of the sales finished products will fall on legal entities, it is best to register your business not as individual entrepreneurship, but as entity(LLP or LLC).

Getting permissions

Regardless of the source of water, it is necessary to analyze it in a specialized laboratory for the presence of hazardous substances in it. The sanitary epidemiological station should also inspect your production facility and find out if it complies with state standards. With these conclusions in hand, you can proceed to obtaining a license for production. After you have acquired this document, it is really possible to start a business.

Equipment for the production of drinking water

This point of business organization is the most costly. So, the water production line should include the following equipment:

• pumping and cleaning equipment, the cost of which starts from 3.5-5 thousand dollars;
• a water bottling line worth about $4,000.

If you plan to use fully automated equipment, then its price will be higher - from 20 thousand dollars.

To get started, you can buy ready-made plastic bottles for bottling the finished product. However, in the future, for

When purchasing all units, be sure to pay attention to their performance, quality and warranty service conditions. Do not forget that the quality of the final product, respectively, and the success of your business depends on the equipment. business optimization, it is desirable to acquire your own line for their production. Such equipment will cost from 12 to 15 thousand dollars.

Water production technology

Water for the cooler is the result of a rather complex technological process and is carried out in several stages.

Production room

Due to the fact that water for the cooler is a food product, rather serious requirements are imposed on the workshop for its production. So, the room should include several separate zones: the extraction of raw materials, their purification and the spill of the finished product. In addition, there must be service premises for your employees and warehouses for products. Therefore, you will need to prepare well and take care of many details before you can start this business.

Water for bottling: the financial side of things

When organizing this business it should be borne in mind that such a product has a pronounced seasonality of consumption. Thus, the peaks of drinking water sales fall on the period from May to August. Accordingly, at the same time, the entrepreneur can count on the greatest profit from his production.

As for profitability, according to experts, the gross margin of such a business can reach 700%, which is

a very high rate. The payback period of all initial investments directly depends on the markets for finished products available to the businessman, the methods used to purify raw materials, as well as the various characteristics of the equipment. On average, this period is two to three years.

Ways to sell finished products

We have dealt with the process of organizing production. Now is the time to move on to the question of how to sell water. After all, it is not enough to organize a mini-factory, you also need to think over options for selling products to the end consumer.

There are two ways to sell ready-made drinking water: using your own delivery service or through other companies with an already established system for selling these products.

The first option is quite complicated, as it requires a careful study of the plan for the delivery of products. In addition, you will need to organize your own car fleet, consisting of at least 5-7 suitable cars, as well as develop marketing strategy promotion of your products, including the creation of a trademark.

If you decide to sell your product through other companies, you will automatically become a wholesaler. In this case, you do not have to develop your own brand, as you can use the brand of the partner company.

Important details of the business for the production and sale of drinking water

When organizing such a business, the main attention should be paid to the quality of both finished products and services. Therefore, when buying equipment, it is advisable to prefer foreign units to domestic units, even if they were in use.

In addition, customer service must be at the highest level. After all, a consumer can very easily prefer a competitor to you, whose organization of water delivery is better organized than yours. It's almost impossible to get a lost customer back.

Also, to achieve an excellent result, it is necessary to constantly study the competitive environment and try to offer the consumer more. So, today many manufacturers provide coolers for free use to customers. Therefore, if you do not do this, then your client base will expand rather slowly.

Additional means of generating income

In addition to the production and sale of a bottled product, it is easy to organize a business in drinking water vending machines. Today they can be increasingly found in the cities of our country. It is advisable to install vending machines in high-traffic stores located in residential areas. Earnings from each such machine can reach $ 500 per month, and its payback period is about 12 months.

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 instruction 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 production areas you need to find a source from which water will be collected. 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 modern system multi-stage filtration 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, 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.

