Struggling to come up with profitable ideas worthy of a spot in Shark Tank? If your creative juices aren’t enough to create the next big invention, capitalize on what people already need and consider starting a water refilling station business.

We all need safe drinking water to quench our thirst and support our body’s vital functions.

The problem with tap water is it’s laden with chemicals or minerals, which you can only get rid of with expensive home filters. Bottled waters, however, are too expensive for daily consumption, not to mention the weird aftertaste they leave behind.

Enter the water refilling station business–a heaven-sent for those who need a cheaper and more convenient daily drinking water supply. There’s a demand almost everywhere, so you can spend less on marketing and advertising.

If you want to get a piece of the pie of this profitable idea, this definitive water refilling station business guide is for you.

Go back to the main article: Best Small Business Ideas in the Philippines with High Profit

What Is a Water Refilling Station?

Most water refilling stations² in the Philippines have large water treatment machines that they use to fill large bottles with safe, clean drinking water (usually 5 gallons) that serve as their primary product. Their whole operation, from water treatment to bottle cleaning, must conform to national health standards as outlined by the Department of Health (DOH)³.

Customers can bring their water containers to be filled with drinking water for a smaller fee than bottled water brands. Due to high demand, it has become common practice for water refilling stations to deliver water straight to their customers.

Who Should Start a Water Refilling Station Business?

• People who live in or near an area with demand for safe drinking water.
• Entrepreneurs who want to open a business with lower risk and constant demand.
• Entrepreneurs with sales experience and the drive to push their water refilling service around their community.
• People who are healthy and fit due to the physically demanding nature of a water refilling station.
• Entrepreneurs with the time to handle the quality management of their water station, supervise and train their workers, and respond to emergency sales calls and deliveries.

How Much Does It Cost To Start a Water Refilling Station Business in the Philippines?

You need between Php 600,000 and Php 700,000 as an initial investment to start a water refilling station business in the Philippines.

Take note that this estimate already covers building construction (of course, the cost will be significantly lower if you own the property), the machine, permits, containers, motorcycle with a sidecar (which you will need for product deliveries), the cost of drilling the deep well (which will serve as your water source; more on this later), seminar, and other initial expenses.

The water refilling machine eats a considerable portion of the capital. Fortunately, you can own a water refilling station for as low as Php 150,000. The cost already includes all the equipment needed. Some companies even offer installments. After a downpayment of Php 40,000, you can pay the remaining balance within 36 months for only Php 2,000 to Php 3,000 per month.

Franchised water refilling station businesses, on the other hand, can range from Php 96,000 to Php 550,000 depending on the equipment’s type, number, and size. The cost of rental and overhead expenses are not included.

Have you only saved up the minimum amount of capital? We’ve interviewed and researched water refilling station owners who suggest not entering the battlefield too quickly. This is because you will need more money to pay for the operational expenses, which will most likely come from your pocket during the first few months of operations.

For this reason, it is also advisable not to resort to loans to fund the capital for your water refilling station. Businesses are unpredictable, more so if this is your first venture with absolutely no experience to rely on. So save up as much money as you can and study the ins and outs of the business carefully before making that leap of faith.

Is Water Refilling Bussines Profitable?

Yes, but it depends on a lot of factors. Just like any business, the success of a water refilling station largely depends on a combination of factors such as market demand, relationship with your customers, number of competitors, and how business-savvy the owner is.

It is recommended, especially during the first few months, to focus on the tasks that will grow your business – letting people know about your water service and getting potential customers to try it. You cannot leave this to your employees until they have received sufficient training.

Aside from that, be ready to do most of the administrative tasks yourself during the first few months, as you’re not profitable enough to hire additional employees yet. This is the ideal time to put your resourcefulness to good use.

For example, you can learn how to do simple accounting tasks instead of paying a bookkeeper to do it for you. You should also set up the business’s sales recording and customer tracking practices. This way, you can minimize expenses and learn more as a businessman.

Realistically, your first few months will not be profitable, but that is normal. Your goal would be to get long-term customers who call you whenever they run out of water. If you focus on this, you can watch your daily sales go from 0 jugs/bottles per day to 100 jugs/bottles per day.

