At a convention earlier this year, I sat in on a meeting
with water treatment dealers where they expressed interest in bottled water. As
it turned out, approximately 70 to 75 percent of the dealers in the meeting
were either dealing with bottled water or considering getting into the bottled
water business. Although it might have surprised many people, I think that it
is a perfect fit. After all, we are all looking to sell the highest-quality
water that we can whether it is via a point-of-use system or bottled water.

This year WQP decided to dive into the bottled water market
and explore what some of the latest trends and standards are. What drives the
bottled water industry? Who is its target market? Why has it continually seen such
growth year after year? How have the beverage giants affected the marketplace?
And what role does IBWA play in all of this?

One of bottled waters biggest trends--enhanced
waters--is discussed on page 24. Enhancements such as flavors, vitamins,
oxygen and more are added to bottled water to help promote bottled water sales
among younger generations. Read about what companies are offering and the state
of the enhanced water market. Even the IBWA will have a special bottled water
pavilion at its trade show that will feature enhanced products in order for
attendees to see where the latest trends lie. (We will update this in future
issues, so feel free to let us know if we missed a segment.)

On page 20, you will find the show guide for the IBWA
conference and trade show complete with exhibitor list, conference and trade
show schedule and products you will see. Also on page 27, WQP spoke with IBWA
to find out what has been happening this year, plans for the future and to get
an overview of the bottled water market. Come and see WQP at booth 538 at IBWA,
and let us know what we can do for you.

In organizing your route deliveries, personal digital
assistants have become most popular among bottled water and water treatment
dealers. Learn how they can save you time and money by arming your service
technicians and route delivery people with these hand-held devices in the
field. On page 8, Lorraine Keating of Prism Visual Software shares ideas on
automating your routing routines and getting rid of the paperwork stacks.

Lastly, the article on page 16 gives dealers the information
they need to know about bottled water testing and labels and how you can
explain what they mean to your customers.

Hope to see you in Phoenix!
 

Wendi Hope King

wqpeditor@sgcmail.com

www.waterinfocenter.com