Probably not everyone knows that water delivery business is an occupation with a large number of significant advantages that allow you to start your own business without much difficulty and gradually develop from a small dealer to a large company. Of course, no one promises millions of checks from consumers, but idle right action you won't stay either. The main advantage of this type of activity can be called the constant need of absolutely any person for water, since this is a basic necessity and nothing can replace it. Not all people buy water in large containers, and some do not buy it at all from strangers - small filters for a couple of liters allow you not to spend a lot of money on drinking water. However, water delivery is needed not only for residents of apartments and houses - office workers also need water, but no one will put a filter in the office. The number of clients is huge, there are a lot of opportunities to tie a client to your services, and the water delivery business brings a decent profit. So why doesn't every second person do this kind of business? Not everyone knows that this is not a difficult task, and they are afraid to make mistakes, which ultimately lead to debt. We know how not to step on a rake, and in this article we will talk about this in detail.

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What are the benefits of a water delivery business

We do not need to develop a complex business plan for a water delivery company, develop work models and find out from experts how much money the water delivery business brings in - millionaires do these things, and not all of them, but we need to earn millions first. Delivery of water is divided into two ways: buy it from companies that produce it, or open a well, extract water and sell it. The second method would make it possible to make a big profit due to the fact that the water is yours and you don’t need to spend money on it, but finding a place for a well, opening and developing it, installing everything necessary equipment will pull on several million dollars. This is not for us, we take a simpler option - repurchase of water for further sale. Finding a company that extracts and sells water is not so difficult - only in the Moscow region there are 15 organizations that extract water and sell it. Water prices are about the same, but the farther from the center the company is located, the cheaper the water. When opening a water delivery business, you need to take into account all, even the smallest, details.

Necessary equipment for starting this business

Most water companies already have their own products like mineral water or something like that, but they still willingly sell their drinking water. approximate price in Moscow per liter of water is 4-5 rubles. If the water delivery business is something you want to do for a long time and get a steady income from it, then after a while you can ask the companies for a discount. The practice in this business is that a dealer who buys more than 500 bottles of water per month receives a 50% discount on water, and a dealer with a turnover of more than 1,000 bottles receives a 75% discount. Such bonuses are a great incentive to work even harder and look for new clients with a vengeance - the more clients, the more discount and more money you get. On the website of any company selling water there is a phone number, call, ask for a price and you can go to get water

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In most cases, the water delivery business does not require expensive equipment, which will keep our expenses low. To open this business, you need to purchase bottles in which water is transported. The average price is 120 rubles apiece, and each bottle lasts about a year and a half, then it needs to be replaced. You need to know the approximate number of customers and, based on this, buy the right number of bottles, but loading less than 100 bottles per month will not be very profitable.

A good car fleet is an integral part of a business

Being engaged in the water delivery business, you, first of all, must do your job quickly, on time and without damage to the cylinder - customer loyalty depends on this. Gazelle is an ideal option for this type of business. It is roomy, unpretentious, and relatively economical. Delivery of water on this vehicle does not bring high costs. The gazelle can take on board a large number of bottles, while the cost of refueling will be minimal. Not everyone can buy a Gazelle right away, but you can use rental services. Renting a Gazelle in Moscow costs 1,500 rubles per day, provided that you immediately pay a month or more of rent.

As a driver, you can use both a hired worker and work yourself. If you don't have a job or have the ability to deliver water yourself, then the costs will be reduced. If this is not possible, you can hire a driver - average wage in Russia for this vacancy is 15 thousand rubles a month, in Moscow a water supplier receives 20 thousand rubles a month. Moreover, one person can easily serve 30-40 customers a day.

Water Delivery Business: A Few Words About Clients

A novice businessman cannot but rejoice at the fact that the water delivery business is not a seasonal job. People are always thirsty and although in summer the amount of water consumed is many times greater, in winter you will still have a sufficient number of customers and orders. Thanks to this, you will not have stagnation in certain periods and it will be possible to search for clients constantly, and not at a certain time.

It should be noted that water delivery is most often ordered to homes and office buildings. Office workers also need to drink and you can’t do without it, even if you save. Probably everyone has seen large machines with cups in large offices where you can get water and quench your thirst. Finding offices that still need a water delivery company is very difficult - they all have already found a permanent supplier, but sometimes companies change preferences and look for new water suppliers. This is a very large and stable income, and we will talk about how to achieve it later.

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The second, but no less significant, client is private individuals - houses and apartments, it is on them that we will focus, the delivery of water to individuals brings most of the income of most companies in this business. People order 19 liters of drinking water about once every two weeks and do it all the time. These are also very stable clients, having catered to them once, you will get a client for a couple of years.

