Proud Source Water

Proud Source Water operates in the bottled water industry with a business model centered on environmental and social responsibility. The company sources and bottles natural alkaline spring water, positioning itself as a sustainable alternative to single-use plastic bottles.

The company's history began with a mission to revitalize the small mining town of Mackay, Idaho, which was facing economic hardship. In 2015, co-founder Ryan Donahue, a Mackay native, proposed bottling the local pristine spring water to create jobs. Carl (CJ) Pennington, who had a background as a practicing architect and engineer, co-founded the company in 2017 after being approached to help design the bottling facility. Pennington developed the business plan with the goal of uplifting the community. The company officially launched in 2017 and built a bottling facility at the base of the spring source in Mackay. Key milestones include gaining authorization from Whole Foods in 2018, achieving NSF Plant Certification for the Mackay facility in 2019, and breaking ground on a second bottling facility in Marianna, Florida, in 2021. In March 2023, Proud Source Water was acquired by SOURCE Global, a public benefit corporation that develops technology to generate renewable drinking water from the atmosphere.

Proud Source Water's business model revolves around selling premium bottled spring water to a national market, including retailers, food service establishments, hotels, and online customers. As a certified B-Corporation since 2018, the company adheres to high standards of social and environmental performance. A core tenet of their operation is sustainability; they pledge to never bottle more than 5% of their springs' daily output and maintain a zero-waste water policy. Their revenue is generated from the sale of still and sparkling water, distributed across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The company's primary product is naturally alkaline spring water with a pH of 8.1 or higher, sourced from springs in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho and the Apalachicola Forest in Florida. This water is naturally filtered through materials like ancient volcanic rock in Idaho and limestone in Florida, which imbues it with minerals and electrolytes. The water is bottled directly at the source in what the company describes as "infinitely recyclable" aluminum bottles. These bottles are made with a significant portion of post-consumer recycled material and feature a BPA-free liner to protect the water's quality. The company offers both still and sparkling versions of its water.

Keywords: alkaline spring water, sustainable bottled water, aluminum bottle, B-Corporation, water brand, eco-friendly packaging, community impact, natural electrolytes, SOURCE Global, Mackay Idaho, Apalachicola Forest, CJ Pennington, Ryan Donahue, plastic-free, water sustainability, bottled at the source, socially responsible business, environmental conservation, premium water, recyclable packaging