Today’s unsuspecting brand is: Proud Source Water!

Proud Source is an alkaline spring water that sources its water in two springs throughout the United States: one in Idaho, one in Florida. They have a very clear mission: “We are on a mission to do bottled water different by protecting the environment, uplifting our source communities, and empowering consumers to make sustainable choices.⁣⁠” Okay, so this is their base…now let’s look a little deeper.

Unique Value Proposition

Water is such a basic human need that it’s difficult to reinvent it, right? It’s H20, literally a molecule that *can’t* be reinvented.

So how did Proud Source do it? They took a commodity and put a twist on it. “Water Done Different” – their tagline hits you from the front page of their website! 

The twists are:

• The bottle alkaline spring water, as opposed to the mostly acidic mainstream bottled waters.
• Their water is filtered by nature; they take out any unnatural bacteria or microorganisms, but keep the natural minerals that are pure!
• They use aluminum can packaging because aluminum is the most recycled material and the most sustainable in that it can be used infinitely.

These three things come together to create Proud Source’s UVP, or unique value proposition. They took something so mainstream, so necessary–and they re-created it, differentiating themselves from their competitors.

Transparency

Transparency goes a long way with consumers.

On the “Our Water” page of their website, they provide a the percentage of each mineral in the water, so that consumers know exactly what they’re putting into their bodies.

They outline the exact filtration system that they use.

They tell you which spring the water came from.

So from the start–consumers know where their water comes from, how it’s filtered, what is in it, how it’s packaged.

Doesn’t that build quite the know, like, and TRUST factor between Proud Source and potential consumers? Of course it does!

Brand Cohesion

Every piece of their brand is water-related. This sounds basic at first, right? Well, surprisingly enough, it’s NOT super common to find as cohesive of a brand as Proud Source. Let’s dive into a couple examples:

“Wavemakers” is their not-so-influencer influencer program. Their brand ambassadors are called “wavemakers,” alluding to the product they sell—water—and the mission of their company—to do things differently, or make waves.

“Ripple Effect Blog” is the blog on their website. It clearly illustrates how they are contributing to a positive ripple effect of recycling and sustainability to build a better tomorrow for future generations. They have blog posts titled, “Busting the Myth: Is Aluminum Bad for You?” And “Race to Circularity” which introduces their Infinite Bottle Project.

Tangible Takeaways

While I wouldn’t categorize Proud Source Water as a big brand, they have their branding together for sure. At the moment, I believe they have around 50 employees, but there is a lot to learn from them! So here are some tangible takeaways from Proud Source to apply to your small business:

1. Define your UVP or unique value proposition. Between you and the next person that offers the same service or product you do—what makes you different? Proud Source tells you exactly what their UVP is from the main banner on the home page of their website. What’s yours? SO many entrepreneurs cannot articulate that and that only makes them blend in with their competitors.
2. Be transparent with your customers. This could look like outlining the process of your service offering. This could look like providing case studies from previous clients. This could look like sharing testimonials as social proof, all of which can be done on any online platform. I specifically recommend you do this on your website and your social media.
3. Whenever you are creating a new initiative or branch or course offering, service offering—anything—think of how it will fit into the ecosystem of your brand as a whole. The most notable way that a new initiative can fit into your brand is the title of it. Keep that in mind when you are naming this new branch of your business. But also, make sure it is still in alignment with the values of your business as well.

There ya have it for this week’s Branding 5 at 5 about Proud Source Water. Now I’m not sure what you’re waiting on, but you should get there and grow!