Promoting a water delivery business

You need to figure out why your company's water delivery business would be more attractive to the client than a competitor's water delivery business. After the benefits are found or invented, you can start an advertising campaign. First you need to try to find clients among the offices - write a flyer or just make a business card with the name of the company and your services and give it to the person who is responsible for water in the company or office. Maybe no one will immediately offer a job, but after a while someone will definitely respond. Repeat the procedure with different offices constantly and the number of regular office clients will increase.

You don’t need to fantasize too much in order to explain why your water delivery business will bring more benefits if you convince friends and acquaintances of this. If you live in a big city, then there will be many acquaintances who buy water in this way and they will use your services. The acquaintances themselves will create a client base for you after a while, and when the income is high enough, you can fork out for the distribution of leaflets or a banner in a visited place.

Water Delivery Business – Expenses and Income

Let's start with renting a Gazelle and a driver's salary. Gazelle per month 45 thousand rubles, salary 20 thousand rubles per month. If you yourself will drive the vehicle, then the costs will be reduced by a decent amount. The price of a water bottle is 120 rubles apiece, to start with you need 20-30 pieces, the quantity depends on regular customers. Let's add 2400 rubles to the expenses. It is also worth including the price of fuel in the costs - our Gazelle is on gas, so 6 thousand rubles should be enough. And do not forget that a tax of 17.5% of all income is deducted from our profits. That's all you need to start a business - advertising will be free in the form of acquaintances. The costs are 47,400 rubles to start without a driver and 67,400 rubles if you hire a separate worker. Given that this new business, the starting budget is not very large and almost anyone can do it.

Your enterprise will pay off if you sell a bottle of water to 10-15 customers per day. The price of one such cylinder is 180 rubles, subtract the price of water, 4 rubles * 19 liters \u003d 76 rubles and get a net income of 104 rubles from the cylinder. If there are more customers, then the profit will increase, it will be possible to rent another car and put another person there who will deliver water in parallel.

To the first category includes water that is safe for health and meets the criteria for assessing organoleptic properties. Water of the highest category is considered safe for health and optimal in quality. To increase the shelf life of water, silver is sometimes used. According to SanPin standards, such “silvered” water cannot be used for preparing baby food.

Drinking water comes into bottles in different ways: some companies bottle artesian water that does not require any purification, others - additionally purified water, artesian or tap water. “If the composition of the water sold by a particular company does not comply with current sanitary standards for some reason, for example, it contains “extra” chemical elements, it is subjected to post-treatment,” notes Dmitry Golovkin, a specialist at Promburvod CJSC, during which together with harmful "chemistry" from the water, part of the elements useful for the human body is also removed. "Therefore, in Europe only water from artesian wells is allowed for sale, which does not need so-called" water treatment "- neither in post-treatment, nor in disinfection, and packaged directly at the place of extraction, - comments Olga Antipova, sales director of Rodnikovy Krai LLC, - the more natural the water, the more valuable it is, the more useful it is for humans.

Step 1. Finding a place for a well
Open an artesian mining business well and bottling of drinking water can be any entrepreneur, regardless of education and work experience.

"But do without serious financial investments and professional personnel in such a project will not succeed,” says Olga Antipova, Sales Director of Rodnikovy Krai LLC. You will have to resort to the help of specialists already at the stage of searching for an artesian well. "Information about artesian water deposits is contained in the Groundwater Cadastre. But this does not mean that water can be extracted from any of these deposits and then sold as drinking water," Dmitry Golovkin, a specialist at Promburvod CJSC, warns. water in an ecologically clean area. Then, a series of special analyzes of water in a particular field should be carried out in order to assess its quality. Only specialists can do this."

In order to select a suitable habitat for the “correct” water, it is necessary to contact one of the specialized institutions involved, in particular, in the exploration of water deposits and the drilling of wells on a turnkey basis (i.e. including registration required documents), for example, in CJSC "Promburvod" or SE "Sevzapgeologia". “They were looking for a suitable deposit in the Pskov and Novgorod regions, but they found it 70 km from St. Petersburg, not far from Lembolovo, where the famous Troitsk springs were located in the old days,” Olga Antipova shares her experience.

