Young Grand Rapids entrepreneurs launch eco-friendly alternative to bottled water

By: Deborah Johnson Wood

Boxed Water Is Better.

That’s not just the name of a new Grand Rapids company, it’s the company owners’ inspiration to create an eco-friendly alternative to bottled water.

Eleven months ago, Ben Gott and Kevin Hockin, twenty-something entrepreneurs at 25 Ionia SW, started to explore the possibility of creating a bottled water that wouldn’t add more plastic bottles to landfills; a bottled water that would be as eco-friendly as it could be. Two weeks ago the first Boxed Water shipped to local stores.

“We looked at the old milk cartons and found inspiration in the classic shape of them,” Gott says. “One of the first visions we had was that we were going to create a cool sustainable product that can be shipped flat to the filler. And we wanted to do something really iconic with the design so it stands out on the shelf.”

The cartons ship to Minneapolis where they’re filled on-demand with filtered water. That’s a scenario similar to most bottled water companies. The difference is that Boxed Water cartons are shipped flat. Two pallets of flat containers take up just five percent of a truckload, Gott says. For competitors to ship the same number of plastic bottles it takes five trucks.

Unlike plastic water bottles, the cartons can be reused, composted or recycled. And the paper pulp to make them comes from Forest Stewardship Council-certified forests.

“We consider this an art project, a sustainability project, and an R & D project,” says Hockin. “We plan to always be growing and changing to become better and better.”

“This is a step in the right direction,” Gott adds. “The carton can be refilled and reused, even though it won’t last as long as a plastic bottle. But that’s the whole point.”

Local stores carrying Boxed Water include Health Hutt, Grand Central Market and The Sparrows Coffee Tea & Newstand.

Source: Ben Gott and Kevin Hockin, Boxed Water Is Better

Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].