Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
While it's no competition for their famous bottled-water neighbor, Dade City shop owners enjoy their new fundraising idea.
By CHASE SQUIRES
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 17, 2001
DADE CITY -- Move over, Zephyrhills, Dade City has turned on the tap to its own brand of liquid gold.
Downtown Dade City Main Street has introduced a hometown brand of bottled water for merchants to peddle to hot and thirsty visitors. The label features a photo of downtown and the official Downtown Dade City logo.
The water, bottled by Tampa's Ultra Pure Bottled Water company, isn't meant to compete with the "City of Pure Water" and its bottled water company to the south, said Main Street Executive Director Ginny Solberg. But it is proving to be a light-hearted way of generating extra revenue for downtown promotions and preservation.
Ultra Pure managing partner Louis Savinetti said private label bottled water has been catching on in the Tampa Bay area.
After a one-time fee for designing the label, Savinetti said his company can supply the 16.9 ounce bottles of water at less than $10 a case, making it an affordable way for nightclubs, golf courses, and other businesses to promote themselves. The product has also become a popular fundraiser and can even be produced for special events and parties.
"Why advertise for Zephyrhills or Aquafina when you can have your own name on it?" he asked. "It's just a fun way of getting your name out."
When ordering, buyers can choose spring water from a source near Orlando or Hillsborough County water purified through a process known as reverse osmosis, Savinetti said. Dade City uses spring water.
Peggy Capps -- a Main Street member and owner of downtown's Antiques on the Main Street -- said former Dade City Main Street director Gail Hamilton gave her the idea for bottling a Dade City version. Hamilton was working for Ybor City's Main Street program when she showed Capps a bottle of that district's private-label water.
"It was a great idea," Capps said. "We have people come in the shop all the time, and they're hot and thirsty, and they want to know where they can buy bottled water."
With Dade City's own brand on hand, Capps said she just pulls out a chilled bottle, collects a dollar and sends the visitor on with a piece of Dade City.
"I've had people come in and buy them just for souvenirs," Capps said. "They've become a collector's item."
Capps said participating merchants throughout town buy the water a case at a time, for $24, from Main Street, then recoup the money as they sell the bottles. That way, she said, Main Street gets its money up front.
Meg Andronico, spokeswoman for the Zephyrhills Natural Spring Water plant in Zephyrhills, said her company doesn't consider private label water a threat to its business.
"In a way, it benefits our industry as a whole," she said. "It might expose people who have not tried spring water to the product."
Private label water has been around for several years, she said. Zephyrhills concentrates on its own brand rather than offering private label services, she said.
Solberg said the money from the sales goes toward Main Street projects and promotions. With sales going on for less than a month, it's too early to tell how much money the effort will raise, but Solberg said she's optimistic the idea will catch on.