Provided that you’ve done everything by the book and the market is large enough to sustain your business, you’ll be able to determine how long it will take to recoup your investment and whether or not the business is profitable. 

Suppose that after six months, your water refilling station sells 100 jugs daily, each costing Php 25. The monthly expenses, meanwhile, include your employees’ monthly salaries (Php 19,000, which is enough to pay a driver, a helper, and a manager), employee’s daily lunch meals (Php 2,700), the electric bill (Php 7,000), the cost of materials and gas (Php 7,000), maintenance fee to pay for unexpected things that can derail business operations if left unattended (Php 600 or more), and additional expenses like the cost of new filters that are ideally changed every month (roughly Php 2,500 or more).

Based on the figures above, your gross profit, if your water refilling station is open every day, will be Php 75,000. Subtract the monthly expenses, and you’ll be left with a net profit (before taxes) of more or less Php 36,000, which will give you an idea of how many months it will take to earn back the capital you initially invested.

What Are the Benefits and Drawbacks of a Water Refilling Station?

Pros

• Water is an essential commodity, so demand is not a problem. There is increased demand during the hot summer and a slowdown in the cooler rainy season. Still, overall a water refilling station can be profitable all year round. You will also serve your community with customers from high to low-income backgrounds.
• It’s simpler than other businesses since your primary product is water service. You only need to focus on maintaining your water’s quality and relationship with your customers.
• You don’t necessarily need to find a location in crowded places where rental costs can go through the roof. By offering delivery services, you can go to your customers directly instead of them going to your store. Just be careful about accepting deliveries that would cost you more on gasoline than what you’d earn from the sale.

Con

• The required initial investment, monetary and time, can be too high for beginner entrepreneurs. Depending on your area’s existing demand and competition, it may take longer to recoup the initial investment.
• The water station equipment requires maintenance, which can consume your budget and revenue. The same applies to your delivery vehicles, which are subject to heavy wear and tear. Aside from that, the bottles and jugs must be replaced after much use.
• The business lacks proprietary value, so anyone with the capital and entrepreneurial experience can open their water refilling station and directly compete with you.
• Customers can be prone to switching to your competition if they have a lower-priced product. That’s why it’s crucial to maintain a strong relationship with your customers.
• Water quality is held to a strict national standard. If you fail a surprise check by a water quality inspector, you may be asked to pay a fine or, worse, to close down your business. Health officials recommend regular water sampling and examination as water sources such as deep wells are prone to E. coli and amoeba contamination that causes acute gastroenteritis⁴. Contamination happens when the ultraviolet light disinfection system fails, so water refining station owners are encouraged to perform maintenance checks on their machines.

How To Start a Water Refilling Station Business in the Philippines: 13 Steps

1. Know What You’re Getting Into

Every business is hard, and a water refilling station business is no exception. You don’t have to be very passionate about the idea, but a little interest in the business can go a long way to sustain you during tough times.

Study the business carefully and evaluate whether this is the suitable model for you. Consider your strengths or skills, risk appetite, and the amount of money you’re willing to invest.

Since water is an easy product to market and there are ready buyers everywhere, expect to face stiff competition. You should also be ready to put in the work since a water refilling station involves a lot of deliveries.

When your delivery staff aren’t available or fail to show up at work, you must do the tasks yourself lest you disappoint your customers.  As a word of warning, improper lifting of water bottles can lead to hand, back, or arm injuries. Therefore, you must learn how to safely lift a 5-gallon water bottle⁵.

2. Learn More About the Business and the Product

If you’re convinced the water refilling station business is the right fit for you, it’s time to get into a crash course.

There are two ways to learn more about this venture. One is to enroll in a seminar to teach you theory and hands-on experience.

Franchisors often conduct free seminars for interested entrepreneurs as part of their marketing strategies. The University of the Philippines Manila’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health also has a certification course⁶ for water refilling station and plant operators.

You can also conduct research and learn everything about the business independently. This is a viable option if you have a technical background.

Although anyone can quickly grasp the business, it will be easier if you’re genuinely interested in water purification’s science and technical aspects.

