Open Water
| Formerly | Green Sheep (Green Sheep Water) |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Industry | Bottled water; beverages |
| Founded | 2014 (as Green Sheep) |
| Founders | Nicole Doucet; Jess Page |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois, U.S |
Key people | Nicole Doucet (co-founder and CEO); Jess Page (co-founder and chief brand officer) |
| Products | Still and sparkling water in aluminum bottles and cans |
| Website | https://drinkopenwater.com/ |
Open Water is an American bottled water company based in Chicago that sells still and sparkling water in recyclable aluminum bottles and cans as an alternative to single-use plastic bottles.[1][2] It was founded in 2014 by Nicole Doucet and Jess Page, originally under the name Green Sheep, and adopted the name Open Water in 2018.[3][2] The company positions itself around reducing ocean plastic pollution, using the slogan "More Ocean. Less Plastic.," and donates a portion of its sales to ocean-conservation causes.[4][2] Third-party coverage has described Open Water as one of the early brands in the aluminum canned- and bottled-water category.[5][6]
History
Doucet and Page conceived of the company as undergraduates at the University of Miami after seeing a 2009 documentary about plastic pollution, and spent roughly five years researching packaging materials before launching.[6][7] They chose aluminum, which has a higher recycling rate than plastic and can be recycled repeatedly, and introduced their first aluminum-bottled still water in 2014 under the name Green Sheep.[1][8] The company added a sparkling version in 2016, 12-ounce cans in 2018, and 16-ounce "Tallgirl" cans in 2022.[8][2]
The founders renamed the company Open Water in 2018 to more directly connect the brand to its ocean-conservation mission, rolling out new packaging nationwide.[3] Open Water took part in the University of Chicago Booth School of Business's Polsky Center New Venture Challenge in 2015, and Doucet later earned an MBA from Booth.[8][1] The company grew quickly in its early years and was named the fastest-growing company in the Midwest on Inc. magazine's 2021 Inc. 5000 list, reflecting reported revenue growth of about 2,470 percent from 2017 to 2019.[9][10] Open Water has said it doubled its revenue each year beginning in 2020 and had raised less than $4 million in total funding as of 2023.[2]
Open Water is a certified Women-Owned business (WBENC) and a member of 1% for the Planet, and it has described itself as minority-, woman-, and LGBTQIA+-owned; it became a Certified B Corporation in 2025.[4][11][8] In 2020, the company said it became the first bottled-water company to be certified Climate Neutral, a certification it later moved away from while continuing to offset its carbon footprint.[12][8]
Products and packaging
Open Water sells purified, re-mineralized still and sparkling water.[1] Its packaging formats include 16-ounce resealable aluminum bottles, 12-ounce cans, and 16-ounce "Tallgirl" cans, in still and sparkling varieties.[2][13] The company markets its packaging rather than a specific water source, and prices its products at a premium to plastic-bottled water because aluminum is more expensive to produce; a 16-ounce bottle retailed for roughly $1.49 to $1.99 as of 2020, while 12-ounce cans have sold for under a dollar.[1][5] In 2024, Open Water refreshed its visual branding with the Swedish agency F&B Happy.[13]
Sustainability and sourcing
Open Water uses an asset-light production model it calls "Local Everywhere," working with a network of regional filling stations to bottle water closer to where it is sold and reduce transportation emissions.[13][14] The company has said its aluminum packaging contains a high share of recycled content, and it donates one percent of sales to ocean-conservation nonprofits through a program it calls Sea Change Grants.[15][4] Open Water reports that its products have eliminated the need for more than 100 million plastic bottles, and it said it passed 200 million in 2026.[14][8]
Distribution and partnerships
For much of its early history, Open Water sold primarily through "on-premise" channels such as zoos, aquariums, museums, hotels, gyms, and restaurants rather than grocery stores; the company has said these accounts once made up the large majority of its revenue.[2][1] Early accounts included the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Chicago's Field Museum, Hyatt hotels, and Sweetgreen.[1][2] Open Water began entering traditional retail in 2020, and its products have since been carried by retailers including Whole Foods, Kroger and its banners, and Stop & Shop.[2][13]
In 2024, Open Water partnered with Chipotle Mexican Grill to replace plastic water bottles across the chain's roughly 3,500 U.S. restaurants, making Chipotle its largest restaurant partner, and it became the official water of the Los Angeles Clippers and their arena, Intuit Dome.[14][4] Other activations have included a plastic-free partnership at the 2023 Academy Awards and a 2026 aluminum-can recycling display with the Every Can Counts program at Intuit Dome.[11][16][17]
Leadership
Nicole Doucet is Open Water's co-founder and chief executive officer; she studied finance and economics at the University of Miami and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.[1][10] Jess Page is a co-founder and serves as chief brand officer, having earlier been described as the company's chief operating officer; her background is in graphic design.[13][1] Niki Mazaroli is the company's director of sustainability and community engagement.[16]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Elejalde-Ruiz, Alexia (February 21, 2020). "Water in aluminum bottles. Straw-less lids. Reusable cups. As plastic waste concerns grow, the search for sustainable packaging has gone mainstream". Chicago Tribune.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Monteros, Maria (July 25, 2023). "From zoos to aquariums, inside Open Water's unorthodox sales channels". Modern Retail.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Green Sheep Water Rebrands to Open Water" (Press release). PR Newswire. September 25, 2018.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Open Water Becomes Official Water of the LA Clippers and new home Intuit Dome" (Press release). BevNET. August 6, 2024.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Avery, Brad (April 7, 2023). "Metal Heads: Liquid Death Started a Canned Water Revolution, Now the Cavalry Has Arrived". BevNET.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lagorio-Chafkin, Christine (March 16, 2021). "How 2 College Students Broke Into the Beverage Business by Reinventing Bottled Water". Inc.
- ↑ Zuniga, Reanna (July 27, 2021). "Notable & Quotable: Jess Page and Nicole Doucet, founders of Open Water". PitchBook.
- ↑ "Polsky Center Startups Adgile Media Group and Open Water Team Up to Drive Sustainability". University of Chicago Polsky Center. December 18, 2024.
- ↑ Davis, Katherine (March 18, 2021). "Chicago bottled water company is the fastest growing business in the Midwest, according to Inc. 5000 list". Chicago Business Journal.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Steinberg, Scott (June 25, 2021). "New Venture Challenge: Rising to the Challenge". Chicago Booth Magazine.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Member Spotlight: Meliora, Oceana, Open Water, & Plastic Free July". Plastic Pollution Coalition. June 7, 2023.
- ↑ "Open Water Becomes First Climate Neutral Certified Bottled Water Company" (Press release). BevNET. April 22, 2020.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Southard, Lukas (October 9, 2024). "Open Water Unveils 'Optimistic' New Packaging". BevNET.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Chipotle Quenches Summertime Thirst With New Beverage Lineup" (Press release). Chipotle Mexican Grill. July 22, 2024.
- ↑ Reynolds, Conor (March 21, 2024). "Canned water rides wave of interest in sustainability". Just Drinks.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Trevarthan, Audrey (January 15, 2026). "Every Can Counts debuts recycling cage at Los Angeles Clippers Plaza". Recycling Today.
- ↑ "Every Can Counts and Open Water Debut Recycling-Themed Cage at Intuit Dome's Los Angeles Clippers Plaza" (Press release). Waste360. January 14, 2026.