Pure Water Packaging Business includes both Bottled Water and Sachet Water Businesses respectively. Both could be run together, but from my experience, most investors start with the cheaper Sachet Water Packaging option. The difference between these is only in the packaging: one packages with plastic bottles whereas the other packages with polyethylene sachets otherwise referred to as cellophane/nylon bags. If you do not have any knowledge whatsoever about this business, then stick with me here while I give you some useful tutorials. Bottled water have generated so much interest from investors in the past decade, mostly because over the years it has remained a profitable venture. That notwithstanding, before one goes headfirst into the packaged bottled water business, it’s crucial to understand how it works, what is required, the quality processes that go into the production of each bottle of water and the regulatory hurdles of the business.

In this article, I shall introduce you to some basics of this business, but like I usually advise, this is like the ABC of the business, you will still need to get a properly prepared feasibility study/business plan to assess the full potentials and technical requirements of this business. The feasibility study helps you know your investment cost, provides cahflow projections, Profit/Loss Statements, Balance Sheets and other necessary considerations like Manpower requirements, etc. Fortunately, I have this feasibility study, which I have taken the time to prepare over the last three years. You will get the details on how to get it at the end of this page. For now, let's see the basics of the water packaging business.

According to Wikipedia, "Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles." Well, on the other hand, sachet water is water packaged and sold in polythene sachets.


The Water Packaging Business requires the following:

  1. Registration of business with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)
  2. Registration with NAFDAC.
  3. POE Water Treatment Plant/System
  4. Water Bottling System/Plant (strictly for Bottled water)
  5. Water Sateheting Machine (strictly for Sachet water)
  6. Good Water Source
  7. Consumables (Chemical additives, Nylon sachets, PET bottles, Pilfer-proof caps, P.E Films, PVC wrapping sheets, etc.)
  8. Marketing/Distribution logistics
  9. 7.5 - 30 KVA Generating set
  10. Trucks and Buses.
  11. Factory Building : NAFDAC recommends that the factory must not be residential nor share compound with residential ones. Floor of production room and store must be tiled; pallets must be on the floor of the store.

Water Sources
NAFDAC requires the use any one of two approved water sources for bottled water:

Water Treatment and Purification
Your water source will be inspected, tested and certified to be of sanitary quality and free from surface water influence. This test is carried out by a NAFDAC-approved laboratory or by NAFDAC. Furthermore, both groundwater and public waters may use filtration or ozonation, softening and deionization, or a combination of these processes, to additionally purify and further enhance the quality of the water. The recommended treatment will depend on water test values from the laboratory.

Mineral Injection
Minerals (like calcium, fluoride and magnesium) are found naturally in water but the the treatment process involved during production of bottled water may remove them. As a result, the next step in water bottling is mineral injection. Mineral injection restores certain minerals to the purified water.

Water Treatment/Packaging Plant
The Water Plant can be set up at any part of the country. The plant consists of Point-of-Entry (POE) Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and the Water Packaging Machines (which includes Sachet Water Packaging Machine and Bottle Water Line).

Water Treatment Plant
The water treatment plant will be a combination of all the required processes and evolving technologies, specially configured to meet specific treatment requirements based on the result of pre-treatment comprehensive laboratory analysis of the borehole raw water.

The bottle water line is an integrated water bottling system that wash, fill, cap and convey the bottles thereby greatly safeguarding against possible contamination, especially between the various stages of product production. Enhanced cleanliness is provided by reduced air contamination and preventing the need for product handling during the production process.

Also, buying the complete, integrated water bottling plant from a single source ensures equipment compatibility, as opposed to sourcing from various part dealers. Using units manufactured by more than one company may cause operational problems.

Bottling process
A Bottled Water Company needs a complete bottling plant capable of handling the full scope of production required to address water treatment, storage, disinfecting, filling, water testing and label printing for bottled water.

The Configurations for such integrated systems range from under 2000 bottles per hour (BPH) to around 8,000 BPH.

The following steps outline a typical bottling system from bottle washing to filling and packing:

  1. Bottle washing
    This stage is especially necessary for 3-, 5-, and 6-gallon bottles. Dirty bottles are loaded into the washer in a horizontal position either manually or automatically, depending on the model of the bottling plant. The washing process incorporates several stages. Some stages may have only one station and others may have many consecutive stations.
    Once the dirty empty bottles are loaded onto the washer, the bottles automatically move to the successive pre-wash, wash, sanitize and rinse stages. The bottles automatically stop at each stage for a predetermined amount of dwell time. The Pre-wash stage consists of one dwell stop that will pre-wash the inside and outside of the bottles with high pressure water. The Wash stage consists of a number of dwell stops that will wash the inside and outside of the bottles with a heated wash detergent solution. Alternatively, caustic, non-caustic or silicate-based solution may be used. After washing, water is allowed to drip from the bottles.
  2. Sanitizing
    Sanitizing stage is then applied to washes the bottles with a sanitizer solution (which may be either chlorinated, hyperozonated water or any other approved commercial sanitizer). This is done to remove any remaining wash solution and to sanitize and sterilize the bottles. Another drip stage follows, after which fresh water or product water is sprayed inside and outside of the bottles to remove all residual sanitizer solution so that the bottle area is completely clean and ready for filling. Then comes one more drip stage.
  3. Filling
    Just as the bottles exit the washer, they are moved to their upright position under the fill nozzles inside the Filler. The clean, sterilized bottles are never exposed to possible airborne contaminants outside the washer. The filler will then automatically fill the clean bottles in as little as several seconds.
  4. Capping
    Once filled, the bottles proceed through the filler by conveyor to the capper. All caps are sterilized by an ozonated water spray to prevent contamination. Once the full, clean, capped bottles exit the machine, they accumulate onto a conveyor for the final steps.
  5. Coding and labeling
    Coding is used on bottles to provide a record of production dates and lot numbers, assisting bottlers, distributors and retailers in product tracking and inventory control. NAFDAC labeling standards use uniform terms to describe the bottle’s contents. The Label Definitions may include drinking water, artesian water, groundwater, distilled water, deionized water, mineral water, purified water, sparkling bottled water, spring water, sterile water and well water depending on the applicable one.
  6. Wrapping
    The labelled bottled water are then packaged in groups of 6, 12 or 24 as desired and are stored ready for distribution.

I believe that by now you have got a clearer view of what's involved in the water packaging business, but like I stated earlier, I have prepared the following documents to help with planning the setup of your water company:

Water Business Startup Kit

To order for the Water Startup Kit, please print or copy out the following bank details:


Price: N 10,000 (Ten Thousand Naira 0nly)

Bank: Guaranty Trust Bank
Account Name: Chinyeaka John Onam
Account Number: 00 2238 1032


Price: $150 (Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars 0nly)
The instruction for payment is as follows: make funds transfer through the USD accounts below

ABA NO: 021 000 089
Account Number: 314 227541 210
Swift Code: GTBNGLA
Transfer Instruction: Payment for Business Consultancy

You can call call JOHN on 0807 899 9965, 0809 633 9911, 0706 318 9585 if you require additional information.