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Beverage Marketing News Fax
Starbuck's Thirst For Water Pure And Simple With Ethical Message In A Bottle By Richard Davis (Adds details, byline, to previous story) PALOMAR MOUNTAIN, Calif.--(BEVERAGE MARKETING)--Friday, May 13, 2005Near the hidden valley of Escondido in Southern California is the quintessential watering hole for bottle water firms seeking pure mountain spring water, its Palomar Mountain, famous for the near mile high Palomar Observatory and its 200-inch Hale Telescope, The telescopes at Palomar Observatory are the tools astronomers use to study celestial objects, asteroids and comets within the solar system, to the stars that comprise our Milky Way Galaxy, and out to the uncounted galaxies beyond our own, and finally to the quasars -- but more down to Earth is Ethos™ Water that flows naturally from a protected spring located just below the Palomar Observatory. Ethos is named for the Greek god of ethical behavior Starbucks, the Seattle coffee company that took its name from a character in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, recently acquired Ethos Water from its co-founders Peter Thum Jonathan Greenblatt, for an undisclosed sum April 6, 2005. Ethos Water was founded in 2002 by two entrepreneurs, Jonathan Greenblatt and Peter Thum. Ethos Water's mission is to help children around the world get clean water by supporting water projects in developing countries. Ethos is currently directing funds to support water projects in Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Honduras, India and Kenya. "Starbucks and Ethos share a deep passion to improve global communities," said Jim Donald, Starbucks president and chief executive officer. "Peter and Jonathan's values and vision for Ethos mirror the culture and values of Starbucks. We see a unique opportunity to give back by leveraging these synergies and by making an ongoing commitment to helping children around the world get clean water as a key element of Starbucks corporate social responsibility efforts." "When we founded Ethos, it was important to us that no matter how large we would grow, social responsibility would always remain a core principle of our company," said Jonathan Greenblatt and Peter Thum, Ethos co-founders. "Starbucks strong brand, culture and unwavering commitment to sustainable communities aligns perfectly with these goals. We are thrilled with the opportunity to grow the Ethos brand and realize our vision. As part of Starbucks, our potential to help children around the world get clean water is beyond what we had imagined." According to Starbucks spokesman: Alan Hilowitz, says, "Starbucks takes in about US$25 million a year selling [Crystal Geyser] bottled water, Bottled water is a natural extension of the Starbucks Experience, enhancing the overall coffee experience for our customers. We feel that Ethos Water and Starbucks have strong synergies which allow Starbucks to incorporate a social responsibility message into a key ready-to-drink product." Hilowitz said. However, due to San Diego County's stringent building code regulations, the Ethos water can not be bottled at the source, but is pumped into and trucked in large stainless steel bulk water tankers to a soft drink bottling plant just north in Riverside County, for end bottling.Starbucks also plans to continue selling Ethos Water at Whole Foods Market Inc. stores and other retailers that now carry the product. The water is not source dependent and the new water bottles will not carry the Starbucks logo. Ethos will be looking for more sources of water to meet demand. Starbucks said it will retain all six Ethos employees. The coffee company also plans to donate $1 million by the fall of 2006 to support water projects in developing countries, keeping a goal set by Ethos founders. For more inf. about Ethos Water, please visit: http://www.ethoswater.com.CONTACTStarbucks Corporation Alan Hilowitz, 206/447-1575, ext. 52690alan.hilowitz@starbucks.comhttp://www.starbucks.comhttp://www.ethoswater.com
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