Step 2. Drilling and clearance
Project development, in which experts will characterize the water and estimate its approximate amount in a particular field, it will cost up to about 400 thousand rubles and take 6 months.
After the approval of the project, you can start drilling the well. Each meter of drilling costs from 8000 rubles. Artesian waters usually lie at a depth of 200 to 300 m. Thus, drilling a well will have to pay from 1 million 600 thousand to 2 million 400 thousand rubles. “To start the project, third-party investments were required,” says Olga Antipova, sales director of Rodnikovy Kray LLC, “with the help of one of the leasing companies, they took a loan from a bank.” While the drilling work is going on, the entrepreneur can start processing the necessary documents.

"Primarily, you need to agree on a "drilling point" in the SES, - advises Dmitry Golovkin, - then register the right to own or lease a plot of land, obtain a license for the right to use subsoil from the Territorial Department of Natural Resources, etc. To draw up all the necessary documents, you need to go through about 30 instances, services for paperwork, as a rule, are also provided by specialized organizations involved in the exploration of water fields and turnkey drilling of wells. It took about 2 years for the "Spring Territory" to search for a deposit of high-quality artesian water, preparatory work and construction of a well, as well as paperwork for land and work.

Step 3 Equipment
For the extraction of artesian water from the well and bottling will require special equipment. The set of equipment should include special industrial pumps and a bottling process line. You will also need a water disinfection plant. “According to SanPin standards, it is recommended to disinfect water - by ozonation or physical methods, for example, with the help of ultraviolet irradiation,” explains Olga Antipova, head of the sales department at Rodnikovy Kray LLC. Installation of equipment, as a rule, is carried out by divisions of the same companies that sell it.

Production shop equipment depends on the volume of production, as well as on where it is planned to pour water - directly at the well or in a geographically remote area. In the latter case, water is transported to the bottling shop in tanks. “The bottling shop was built right on the well in order to exclude the possibility of contact of water from the well with any bacteria-carrying surfaces, and with air,” recalls Olga Antipova. – To do this, we purchased a certified American technological line of the Babyworks brand, worth about $100,000.

The equipment of the workshop continues. We are completing the installation of another automatic line, which will allow pouring water into 5-6 liter containers. Its cost is about $50,000.” Now the company daily bottles 38,000 liters of water, namely 2,000 polycarbonate containers of 19 liters each. Polycarbonate packaging in Russia is produced, in particular, by the Zhivaya Voda (Moscow) and Craft (Vologda) companies. The cost of one 19-liter bottle is $5-6.

Step 4. Personnel
At production, bottling, packaging and sale of artesian water will require qualified instrumentation specialists (instrumentation engineers), as well as workers, maintenance workers, maintenance personnel, drivers and managers. Approximately 35 people in total.

"Since an artesian well is located not far from Lembolovo, workers and maintenance personnel were recruited from among local residents, but specialists could not be found here. Therefore, we bring engineers to work from St. Petersburg, - says Olga Antipova, head of the sales department of Rodnikovy Krai LLC. According to her, the market for specialists in this industry is also small in St. Petersburg, and many of the company's employees previously worked in other water bottling firms.

In addition, in the St. Petersburg office the company has a staff of managers and dispatchers who are looking for customers (both organizations and individuals), as well as coordinating and monitoring the execution of orders. “Since the company announced the delivery of water to customers, it has its own staff of drivers and an agreement with transport company, which also participates in the delivery of orders, - says Olga Antipova. – In total, 14 machines dilute water every day. "Depending on qualifications and official duties, the salary of the company's staff is $400-800.

According to Olga Antipova, the payback of an enterprise for the extraction, bottling and sale of artesian water is about 2 years. "In the future, net profit may reach 6-7 million rubles a year.
Costs for opening a business for the extraction, bottling and sale of drinking water *.