In general, products sold in water refilling stations are of three varieties:

• Mineral water – a product of a filtration system that eliminates impurities easily seen by the naked eye. Ultraviolet is also applied to kill bacteria. It’s known for lowering blood pressure, aiding digestion, reducing skin blemishes, and improving bone health.
• Purified water – made by removing all impurities or “hardness” of the water through reverse osmosis. Drinking this helps reduce your chances of developing gallstones. It also absorbs toxins from your body and flushes them through your urinary system.
• Alkaline water – or alkalized ionized water is produced by removing the acid content of the water and increasing its pH level. Alkaline water helps reduce the acid in our bloodstream, boosts metabolism, and prevents oxidation, leading to premature aging and diseases.

3. Conduct a Feasibility Study

A feasibility study assesses a business idea in terms of practicality and its likelihood to succeed.

To produce a reliable feasibility study, the following factors are explored in great detail:

• Market demand: Conduct a simple survey to determine how many prospective customers live in your area. You don’t want to start a business that sells a product nobody needs, do you?
• Competition: How many similar businesses already exist in your area? The more competitors you have, the more difficult it is to penetrate the market.
• Location: Although water refilling station businesses can thrive with their delivery services alone, you still need a strategic location to attract your first few customers. Consider opening your store near or inside a subdivision or exclusive village – remember that these places may have their own rules about water deliveries. You can rent or convert your garage into a commercial space to save on rental fees. To operate a water refilling station, you should have a minimum area of  20 – 25 sq.m.
• Water source: Where will the water come from? It will come from either the water district or a deep well. The latter is more practical since you don’t have to pay steep monthly fees for commercial use. The water district is also unreliable because of water service interruptions that may occur without prior warning. However, if you opt for a deep well as a water source, build it at least 25 meters from the septic tank. It should also be a safe distance from piggeries, funeral parlors, gas stations, cemeteries, and other places that contaminate the water.
• pH level of water: The total dissolved solids (TDS) in the water supply, also known as the water’s ” hardness, ” will determine the types of treatment or purifying processes that can be applied to the water source.

Here are some sample water station feasibility studies (in pdf, needs an account to download) that you can refer to when making your own:

• 4 Marias Water Station from Jennifer Macarat for Graduate School (July 2020)
• Feasibility of Alpha Best Water Station by students from the Philippine State College of Aeronautics (2014).

4. Decide Whether To Put Up Your Brand or Get a Franchise

While starting from scratch can potentially bring you more profit in the long run, the stress and risk of failure can overwhelm any first-time entrepreneur.

Competing with more established brands is also more difficult since people are inclined to buy from stores with familiar names.

Fortunately, franchising is always an option. While you’re bound to a contract and have less control over some aspects of the business, you can look at it as a training ground where you can learn as much as you can before going solo in the future.

Franchise packages can cost anywhere between Php 96,000 to Php 550,000, including all the filters and other equipment. Franchisors also help their franchisees get their businesses off the ground by providing technical assistance, marketing support, and training programs for the staff and managers.

Below is a list of the most popular water refilling station businesses in the Philippines that are open for franchising:

a. Bluewaters Global

• Franchise cost: Php 96,000 to Php 241,000
• Address: Unit 1003 Future Point Plaza, 112 Panay Avenue, Quezon City, Metro Manila​
• Email address: [email protected]
• Contact numbers: Globe: 0977-771-6147; Smart: 0921-881-7991; Sun: 0932-119-4522; PLDT: +63 2 775 5010
• Social Media: Facebook, Instagram

b. Livingwater

• Franchise cost: Php 112,000 to Php 201,000
• Address: W8B CCMC Compd., Industrial Area, Veterans Center, Taguig, Metro Manila
• Email address: [email protected]
• Contact numbers: 0917-807-4933/ 0917-852-7126
• Social Media: Facebook

c. Alkaviva

• Franchise cost: Php 171,000 to Php 400,000 (can be paid through monthly installments)
• Address: 35 TS Evalle Dr, Quezon City, Metro Manila 
• Email address: [email protected]
• Contact numbers: PLDT: (027) 745-6244-; Globe: 0917-836-6194; Smart:0947-997-6438; Sun: 0932-847-9-675
• Social Media: Facebook, Instagram

d. Aquabest

• Franchise cost: Php 100,000+ (exact figures available upon inquiry)
• Address: 21 Examiner St, Brgy. West Triangle, ​Quezon City, Metro Manila 
• Email address: [email protected]
• Contact numbers: +63-2-371-0478
• Social Media: Facebook, Instagram

