Water, water everywhere and so much of it to choose from on shelves in grocery stores throughout Snohomish County. Still or sparkly, flavored or plain, there is something for everyone.
But a local bottled water company, Essentia, with headquarters at 22833 Bothell Everett Highway, No. 220, Bothell, is coming to the forefront and being sold in retailers such as Albertsons, QFC and Whole Foods, and online at Amazon.com and Walmart.
“When we meet with buyers the first thing they say is, ‘The last thing we need is another water,’” said company president Ken Uptain.
Once they hear about why Essentia is different and understand how well the brand is doing, then they listen.
“And we make a sale,” Uptain said. “It’s pretty amazing. I’ve seen that over and over and over again.”
Essentia water is bottled using a proprietary process that results in an electrolyte-enhanced water with an alkaline 9.5 pH. It comes under the functional or enhanced water headings and is one the fastest growing top 10 premium water brands. When Uptain first tasted a sample from a Japanese company he liked it.
“I started drinking it and I felt a big difference,” Uptain said. “A real benefit.”
Uptain had spent many years making his living in real estate. The Bothell High School graduate worked for a company with worldwide holdings but was spending too much time on the road. In 1997, Uptain decided to retire and was thinking about what he would do next when he was introduced to a water with an added bonus. Uptain realized that the product was non-source dependent that no other water tasted like it and that the bottled water business was about to take off in the United States.
“So I thought, ‘Oh this ought to be fun,’” Uptain said.
He launched the product in 1998. Within a year, Uptain realized that Essentia was ahead of its time and that consumers were not ready for it. Ninety-nine percent of waters being sold were source waters meaning they came from a mountain, glacier or spring.
“This being a purified water and restructured was just not accepted by the consumer,” Uptain said. “They weren’t ready for it.”
Uptain let the company incubate for another 10 years. He stayed retired and let it slowly grow. In 2008, Uptain said he started growing the company again. This time consumers were ready.
“People started drinking it and they became very loyal,” Uptain said. “They find it, try it, like it and feel better.”
Case sales for Essentia grew by 64 percent in 2013 and a 42 percent gain in January over January 2013, Uptain said.
Essentia is bottled in Southern California, Pennsylvania and soon in Arkansas. Purified water is brought in one end of a SeaLand container equipped with automation and the enhancement technology. Out the other end comes the final product.
“We are not source dependent so we can produce it close to where it is being sold,” said Paul Curhan, vice president of marketing and innovation. “So our carbon footprint is so much better than most of our competition.”
When the water is purified minerals such as potassium, calcium and magnesium are added for hydration.
Essentia has more alkaline ions making it a sweeter drinking water than those with more acidic ions. Uptain says that the company is now at the right place at the right time selling wherever it is placed throughout the country. Consumers looking to drink more water get more functional benefits from Essentia, Curhan said. “We deliver on that.”
“It’s great to be part of a brand that has so much momentum and growth,” Curhan said.
For now Uptain and his staff are focused on the product at hand. They hope to produce more than 20 million bottles of water in 2014.
The company employs nine internal staff members and growth means an expansion into the space next door to the current office. There is an outside sales team of 25 people that cover every retailer in the country.
Essentia will keep its headquarters in Bothell, home to Uptain and his family who don’t want to leave the area. He has no plans to retire again anytime soon.
“No, no,” Uptain said. “I’m having too much fun.”
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