Primo Water introduces biodegradable bottle

By Richard Craver
Media General News Service
Published: April 10, 2008

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Primo Water Corp. is going green in its bid to make a splash in the competitive U.S. bottled-water market.
The Winston-Salem company is offering a biodegradable water bottle that uses plant material for its plastic.
It also this week launched its first national retail distribution of packs of its single-serve water bottles with Kroger Co.
Traditional water bottles are made from crude oil, a non-renewable resource. In the past two years, water bottles made primarily from corn have been introduced, but they have had mixed results in the marketplace, according to Arthur von Wiesenberger, the founder of the Web site BottledWaterWeb.
Primo said its new bottle is different because it is made from plastic derived from plants that is known by polylactide or PLA, and the trademark Ingeo.
“Consumers have told us they feel good twice,“ said Dave Burke, the president and chief operating officer of Primo To Go. “Once for promoting their own health by drinking more water and avoiding sugar, and twice, for helping to preserve the precious and depleting resources of our planet.“
Billy Prim, the president of Primo Water, said his company’s biodegradable water bottles are as durable as other water bottles.
“But our bottles can be put into a commercial compost facility and biodegrade in 45 days,“ Prim said. “They certainly can be recycled and they also can be incinerated without harm to the environment. The possible savings from lowering the annual consumption of crude oil to make water bottles is immense.“
Primo already has a national retail contract with Lowe’s home-improvement stores for its 3- and 5-gallon bottles for home and office water coolers, as well as regional contracts that include Food Lion and Harris Teeter.
Primo will sell the 16.9-ounce bottles in packs of 18, at a suggested retail price of $4.99, in more than 2,300 Kroger stores in 40 states. It already has been selling the packs in test markets with Lowes Foods in North Carolina and two other chains. There are no plans to distribute in convenience stores.
Primo faces a major challenge in establishing its single-serve bottled water against established competition, von Wiesenberger said.
Aquafina, a Pepsi brand, is the eighth largest liquid-refreshment brand in the United States, and Dasani, a Coke brand, is ninth, according to the International Bottled Water Association.
However, there is room for new entrants considering wholesale dollar sales for bottled water were $11.7 billion in 2007, up nearly 8 percent from 2006. The association also said that the per-capita consumption of bottled water was 29.3 gallons in 2007, an increase of nearly 2 gallons from 2006.
“Primo is going in a good direction with promoting the environmentally friendly bottle,“ von Wiesenberger said. “But they need more than just a bottle to succeed, foremost being expanded distribution to get on the same shelves with the big companies. Kroger is a good start on that effort.
“Being in convenience stores is expensive to get established, but it’s great for consumers to comparison shop. For more consumers on the go, bottled water is a commodity rather than brand.“
Michelle Roehm, an associate marketing professor at Wake Forest University, said that Primo needs something like the biodegradable water bottle to stand out among larger rivals.
“The bottled-water category is nearing maturity, so the key for Primo is giving consumers a reason to switch brands,“ Roehm said.
“Studies have shown that 85 percent of Americans are interested in green products, so Primo’s product is an easy, accessible way for them to participate,“ she said. “If Primo can get the word out very clearly of the nature of their bottles and get credit among consumers for the innovation, it will help establish their brand to consumers.“
The biodegradable water bottle is just the last green initiative for Primo Water.
The 3- and 5-gallon bottles can be exchanged for full ones at Primo Water displays, with the company reusing or recycling the empty bottles it collects. The newest bottles have received an Energy Star rating for being environmentally friendly.