Proud Source proud to expand Mackay water business

A small firm in little Mackay is making big waves in the bottled water business.

Proud Source Water started in 2016 in the old mining town that saw its last real boom during World War II. The last copper mining operations shut down in the 1980s and the town emptied out, a shell of its former self. Until recently, Mackay became just a stop for hunters, anglers and rock hounds. The population is around 500.

Then businesses starting coming back to the valley of the Big Lost River. Mackay is now home to Idaho’s tallest mountains, its biggest earthquakes and Proud Source Water.

On March 2, Proud Source announced the closing of its first institutional funding round, which raised $6 million. AF Ventures, formerly known as AccelFoods, was a leading investor in the round. It will now serve as a key strategic partner, helping the company to scale-up operations and expand their brand reach to the national level.

The firm plans to use the capital it just raised to deepen its roots in existing retail channels and expand into new channels and priority markets. The company is building a niche with health-conscious consumers who are attracted to the proposed health benefits of high-pH waters with naturally-occurring minerals and electrolytes.

“With this investment capital, we can deliver it straight from the source to consumers nationwide as we focus on overall growth,” said Proud Source Water President C.J. Pennington. “Plastic-free is the future and we can’t wait to hydrate more communities the right way.” The company is a certified B-Corp and a 1% for the Planet member, donating a portion of annual sales to environmental initiatives such as cleaning the ocean of its plastic blight.

“Proud Source Water’s recyclable-aluminum packaging offers consumers a much-needed alternative to plastic bottles, which are filling up our landfills and oceans,” said AF Ventures’ managing partner Jordan Gaspar. “Through our extensive network of major retailer and distribution partners, we see tremendous opportunity to grow this brand well beyond its current footprint.”

Gaspar noted that Proud Source Water is a mission-based company “with business practices built around conscious responsibility for our planet.”

“Proud Source is making choices today, for tomorrow,” he said.

Founded in 2014, AF Ventures is a venture capital fund investing in high-growth consumer product companies. AF Ventures looks for quality-driven brands that appeal to diverse demographics, the company said. AF Ventures manages over 30 portfolio brands across several product categories including Alpha Foods, Koia, Tractor Beverage, Siete, Kalahari, Kidfresh, RightRice, and Wandering Bear Coffee.

Humble beginnings

“Mackay, which is home to our small community of hard workers, has always been known for its pristine, naturally-filtered and mineral-rich water,” said Pennington. “Proud Source Water’s humble beginning began in Mackay, as an idea to help support the local community.

“Mackay is a small town of 500 people and local jobs had been growing more scarce. As a result, community assets like the local high school were in the midst of a possible shutdown. The initial goal of the business was to create impact on the local level and bring the community job opportunities. Doing right by the community was essential to the core beginnings of the business.”

Job creation with the original focus, Pennington told the Idaho Business Review.

“We’re pleased to say that Proud Source Water has grown to over 15 employees in the Mackay area,” he said. “We are also witnessing positive economic impact to the local economy with the transportation of water in and out of the facility. Local businesses are benefiting from the commercial success of the water. It’s also a goal of ours to increase jobs in Mackay by 30% this year, as we continue to deepen our roots in the local community.”

What started as a small venture has grown into distributing a sustainable and green product throughout the western states in the company’s now iconic recyclable aluminum bottles. Its success and growing popularity have gained the firm recognition as an up-and-coming business. It now distributes to more than 15,000 retail outlets including Albertsons and Whole Foods.

What Proud Source sells is a high-purity naturally-alkaline water (pH~8.5) in “infinitely-recyclable” aluminum bottles from a year-round spring on the side of Mount McCaleb. The company uses 500 feet of hydraulic head to gravity feed the water to its state-of-the-art plant. That amount of head allows for minimum-energy bottling. The plant uses only a small fraction of the spring’s flow.