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Business 11th Edition by William Pride,Robert Hughes ,Jack Kapoor
Edition 11ISBN: 978-1111526207Business 11th Edition by William Pride,Robert Hughes ,Jack Kapoor
Edition 11ISBN: 978-1111526207 Exercise 3
Belu Water Aims to Change the World
Reed Paget was a journalist and documentary filmmaker when, in 2001, he covered the launch of the United Nations Global Compact. Paget was deeply impressed by this environmental initiative's call to "use capitalism to change the world." What better mechanism is there for change, he thought, than business, with its wide financial and entrepreneurial resources and its risk-taking mind-set?
Although he had no business experience, Paget was determined to start a company in the United Kingdom that would be both socially responsible and environmentally friendly. When he learned that a quarter of the world's people have no access to clean water, he decided to create a bottled water company, both to alert the public to the global water crisis and to show that bottled water could be manufactured and marketed in an environmentally sustainable way. Finally, Paget determined that all his company's profits would be donated to clean-water projects.
With start-up funding from the Idyll Foundation, a team of friends, and a stack of business how-to books, Paget sat down to develop a brand name, find a bottle design, work out a manufacturing deal, and find customers. Coming up with a name that was not already trademarked was a challenge, but the team settled on "Belu" (pronounced "belloo") to evoke the color of water and the idea of beauty. A deal with an upscale designer yielded an affordable glass bottle design. After taste-test visits to more than 70 sources of water around the United Kingdom, Paget selected Wenlock Water, a supplier of natural mineral water located in the Shropshire hills. Not only was the water great; it was more ecologically friendly for a U.K, company than bottling and shipping water from springs in the mountains of France, which is what competitor Evian does.
A marketing firm helped Belu land its first customer, the Waitrose supermarket chain. With additional funding to pay for the initial run of glass bottles, Belu delivered its first order in May 2004. Soon the company put up a Web site, obtained further funding, and secured distribution through Tesco, the leading U.K. supermarket chain. Sales increased as Belu, positioned as the first bottled water that does not contribute to climate change, began to prove its appeal to consumers.
Another breakthrough came when the company found a manufacturer to produce corn-based bottles for its water. The bottles are completely stable on store shelves but biodegrade back to soil in just eight weeks, under the right conditions of heat and humidity and with a little help from microorganisms. Although this compostable bottle is more costly than traditional plastic or glass bottles, the use of eco-friendly packaging is important to Belu and its customers.
Bottled water is a multibillion-dollar industry worldwide, with huge profit potential. Still, Belu faces intense competition from a number of multinational giants as well as from firms that serve local areas. One major rival is Nestle, which owns such water brands as Perrier, Pellegrino, and Nestlé Pure Life™. Another is Group Danone, which owns Evian and Volvic, among other brands. Belu must also consider competition from tap water and from beverages such as soft drinks and juices, which can be substituted for bottled water.
Thanks to its positioning on the basis of social responsibility and sustainability, Belu Water™ now reaches more than 500,000 consumers each month. Through a charity called WaterAid, the company has brought clean water, wells, and hand pumps to more than 20,000 people in India and Mali, with expectations of helping at least ten times this number in the coming years. It uses clean electricity, offsets its remaining carbon emissions, and has won numerous awards, including Social Enterprise of the Year and Social Entrepreneur of the Year (in partnership with Schwab Foundation). Backed by smart marketing, Belu will keep growing sales and generating more profits to help more people in the future. 18
For more information about this organization, go to http://www.belu.org.
Do you agree with Reed Paget that business is ideally suited to "change the world"? Explain your answer.
Reed Paget was a journalist and documentary filmmaker when, in 2001, he covered the launch of the United Nations Global Compact. Paget was deeply impressed by this environmental initiative's call to "use capitalism to change the world." What better mechanism is there for change, he thought, than business, with its wide financial and entrepreneurial resources and its risk-taking mind-set?
Although he had no business experience, Paget was determined to start a company in the United Kingdom that would be both socially responsible and environmentally friendly. When he learned that a quarter of the world's people have no access to clean water, he decided to create a bottled water company, both to alert the public to the global water crisis and to show that bottled water could be manufactured and marketed in an environmentally sustainable way. Finally, Paget determined that all his company's profits would be donated to clean-water projects.
With start-up funding from the Idyll Foundation, a team of friends, and a stack of business how-to books, Paget sat down to develop a brand name, find a bottle design, work out a manufacturing deal, and find customers. Coming up with a name that was not already trademarked was a challenge, but the team settled on "Belu" (pronounced "belloo") to evoke the color of water and the idea of beauty. A deal with an upscale designer yielded an affordable glass bottle design. After taste-test visits to more than 70 sources of water around the United Kingdom, Paget selected Wenlock Water, a supplier of natural mineral water located in the Shropshire hills. Not only was the water great; it was more ecologically friendly for a U.K, company than bottling and shipping water from springs in the mountains of France, which is what competitor Evian does.
A marketing firm helped Belu land its first customer, the Waitrose supermarket chain. With additional funding to pay for the initial run of glass bottles, Belu delivered its first order in May 2004. Soon the company put up a Web site, obtained further funding, and secured distribution through Tesco, the leading U.K. supermarket chain. Sales increased as Belu, positioned as the first bottled water that does not contribute to climate change, began to prove its appeal to consumers.
Another breakthrough came when the company found a manufacturer to produce corn-based bottles for its water. The bottles are completely stable on store shelves but biodegrade back to soil in just eight weeks, under the right conditions of heat and humidity and with a little help from microorganisms. Although this compostable bottle is more costly than traditional plastic or glass bottles, the use of eco-friendly packaging is important to Belu and its customers.
Bottled water is a multibillion-dollar industry worldwide, with huge profit potential. Still, Belu faces intense competition from a number of multinational giants as well as from firms that serve local areas. One major rival is Nestle, which owns such water brands as Perrier, Pellegrino, and Nestlé Pure Life™. Another is Group Danone, which owns Evian and Volvic, among other brands. Belu must also consider competition from tap water and from beverages such as soft drinks and juices, which can be substituted for bottled water.
Thanks to its positioning on the basis of social responsibility and sustainability, Belu Water™ now reaches more than 500,000 consumers each month. Through a charity called WaterAid, the company has brought clean water, wells, and hand pumps to more than 20,000 people in India and Mali, with expectations of helping at least ten times this number in the coming years. It uses clean electricity, offsets its remaining carbon emissions, and has won numerous awards, including Social Enterprise of the Year and Social Entrepreneur of the Year (in partnership with Schwab Foundation). Backed by smart marketing, Belu will keep growing sales and generating more profits to help more people in the future. 18
For more information about this organization, go to http://www.belu.org.
Do you agree with Reed Paget that business is ideally suited to "change the world"? Explain your answer.
Explanation
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Yes, because through business there is p...
Business 11th Edition by William Pride,Robert Hughes ,Jack Kapoor
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