Liquid Marketing

Bottles with customized labels are handed out at banks, churches and law offices, and sold at schools and retailers throughout the Ozarks.

“It’s really a growing trend,” said bottler Dave Clem. “In the next five years, it’s going to be huge.”

Clem is regional vice president for Omaha, Neb.-based Amcon Distributing Co., which fills water bottles and slaps custom labels on them at its Springfield plant for distributors such as Culligan of Springfield and Arethusa Bottled Water LLC.

“It’s just a great marketing piece,” said Culligan franchisee Steve Edney. “The whole country is more concerned about the quality of their drinking water, so you see everybody carrying around a bottle with them.”

Rapid Robert’s, Mitchum Jewelry Co., Reliable Imports and attorney Dee Wampler all either sell or give out bottled water with custom labels.

“It makes the clients, to some extent, feel special when you have the personalized water,” said Wampler, who three months ago bought 50 cases of bottles emblazoned with “Law Offices of Dee Wampler” in white letters on a maroon background.

Culligan’s Edney said giving out water creates goodwill with customers, who will use bottles more than once before pitching them.

“This has intrinsic value right from the start,” Edney said.

Quiet giant in Nixa

While Amcon Distributing bottles water for 50 groups through area distributors such as Culligan, Springfield-based Chesapeake Valley Water Co. bottles its own water for about 50 clients.

Amcon and Chesapeake Valley buy customized labels from Nixa-based Ample Industries Inc., which designs and produces labels for food, manufacturing and retail operations across the country.

Ample Industries sales representative Josh Elsenraat said his outfit works with 15 bottlers nationally to manufacture customized labels for more than 1,000 businesses and groups.

“We do a ton of business in that industry,” said Elsenraat, who wouldn’t disclose revenues.

Elsenraat said the trend emerged about five years ago. During the last three years, Amcon Distributing Plant Manager Patrick McVay said demand for customized water bottles through his plant has increased more than 50 percent. The Springfield plant produced 800,000 private-label bottles this year and has the capacity to double that number, according to McVay.

Fountain of revenue

Rapid Robert’s convenience stores owner Rob Wilson said his store-brand bottles sell better than national brands Dasani by Coca-Cola and Aquafina by Pepsi.

Customized bottles are also cheaper because they’re bought wholesale, said Chesapeake Valley Water Co.’s Higgs.

Businesses must order at least 1,440 bottles – one pallet – through Amcon, but they may pay only 35 cents per bottle, depending on size, label complexity and cap configuration.

Bottles are often sold for $1 or more at retailers, fund-raisers or school sporting events.