Chicago Businessman Pitches Caffeinated Water
January 22, 1998 - 0:0
CHICAGO It has no calories, no sugar, no color, no carbonation, no preservatives, and provides all the kick of coffee without any of its bitterness. Since its October 1995 release, Water Joe a blend of Artesian well water and caffeine has become the leading drink of its type in the United States. It is also available in Germany. Now Water Joe's creator, Chicago entrepreneur David Marcheschi, says plans are afoot to expand distribution in Europe. This is my coffee/cola alternative, Marcheschi said.
It won't stain your teeth or clothes. Annual earnings of around $12 million from the sale of some 400,000 bottles could jump to $15 million if things go well in the Old World. The company is negotiating with Gondwana Trade GmbH of Hamburg to do production and distribution and hopes to get in the stores by April. Last month the 31-year-old Marcheschi sold out his 50 percent interest in the firm to pursue other interests.
But he continues to earn royalties on Water Joe. Marcheschi dreamed up the idea as a student at Arizona State University while studying for exams. He needed a boost for all-night cram sessions but hated the taste of coffee and syrupy colas. He earned his degree and returned to the Chicago-area where he had grown up. Unsatisfied as a real estate broker, he kept working on his concept.
By luck, a friend's father owned a beverage company. Working with a chemist there, Marcheschi developed a caffeine-enhanced water product. After several years and a national search for a bottler and distributor, Marcheschi found one in his backyard, Nicolet Forest Bottling, based in South Barrington near Chicago. They agreed to a 50-50 partnership and began test marketing the drink on college campuses in Wisconsin. They decided to roll out the product in the Upper Midwest. Getting shelf space in the cut-throat beverage business was not a problem, Marcheschi said, because Water Joe was a one-of-a- kind drink.
Sales were so-so at first. Then Marcheschi went to the media. His image as the all-American entrepreneur with a bright idea, luck and drive charmed local newspapers. By coincidence, a Chicago-based reporter for the New York Times saw an item in his neighborhood weekly newspaper and did an article. The Times story opened the flood gates of sales, said David Holdener, president of Artesian Investments, the privately owned parent company that bought out Marcheschi. The story focused on the drink's popularity at the sometimes raucous Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), where water was the only drink allowed on the trading floor.
Traders liked the caffeine. Where else but America would this fit in with the traders waving their hands on a crazy busy trading floor? Holdener said. The company is currently test marketing a one-liter version called Big Joe at a convenience store in the CBOT building. (AFP)
It won't stain your teeth or clothes. Annual earnings of around $12 million from the sale of some 400,000 bottles could jump to $15 million if things go well in the Old World. The company is negotiating with Gondwana Trade GmbH of Hamburg to do production and distribution and hopes to get in the stores by April. Last month the 31-year-old Marcheschi sold out his 50 percent interest in the firm to pursue other interests.
But he continues to earn royalties on Water Joe. Marcheschi dreamed up the idea as a student at Arizona State University while studying for exams. He needed a boost for all-night cram sessions but hated the taste of coffee and syrupy colas. He earned his degree and returned to the Chicago-area where he had grown up. Unsatisfied as a real estate broker, he kept working on his concept.
By luck, a friend's father owned a beverage company. Working with a chemist there, Marcheschi developed a caffeine-enhanced water product. After several years and a national search for a bottler and distributor, Marcheschi found one in his backyard, Nicolet Forest Bottling, based in South Barrington near Chicago. They agreed to a 50-50 partnership and began test marketing the drink on college campuses in Wisconsin. They decided to roll out the product in the Upper Midwest. Getting shelf space in the cut-throat beverage business was not a problem, Marcheschi said, because Water Joe was a one-of-a- kind drink.
Sales were so-so at first. Then Marcheschi went to the media. His image as the all-American entrepreneur with a bright idea, luck and drive charmed local newspapers. By coincidence, a Chicago-based reporter for the New York Times saw an item in his neighborhood weekly newspaper and did an article. The Times story opened the flood gates of sales, said David Holdener, president of Artesian Investments, the privately owned parent company that bought out Marcheschi. The story focused on the drink's popularity at the sometimes raucous Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), where water was the only drink allowed on the trading floor.
Traders liked the caffeine. Where else but America would this fit in with the traders waving their hands on a crazy busy trading floor? Holdener said. The company is currently test marketing a one-liter version called Big Joe at a convenience store in the CBOT building. (AFP)