An 18-year-old Shady Side Academy entrepreneur will give Pittsburgh it’s first socially conscious sip this summer when GIVE Natural Spring Water hits the shelves in July.
Ben Lewis and several friends hope to establish PurBlu Beverages at the East Liberty Whole Foods and the Cranberry Giant Eagle. Unlike other brands, their water, GIVE, comes in three causes: GIVE Life for children suffering from poverty and malnourishment in the world; GIVE Hope for women suffering from breast cancer; and GIVE Love for the environment.
Ten cents will be collected on each bottle sold and sent to the chosen charity, explains Lewis, who has been working on the business plan and tracking system with the help of several fellow graduates from Shady Side Academy and a cousin from Mars High School. “When you look at the bottled water market, there are 800 brands out there,” Lewis explains. “It’s critical that we set our product apart from all other brands. This makes activism really easy for people. All they have to do is buy the water.”
Lewis came up with the idea two years ago. “How much could it cost?” he mused. “It seemed the margins were ridiculous.” With Jordan Pollock, Jay Royston, and Jesse Rudolph, they formed PurBlu and leased an office, 2,000 square feet on the 8th floor of One Oxford Centre.
“If we were working out of our bedrooms, we wouldn’t be as motivated,” notes Royston, vice president of operations. GIVE Natural Spring Water, bottled at the source in Laurel Run, Pennsylvania, will sell for between $1.30 to $1.40. Plans call for a national rollout by the end of 2007.
By: Deb Smit
Source: Ben Lewis and Tara Rieland, PurBlu Beverages
Photograph copyright © Deb Smit