Search for a deposit of artesian water and assessment of water in it - up to 400 thousand rubles.
Well drilling -1,600 thousand - 2,400 thousand rubles.
Water bottling line - 3 million rubles
Vehicles, packaging, overhead costs - 1.5 million rubles.
Total: 6-7 million rubles.
Payback period 2-3 years
Planned profit: 6,000,000 - 7,000,000 rubles. per month

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Last summer in Moscow, there were not enough filters to purify drinking water. There was a rumor that the terrorists were going to poison the water supply. It's gone. But tap water, despite all the optimism of officials, is already being drunk less frequently in Russia. Things are going better for manufacturers and suppliers of bottled water. active attack on Russian market continue major players - Bon Aqua (Coca-Cola), Aqua Minerale (Pepsi-Cola) and "Holy Spring" (Nestle). In Russia today there are already more than a hundred plants for the production of drinking water, so that almost every region also has water from local producers. "Iceberg" in Kaliningrad, "Davpon" in Syktyvkar, "Polustrovo" in St. Petersburg, "Malkinskaya" in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, "Shishkin Forest" in Moscow, "Reserved Spring" in Samara, "Spring of Prikamye" in Perm, " Pure Water" in the Novosibirsk region.

The offer is extensive. However, all the advantages of bottled water of any manufacturer are covered by one significant drawback - its price. That is, as a drink - perhaps, yes. But today they cook with bottled water only in the most affluent families. As a result, the average per capita consumption of bottled water in Russia, according to 2004 data, was only about 14 liters per year. For comparison, in Germany, Spain, France and Italy, this figure has been exceeding 100 liters per person per year for several years.

In Russia on permanent basis most of the population is not yet able to buy bottled drinking water: the price of disposable containers is almost 90% of the cost of the product. Many see household filters as a panacea, believing that it is better to pay money for a filter once and then drink clean water “for free”. But, alas, the filters do not provide water purification to the required standards. In addition, “free” is very conditional, because the filters are prone to contamination, and they have to be changed regularly.

After analyzing the situation, an entrepreneur from Kirov, Vasily Zonov, decided that it was time to offer a different option for water supply to the population.

Alternative "piping"
The method of providing the population of the city with clean water, invented by Vasily Zonov, is simple, like everything ingenious. The entrepreneur found out that the main requirements of people related to drinking water are as follows:

• guaranteed quality;
• low price;
• proximity to the consumer.

To achieve these parameters, Zonov decided to create in the city a network of typical kiosks "Health Key" selling environmentally friendly artesian drinking water for bottling and to establish uninterrupted delivery of this water by road from the well to the kiosks. The sale of water was to be carried out in the container of the buyer. Naturally, buyers could not only bring containers (a five-liter plastic bottle) with them, but also purchase them right there, at the kiosk.

With this method of sale, all the basic requirements were met. The high quality of water was achieved through the use of wells with environmentally friendly water as a source of water supply, the advantages of which were preserved when transported by cars with special containers for transporting food liquids. In addition, during transportation and in kiosks, it was supposed to provide the necessary thermal insulation in order to sell water with a temperature of 4–8 degrees Celsius (the natural temperature of water from a well), this was already a matter of technology. As for the low price, it was achieved by eliminating disposable containers from circulation, simplifying the procedure for obtaining water and its delivery to kiosks, and also due to the absence of the need for bottling and storage of goods in warehouses.

In addition, Zonov intended to make a profit not due to the high price of a unit of production, but due to the large volume of sales. Finally, the proximity to the consumer meant the territorial reach of the kiosks for the townspeople and convenient opening hours: clean drinking water had to be available to almost any buyer.

Vasily Zonov outlined all these aspects in a letter to the head of the administration of the city of Kirov. He did not ask for funding for his project. He asked only to allocate space for kiosks. Probably, remembering that the country had long adopted the Federal program "Providing the population of Russia with drinking water", the administration agreed to provide places for kiosks in those areas that the businessman indicated in the letter. It was in 2000. And today in Kirov there are already about nine dozen such kiosks, and two-thirds of the Kirovites use the water delivered with might and main for both drinking and cooking.

