How can I tell if a small bottled water business is profitable before I buy it?

A bottler fills and packs water in volume, so its earnings depend on how well the line runs and who buys the output. That is different from a refill store, where customers bring their own jugs and pay at the counter. This page covers the bottler. Ask the seller for several years of statements, with sales and costs split out line by line.

Where the sales come from

Ask for sales by channel. Water sold under the owner’s brand, private label water made for another company and home or office delivery each behave differently. Private label work can vanish if the other company moves production. Delivery customers tend to stay but cost more to serve. Ask which channel carries the most profit and what would happen to it if you changed ownership.

Customer concentration

If a few grocers or distributors buy most of the water, the loss of one could change the whole picture. Ask for a list of customers by size, how long each has bought and whether any have supply contracts. Then ask whether those buyers would keep buying after a sale. With the seller’s agreement, ask the largest ones how long they have bought and whether they plan to continue.

Packaging, uptime and freight

Bottles, caps, labels and cartons are bought in bulk and their prices swing with resin and supply conditions. Look at how costs moved across the years and whether the seller passed them on to customers. Ask for line downtime records and spoilage logs. Check what freight costs and who pays it. A line that stops often turns good sales into thin earnings.

The water store profitability page covers refills, jug deposits and counter sales.