A Look Inside: Walnut Grove Spring Water

Walnut Grove Spring Water created a buzz at the 2007 Emmy Awards when stars like Leeza Gibbons, Paula Abdul, Bradley Whitford, and Lorraine Bracco expressed an overwhelming interest in the product. Why? The remarkably pure taste, the incredibly light mouth-feel of the natural spring water, and the environmental benefits of glass packaging.

To get the inside scoop, GPI talked with Ryan Bass, EVP & Chief Marketing Officer for the Indiana-based Walnut Grove Spring Water Company.

GPI: Walnut Grove Spring Water was featured at the 2007 Emmys as part of the celebrity gift bag. What was the celebrity response?

Bass: It was amazing! 90% of the celebrities that attended the gift bag suite stopped at our table and signed up to receive our offer of one case per month for the next six months. They were thrilled with the quality of our natural spring water, the glass packaging, and the unique swingtop closure.

GPI: How has that exposure helped your brand?

Bass: There's a real fear among discerning consumers about plastic packaging compromising the quality of the water it contains, and our product overall was a big hit. We have already received several inquiries from several of the celebrities asking how to purchase our product on a regular basis. When you have a quality product and a compelling brand, people want to know about it, and are likely to tell others about it. We are fortunate that our product has this key attribute.

GPI: What's the general consumer response to the glass package?

Bass: In a word … PHENOMENAL! Our bottle is 100% recyclable, preserves the true essence of our premium natural spring water much better than plastic, and has been a real hit with our target consumer. People have also commented on the reusability of our package. Some consumers choose to reuse the package for everything from a decorative vase for flowers to an easily transportable single serving of margaritas for neighborhood parties. While we don't necessarily want people to put any other water in our bottles, we think the ability for the consumer to either recycle or reuse the bottle is great, and contributes to less waste overall.

GPI: What was the process for creating this glass package design? How did it come about?

Bass: Actually, our package is a new version of something old. The swingtop closure is one of the oldest types of closures for any glass package. We were influenced by the design of the Pluto Spring Water glass swingtop bottles manufactured in the early 1900's in nearby French Lick, Indiana.

GPI: Why did you choose glass over plastic or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging?

Bass: Again, primarily due to the fact that glass preserves the true essence of our premium natural spring water much better than plastic and due to the greater recyclability of glass. Plus, our product was created with a very defined market niche in mind—Fine Dining Establishments, Luxury Hotels, Gourmet Retailers, and Wineries—so we chose to package our premium natural spring water in a premium package.

GPI: How has choosing glass packaging contributed to the success of your brand?

Bass:Connoisseur customers demand a premium product. Walnut Grove Spring Water is literally about as good as water gets. We refuse to let its neutral pH, remarkably pure taste, and light mouth-feel be compromised by its packaging. From simply my own consumer perspective, PET packaging does interfere with those aspects.

GPI: Has using glass packaging helped position your product as pure or natural?

Bass: You'd probably need to do some effective consumer research to answer that question definitively, but we hope it does, as it contributes to a "perfectly portable habitat" for Walnut Grove Spring Water in its natural form, unaffected by its packaging.

GPI: How important is sustainable packaging to your product marketing?

Bass: Sustainability is a top priority for our company overall. From the drastically improved recyclability of our glass bottle, to the machinery in our facility, and even to the reductions of oil used in both the packaging and transportation of our product, it is key to our organization. Our company motto is actually a quote by Gandhi: "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." The change we make is even a key measure of our success.

GPI: Where is Walnut Grove Spring Water currently distributed?

Bass: Walnut Grove Spring Water is available currently at 50+ fine dining establishments, gourmet/natural retailers, and wineries in Indiana, along with a couple other establishments in Dallas, TX, and Chicago, IL. We are pleased to announce that we have just signed our first two distribution agreements that will allow our product to expand to the entire upper Midwest in both the foodservice and retail channels. We are also in the process of obtaining further distribution agreements in the US and internationally. We keep close track of where our product is sold, and consumers can check anytime at www.walnutgrovespring.com/retailers.

GPI: Are you planning to expand your spring water line? If so, will glass continue to be your packaging of choice?

Bass: YES. Glass packaging will always be our first choice in packaging Walnut Grove Spring Water. We do plan to release a larger size Glass Swingtop Bottle in the near future, primarily in response to the request of the Foodservice Channel, and may entertain ways to create a sparkling water in the future, if it can be accomplished without compromising the integrity of our natural spring water.

Partners Launch Website for Bar & Restaurant Recycling in NC

A new web site featuring resources and promotional materials to help North Carolina bar and restaurant owners start recycling went live this month.
The Partnership for Bar & Restaurant Recycling web site, www.partnership4recycling.org, launches in advance of the a state bill requiring holders of certain Alcoholic Beverage Control permits to recycle all beverage containers (glass, cans, and plastic) effective January 1, 2008.