The difference between kiosk water and tap water is huge! - said the driver of the Kirov taxi. - One has only to try tea from it once, and it is already impossible to brew it otherwise. Even if you use a filter. We bought water there for the first time when, due to an accident, it was turned off for a whole day in our area. And then I liked it. How much do we buy? I'll guess now. Probably 20-25 liters per week for two with his wife. Can you imagine, for 100 rubles they are provided with the purest water for the whole month (water in Kirov costs one ruble per liter. - Approx. Aut.)! Well, we buy two empty bottles of 15 rubles each once a year.

The stalls are very cute, the stalls are neat and the water is tasty and inexpensive. One liter of water costs only one ruble fifty. We always buy this water at home, and especially before going to the country, as I do not trust the water from the local well. Water is brought to the kiosks from a well in the village of Shoshki, located quite far from the city. How many times have I seen cars with shiny tanks on the highway, so we are sure that water is not produced in the city, it is really clean. Who is buying? Yes, almost the entire city, even pensioners. Recently I met a grandmother on the street with a cart in which there were several large five-liter bottles, - Ekaterina Gushchina, a resident of Syktyvkar, told Business Journal.

Image is everything!
- We choose our partners very carefully. I would not like to work with those who seek to enrich themselves at any cost. This business pays off in record time - from 8 to 13 months. It is important that a person does not disgrace the very idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthis business, since any falsification is excluded in it. After all, if a company starts selling tap water under the guise of natural, it will instantly become clear to customers, and it will be impossible to regain their trust. We need a solvent partner who values ​​his reputation. Ideally - an entrepreneur who has taken place in his city, for whom this is not the first business, - says Vasily Zonov.

Having passed the “selection” of businessmen from other cities who want to become partners of the Key of Health company and open a similar network of kiosks with drinking water, Zonov asks to evaluate the following resources:

• own and (or) borrowed finance;
• the opportunity to "resolve the issue" with the city authorities on the allocation of space for kiosks;
• is there really bad water in the city water supply;
• availability of wells with water that meets the highest quality standards.

You need to “enter” this business on a large scale, and you will have to immediately invest a lot. You can't put up one kiosk, then save up money for the second and collect for the third, - says Zonov. - Based on our experience, we recommend starting with at least one kiosk per 15,000 residents. That is, to open such a business, for example, in a city of half a million, 450-500 thousand dollars are needed.

In addition, as practice has shown, it is very difficult to resolve the issue with the city administration. “What to hide, problems with officials are the problems of any business. Therefore, despite the fact that it is social significant project, before signing the contract, we recommend finding out whether the administration of your city will give places for kiosks, ”advises Vasily Zonov.

Each city will have to convince the administration in its own way. Someone will give bribes, for lack of any other way out, and someone will be helped simply by a link to the already mentioned Program "Providing the population of Russia with drinking water" and a detailed explanation social significance project. After all, everyone understands that in the near future, safe purification of tap water by ozonation or UV irradiation will not be used in our country. Stainless pipes will be needed, and this will require a complete replacement of plumbing communications, which, obviously, is far from the “near future”. Now, in most Russian settlements, the barbaric technology of chlorination is used, which in this form has long died all over the world, because chlorinated water provokes a high incidence, including cancer. Having explained all these problems in a letter to the head of administration, Vasily Zonov, for example, found the support of the authorities. In addition, a free advertising campaign for the "Key of Health" was organized.

This business necessarily involves massive advertising in all media, which should precede the appearance of kiosks in the city. People need to be accustomed to the new, to what they have never had. The essence of all materials in the media should come down to one thing - finally, thank you, Lord, there will be an alternative to the city water supply, the quality of water in which is not amenable to any criticism. And the water in the tap really smells like chlorine, has an unpleasant taste, color or smell. Or all together. Water analyzes made by SES also leave much to be desired. In general, poor water quality should be a well-known urban fact that no longer needs to be proven, but which just needs to be talked about. The purpose of an advertising campaign is to generate demand. People must be sure that the water in the water supply is bad, and the water in the kiosks is good and controlled by the SES, Zonov says.

