MARINA DEL REY, CALIF.—According to a recent BCC Research report, last year the bottled water market reached over $117 billion and is predicted to grow to $195.4 billion globally in the next five years. While the market continues to surge, trends are simultaneously shifting. Consumers are no longer just looking for healthy, premium bottled water. They also care about the environment and are turning to companies with more sustainable initiatives. To meet this growing demand, entrepreneur Ryan Emmons has founded Waiakea Inc., the world’s first premium water of its kind to adapt a platform of healthy, sustainable, ethical and charitable attributes and initiatives.
Born and raised in California while spending winters and summers with his family in Hawai’i, Emmons, 24, gained an appreciation for the natural beauty and active lifestyle these unique places offer. This appreciation, combined with his long-standing charity efforts in Africa and the discovery that his Hawaiian family had access to one of the world’s most naturally healthy, pure and sustainable water sources were the foundations on which Emmons would later build Waiakea, Inc.
The vision of Waiakea evolved while Emmons researched the bottled water industry at the Marshal School of Business at USC. Emmons realized that there were very few companies adapting to growing consumer trends such as health, social responsibility and sustainability. With these trends and the premium water market niche in mind, Emmons began developing his concept for Waiakea.
“We really want to transform the bottled water industry, beverage industry, and to a degree the consumer products industry overall by showing that even though being environmentally friendly and charitable costs quite a bit more, it still can breed success,” said Emmons.
Three Years of Research Behind Company
Midway through the 2008-2009 school year, Emmons met co-founder Matt Meyer, a fellow USC student and Sustainable Policy and Development major. After three years of extensive industry feasibility and market research Emmons and Meyer were confident they had created a truly unique and viable product and in 2011 founded Waiakea Investments, LLC with the intent of bringing to market the world’s only healthy, sustainable and charitable bottled water. In 2012, after graduating early with a B.S. in Business Administration with concentration in Entrepreneurship and Branding, Emmons began running his newly founded Waiakea Inc. full time.
“The concept for Waiakea has been developed and honed over the past several years with great attention to detail,” Emmons says. “I’m extremely proud to see how warmly Waiakea is received by both retailers and consumers. Most importantly, I am proud to give back and contribute significantly to communities around the world that are in need of a quality source of water through our social responsibility programs. The beverage industry as a whole should give back more through socially responsible programs.”
Years of dedication, patience and perseverance have paid off for Emmons. Since introduction to the market Waiakea Hawaiian Volcanic Water is sold in over 900 stores and has received numerous awards for its water and environmentally conscious packaging. In 2012 Waiakea became one of the world’s first bottled waters to be awarded the CarbonNeutral Certificate for its active participation in carbon offset projects and for utilizing low emissions shipping carriers. Other awards include the Berkley Springs International Water Tasting Award, 2014 Bevstar Award, and Zenith International Award. In addition to being as sustainable and low impact as possible, Waiakea has raised thousands of dollars for numerous charities and has partnered with PumpAid.org to bring safe drinking water to people in need throughout the world.
Go to Waiakea.