e. Aquahealth

• Franchise cost: No franchise fee. Call for machine & product costs
• Address: 103 OMM CITRA Bldg, San Miguel Ave, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Metro Manila
• Email address: [email protected]
• Contact numbers: (02) 8636-1140, (02) 8636-1153, 0922-833-1670
• Social Media: Facebook, Instagram

f. Crystal Clear

• Franchise cost: Php 100,000 to 550,000
• Address: Arnaldo Highway, Brgy. San Francisco, General Trias City, Cavite
• Email address: [email protected]
• Contact numbers: (02)7622-8572, 0998-590-3543
• Social Media: Facebook

If you’re interested in getting a franchise, you may need to submit one or all of the following:

• A letter of intent (including site location)
• Duly accomplished application form
• Business proposal

Franchisors usually specify the location requirements, including the lot size, availability of parking space, absence of competitors, number of adjacent households or offices, etc.

They also strictly follow a floor plan or a store layout to ensure all the equipment, wiring, and piping will be installed correctly for a seamless purification process.

5. Write a Business Plan

A business plan is a written document that shows how your water refilling station business will evolve from start to finish.

You will probably not need this, especially if you have no plans of borrowing money from the bank but creating your business plan will help. It will provide you with a clearer, more objective view of your business and lay down the foundation that will prevent you from losing money on unnecessary expenses.

For more information about the business plan and how to write one, click here.

6. Choose the Right Location

Foot traffic is at the heart of any successful business, and a water refilling station is no exception.

It’s hard to attract potential customers if there are a limited number of people in your area, so when building your business, pick a location near subdivisions, condominiums, hospitals, clinics, schools, or offices. The more people you’ll be able to interact with and promote your business to, the better.

Just take note of the following things to consider depending on the type of customer:

• Establishments, such as offices or schools, may not pay you immediately after delivery and instead pay for all deliveries in bulk at the end of the month. This may lead to cash flow problems if you rely solely on them for your business.
• Depending on the size of the establishment, it might be hard to contact the person in charge of purchasing supplies (and water). You’ll need to work hard to make the right connections.
• Gated communities, such as condominiums and subdivisions, have their own delivery rules. You’ll need to build a strong relationship with the organization in charge, usually, the homeowners association or building management, to succeed.

If you’re lucky enough to live in or near an area with a lot of foot traffic, you can also consider setting up your business in your lot or converting an unused building to house your water refilling station.

7. Build Your Water Refilling Station

After finding a suitable location for your water refilling station business, it’s time to look for a supplier to provide you with the needed equipment.

It can either be a franchisor offering water refilling station equipment as part of its packages or a company offering only water refilling machines.

Never finalize a deal with a supplier without exploring other options. Compare the prices and features of the water refilling machines you find.

If you’re short on cash, you can avail of equipment from companies that offer their products in monthly installments. Since it’s not a franchise deal, you can buy the equipment from them and put up your water refilling station bearing a business name of your choice.

Ensure that after-sales support like warranty, technical assistance, and maintenance are available.

After doing your due diligence and signing a contract with the supplier you’re most confident with, it’s time to build the water refilling station. Here are the basic steps you need to follow:

1. Work with the supplier in creating a store layout or floor plan that complies with the company’s standards. Someone will be sent to the location to survey the building and create a floor plan based on the findings. A standard water refilling station consists of a water purification room, a refilling and selling room, a container washing and sanitizing room, a storage room for the refilled and empty containers, an office, a toilet, and a source water storage facility.
2. Pay the downpayment to the supplier to have your equipment ready. Keep the official receipt.
3. After the layout or floor plan has been approved, the contractor will start building the water refilling station. Give or take, it may take a month to finish the construction, depending on the size of the water refilling station.
4. While awaiting its completion, you can start securing the needed permits and documents to legalize your business (see next step).
5. The supplier will oversee the construction to ensure it follows the layout or floor plan down to its minute details, like the piping, drainage, and washing area.