The web site features "how to," best practices, model programs, collection resources, signage, and ads. Partners in this promotional effort are Land-of-Sky Regional Council, NC Division of Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance, U.S. EPA, and the Glass Packaging Institute

PACKAGING TRENDS

Flint Bottles Dominate For High-End Liquor

Vitro President John Shaddox and Thomas Koy, O-I Director of Specialties, Sales and Marketing sat down with Package Design to talk about packaging trends for high-end liquor. Koy says super flint bottles continue to be used for ultra-premium brands. Also, expect paper labels to be prevalent in top-end liquors, although screen printed labels are focusing on new consumers in "trendy" brands. And vodka remains a "key driver". Read the full interview

LEGISLATION

Pennsylvania House Legislator Introduces Bottle Bill

Pennsylvania State Rep. Lisa Bennington (D) has introduced bottle deposit legislation identical to a Senate bill recently introduced by Sen. John Rafferty (R). Both bills would require that beginning Jan 1, 2008, a "returnable beverage distributor" (defined as state based manufacturers, as well as beverage distributors) pay a 5-cent assessment on each container manufactured or imported into the state on a monthly basis. Glass, aluminum, plastic and other packaging materials would be subject to this law, but aseptic packaging is exempt.

Dealers or redemption center operators would receive 2-cents from the PA Department of Environmental Protection for each returnable beverage container that is not returned. The Department may also choose to pay based on the average weight of the container type not returned. 75% of unclaimed deposits will be transferred on a monthly basis from the "Returnable Container Beverage Fund" to the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund.

GLASS RECYCLING

Grants for Recycling Bins

The National Recycling Coalition and Coca-Cola have established a recycling bin grant program. Grant recipients receive beverage container collection bins plus guidance on how to set up a recycling program. Eligible grant activities include establishing programs at schools, recreational venues, and business/commercial locations. Act fast. The application deadline is October 26. Learn more

Boulder, CO Single Stream Facility to Have Optical Sorting

Starting next spring, Boulder County residents will switch from source separated recycling collection to single stream, or all recyclables in one bin. This is a result of a $5.5 million expansion to the county's six-year-old facility. The plant will eventually sort through about 75,000 tons annually. In addition, the county is spending $1 million on an optical scanning system designed to remove contaminants from recycled glass bottles. The goal is to recover upward of 90% of all the glass that is brought into the facility according to Eric Lombardi, EcoCycle's executive director. Read more

This initiative is part of a wave of single-stream collection across the state. Denver, CO recently switched to single-stream curbside collection, with glass from that system going to Rocky Mountain Bottle Co. In addition, Alpine Waste & Recycling Inc. has announced the opening of a $5.5 million recycling plant capable of handling 10,000 tons of single-stream recyclables a month in Commerce City, just outside of Denver. Recycled glass containers from that facility will also go to RMBC.

Bar/Restaurant Recycling Grows in Key States

Bar and restaurant glass bottle recycling programs have taken off in several states. Check out what's happening:

Tell us about your bar/restaurant recycling program

California

San Luis Obispo County IWMA, in partnership with Paso Robles Waste Disposal and San Miguel Garbage, has placed commercial recycling collection containers at 65 locations, with an additional 60 scheduled for delivery in the next month. In September, the first full month of collection, 84,000 containers and over 28,000 pounds of glass were recovered. This increase is on top of the existing service to over 100 bars and restaurants.

The Glass Packaging Institute, through a grant from the CA Dept. of Conservation, provided containers and a collection truck to help expand the program. "We're mostly approaching unserved areas, or outlying areas, so that is where we are getting most of the expansion," says Peter Cron at the SLO County IWMA. "Customer acceptance of the program has been excellent." New customers include bars, restaurants, breweries, and wineries.

Colorado

In Fort Collins, CO, 15 businesses are generating about 30 tons of amber glass bottles annually. They head to Rocky Mountain Bottle Co. for processing and then on to manufacturers to make new bottles. Also going to RMBC are nearly 110 tons/month of glass containers from a bar/restaurant program in Colorado Springs, CO—way up from the 40 ton/month in 2006. This program is unique in that the bottles go back into shipping containers for collection.

North Carolina

In North Carolina's Orange County, home of the University of NC, over 125 businesses are part of a commercial source separated recycling program, which consistently bring in over 45 tons/month of color-separated glass bottles, cans, and plastic. One restaurant recycles over 60% of its waste (about 24 tons of food and 26 tons of bottles and cans), and many restaurants are saving several hundred dollar annually by participating.

In Hickory, NC, a smaller community, 24% of the 363 tons of glass collected are from just 14 bars and restaurants. The rest is from curbside, drop-off and multi-family programs. This glass recycling program about breaks even, considering collection, landfill avoidance, and other economic factors.

Denver's ABC 7 News Features the Cycling Glass Recycler

Rob Martin, owner of "Rob's Bike Courier Service", hauls over 30 tons a year of glass bottles—on his red Schwinn bike. The glass containers from bars and restaurants in Old Town Fort Collins, CO are pedaled to New Belgium's glass roll-off container and then on to Rocky Mountain Bottle where they are made into new bottles. Denver's ABC 7 News (KMGH) features the story as part of its "Going Green" series. Watch the video

1000 WORDS

Oceans Depleted of Fish and Filled with Garbage

A slick of plastic container debris (reportedly double the size of Texas), otherwise known as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch," lies a few hundred miles off the coast of Hawaii. Ocean currents known as the North Pacific Gyre circulate six pounds of plastic for every pound of plankton, swamping marine ecosystems. See the photos

Copyright © 2007 Glass Packaging Institute 

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