Next are the wells. Drilling and equipping one well can cost much more than a million rubles and will require a lot of time for bureaucratic procedures associated with its registration and launch. And it’s impossible to “drill out” good water right away. But drilling your own well is not at all necessary, since you can find an acceptable one in the vicinity of almost any city. You need to start searching with the Hydrogeological Committee and SES, which are also in every city. There you should request data on all wells within a radius of approximately 30 kilometers from the city center. Further it becomes less profitable to carry water. From the wells found, it is necessary to choose one or two, with the best water that is in this area, and ideally - the highest category of drinking quality. According to the documents, it must comply with SanPiN 2.1.4.1116-02 “Drinking water. Hygiene requirements to the quality of water packaged in containers. Quality control". If there is not a single well with such water, then there will certainly be one that can be cleaned to the required parameters. True, it must be remembered that filtration increases the cost of water, and the certificate will not contain the word “natural”.

Having found a suitable well (and hydrogeologists and SES should help here), it is necessary to buy it out or conclude a lease agreement. In fact, outside the city, many wells are generally closed or supply water to a couple of houses or some kind of pigsty. The owners are happy to sell them or rent them out, provided that the tenant takes care of all the trouble to provide water to that very pigsty. In general, there are usually no problems with the well. For example, within a radius of 30 km from the city of Kirov, there were more than 2,000 wells. Of these, four were selected with the best natural water that does not require any purification. And out of these four, one was chosen, taking into account other considerations and requirements. Not the last role was played by the beauty and environmental friendliness of the area.

Why am I a water carrier
For those who have carried out such an assessment of all the resources in their city and received positive answers on all points, the entrepreneur Zonov offers to buy a kind of "franchise in Russian." This is a package of documents that contains a scheme of work, recommendations, computer programs, forms of necessary documents and advertising materials. The cost of the package is $35 per thousand of the city's population, but not less than $10,000.

We continue to closely cooperate with partners, participate in the launch of the project, train specialists, provide both consulting and practical assistance, - says Zonov. - Our specialists can go to that city to solve any problems that have arisen. In general, we support as much as necessary. As for geographic policy, the principle is as follows: one city - one partner.

For those who do not want to buy "paper", Vasily Zonov offers to simply purchase branded kiosks (which are also bought by full-fledged franchisees) at a price of 163 to 175 thousand rubles, depending on the volume of the order.

So far, there were no people willing to forge kiosks, since they are patented, - says Zonov. - The patent is quite wide, it covers almost any kiosk, regardless of color and shape, in which there is a water tank on top and a place for a kiosk on the bottom. Find someone who will make it cheaper for you - for God's sake! But in the manufacture of the kiosk, a lot of food-grade stainless steel is used, and it is expensive. In addition, we have a streamlined and optimized production. The kiosks are “run in”, everything is provided and taken into account in them. Even prefabricated foundation formwork with porch and railing is supplied, as well as accessories for mounting a kiosk. Therefore, it is almost impossible to find someone who will make a similar kiosk cheaper.

Despite the fact that Key of Health has been selling water for more than three years, sales volumes are still growing every month. Nothing surprising. Man is 80% water. And many no longer care, from which, in fact ...

"Water" business in detail

• Main advantages. The project can be presented as a social project within the framework of the Federal program "Providing the population of Russia with drinking water", which makes it possible to support (perhaps even financially) from the city administration.
• Investments. About 450-500 thousand dollars to open a business in a city of half a million.
• Format. A network of branded kiosks of the same type at the rate of at least one kiosk per 15 thousand inhabitants at the start of the project, up to one kiosk per 3.5 thousand inhabitants when the market is saturated.
• Payback period. Very short (8–13 months).
• Certificates and licenses. It is necessary to be ready to interact with the Gorsanepidnadzor, which will regularly check both the quality of water and the entire chain of its delivery from the well to the consumer. For water from a well, you need to obtain a certificate from the State Standard of Russia.
• audience and prices. The entire population of the city, including old people and babies, the poor and the rich. The cost of one liter of water is 1–1.5 rubles, an empty plastic bottle with a capacity of five liters is 15 rubles.
• Promotion tools. A powerful advertising campaign in all city media, anticipating the appearance of kiosks, "literacy" leaflets and brochures issued by the kiosk to all customers.
• Staff. The ideal kiosk is a benevolent cheerful pensioner, a former doctor or teacher.
• Competition. Practically absent. Bottled water does not compare with bottled water prices and has a slightly different market.