8. Register Your Business and Secure Needed Permits

To avoid legal troubles, any water refilling station business in the Philippines must secure the following permits/registrations:

• DTI registration – is available from your local DTI branch. Requirements include barangay clearance, residence certificate, etc. Don’t forget to prepare at least 5 to 10 business names for faster transactions. DTI business registration can now also be done online.
• Mayor’s permit – is issued by the municipal office two to three weeks from the date of application. You may be required to submit (a) a water analysis of potability from your water source (physical, chemical, and bacteriological tests); and (b) engineering drawings signed by a sanitary engineer.
• BIR – registration is done by filling out Form 0506 and paying the required fees.

Learn More: How to Register a Business in the Philippines: The Ultimate Guide

9. Install the Equipment

Now that your water refilling station is complete, it’s time for the supplier to install the equipment.

Installation may take 2 to 3 days to complete, after which you can dry-run the machine for another three days to ensure the safety of the water supply.

Remember, the water quality you sell depends primarily on the machine that filters it. You want the water to be free from microorganisms and chlorine, which pose serious health risks to your consumers.

To ensure that the machine’s filtration system produces the quality you desire, get water samples and take them to a DOH-accredited laboratory for analysis. If it passes the DOH requirements, you can open your water refilling station business.

Otherwise, contact your supplier to determine the cause of the contamination and replace the machines if needed.

According to the Sanitation Code of the Philippines, local health offices regularly monitor water refilling stations. Expect to have the monitoring done during these times:

• Bacteriological quality – once a month.
• Physical quality – every six months.
• Chemical quality – every six months.
• Biological quality – once a year.
• Monitoring of radioactive contaminants – is only conducted if there’s a significant amount of radiation input from the surrounding environment.

10. Purchase Transportation and Other Necessities

Delivery service is essential for a water refilling station business to thrive.

For smaller stations, a motorcycle with a sidecar is enough to deliver water containers in bulk. Take note that not all motorcycles are built for water delivery. You need a powerful enough vehicle to move the heavy load through steep inclines. As your business grows, you may need to invest in delivery trucks to manage the inventories of several stores.

A motorcycle with a two-tier sidecar can carry around 8-12 bottles per trip, depending on the size of the bottle. Depending on how far your deliveries are, you can finish a trip in about 30 minutes to 1 hour. You should estimate how many daily trips you need to make a good profit.

Consider the cost of fuel, manpower, and maintenance when adding transportation to your list of expenses. Also, invest in preparing your delivery vehicles and people for rainy weather.

If you’re not a franchisee, you must also shell out money for supplies like a heat gun, water containers, sanitizer soap, signage, and stickers bearing your business logo/name.

11. Hire Employees

Running a water refilling station alone is impossible, so you need helping hands for every task.

A water refilling station business needs at least 3 to 5 employees covering the following roles:

• Manager – oversees the business for at least 4 hours a day.
• Front Liner – receives and refills the water containers from the customers.
• Accountant/Bookkeeper – handles the financial aspect of the business.
• Technical Asst. – takes care of the water refilling machines and troubleshoots technical problems.
• Administrative Assistant – keeps a record of all sales and purchases.
• Driver/Delivery Man – transports the refilled water containers to customers’ homes.

You can assume the role of one or two of these employees when you’re still starting. As the profit increases, you can use the money to hire additional manpower to oversee the daily business operations as a supervisor. Just set guidelines for your customer management, bottle handling, water quality checking, and other processes before transitioning all the tasks to your employees.

12. Set Prices for Your Products

Pricing depends on the product type you’ll offer and the presence of other water refilling stations competing for the same market.

Commercially sold water comes in three varieties: mineral, purified, and alkaline. They differ in price because the filtration processes by which they are produced vary in complexity.

Your pricing strategy will also be based on the market price. Determine how much your competitors charge for every water container and price your products accordingly.

Offer competitive prices without sacrificing profit.

13. Promote Your Business

In the beginning, don’t expect people to swarm your store. You must get your business name in front of many people as possible.

Assuming that you’re in a strategic location with a fair amount of foot traffic, one way to introduce your business is by distributing flyers.

If you live in a subdivision, your first few customers will come from the neighborhood. Impress them with your product and service so they can help you find more customers through word of mouth. You’ll stand out from the rest if you have clean, uniformed delivery personnel that offers professional, prompt, and reliable service.

If your location fails to drive enough human traffic, move to another place with enough crowd. Or, you can distribute another set of flyers in this place to deliver water to their homes without them visiting your store.

There’s also the lucrative option called institutional selling, wherein you convince big establishments like schools, churches, BPO companies, and restaurants to get their water supply directly from you. It sounds intimidating, but if you have the will, there’s a way.

Navigating Your First Few Months (on the Road to Success)

Just to put things into perspective: don’t expect your first few months to turn into a profit. Water refilling stations are not an overnight success; you must try to succeed. There’s nothing like the feeling of turning a turnover of 0 jugs/bottles per day to 100 bottles per day (or even more).

To succeed, your goal is to get long-term customers that consistently get water from you despite the competition. To do this, you must show your customers that you are a reliable water service that provides consistent, high-quality water.

On your road to success, there are some common problems that you need to be prepared for:

1. Your delivery person does not show up for the day (gets sick, quits, or goes AWOL), or your delivery vehicle breaks down. This can affect your relationship with your customer if you cannot deliver on time. If you don’t have a backup, you may need to negotiate with the customer or deliver independently.
2. You get a customer complaint about your water: ‘May Dumi’ (Dirty) or ‘May Lasa’ (Weird Taste). Always conduct water quality testing to ensure that this does not happen.
3. Wear and tear of your bottles. Ensure your staff does not mishandle your bottles (e.g., throwing them). Another option is to sell the bottles to your customers but ensure to take care of them during deliveries.
4. Lost or inaccurate customer records. Your customer records are the bread and butter of your business, so make backups. Make sure to track the number of bottles delivered and the delivery date to your customers. That way, you can follow up with them if they have not had any deliveries lately.

Tips and Warnings

• The number one priority of your customers is reliability, both in terms of delivery time and water quality. Make these your priority.
• If possible, offer 24/7 delivery service to establish your store as a reliable one your customers can always count on.
• Be innovative. Research the latest trend or technology in purifying water and offer them to your customers ahead of your competitors.
• Focus on providing top-notch customer service all the time. Quickly fulfill orders and deliver them to your customers’ homes without delay.
• Go the extra mile for your customers. For example, you can lend out water dispensers to your customers in exchange for a low monthly fee. In addition to the extra profit, you will also give your customers access to hot and cold drinking water without the need to buy a dispenser.
• Monitor daily operations. Being a hands-on business owner allows you to prevent pilfering (“pangungupit”) among your employees or any breach in sanitation that may affect the water quality.
• Take care of your employees. Motivate them to work harder by giving commissions on top of their monthly salary for every X amount of water containers they can deliver.
• Work hard. Even though the water refilling station business looks easy at first due to steady demand and fast ROI, there’s still no shortcut to success.
• Be ready for delivery spikes during big holidays such as Christmas. Customers tend to order more, expecting most businesses to close during holidays. You can also be proactive in delivering to your customers by contacting them and asking if they need water to be ready for the holidays.
• Be resourceful. Water refilling stations waste a lot of water during the purification process. To help the environment, you can recycle water by opening a laundry shop business adjacent to your water refilling station. By opening this combo business, you increase your net profit and help conserve water simultaneously.

Go back to the main article: Best Small Business Ideas in the Philippines with High Profit

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1. Clean water for life and livelihoods amid pandemic. (2020). Retrieved 26 November 2021, from https://www.ilo.org/asia/media-centre/articles/WCMS_754439/lang--en/index.htm
2. Water Refilling Stations in the Philippines. Retrieved 26 November 2021, from https://www.koshland-science-museum.org/water/html/en/Distribution/Water-Stores-and-Refilling-Stations-in-the-Philippines.html
3. Department of Health (DOH). (2017). Administrative Order No. 2017-0010 (Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water of 2017). Manila.
4. Partlow, M. J. (2023). Retrieved from https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1196468
5. How to Safely Change a 5-Gallon Water Cooler Bottle. [PDF]. Retrieved from https://www.csueastbay.edu/riskmanagement/files/docs/ehs/safety-tips/how-to-safely-change-a-5-gallon-water-cooler.pdf
6. Certification Course for Water Refilling Station and Plant Operators. Retrieved 26 November 2021, from https://deoh.cph.upm.edu.ph/content/certification-course-water-refilling-station-and-plant-operators