4 ms·

I run an e-commerce store as a side-hustle: https://drinkyourdailywater.com/ https://drinkyourdailywater.com/ We sell glass water jugs targeted at desk workers

by pigcat 5y ago

I run an e-commerce store as a side-hustle: https://drinkyourdailywater.com/ https://drinkyourdailywater.com/ We sell glass water jugs targeted at desk workers, to help remind you to drink enough water. I created it because I wasn't drinking enough water. Running paid ads has been very hit or miss, and I don't have a knack for the marketing. But word-of-mouth has been good for us and we get the odd corporate sale here or there.

gxespino 5y ago
Been looking for something like this. Just ordered one!
- pigcat 5y ago
  Thank you for your order! :D
- _nnxj 5y ago
  I bought one too. I tried to make the giant water bottles work and they just don’t for me. They’re too clunky to use. I like that this pitcher is made of borosilicate glass and has a good profile for desk usage. Good job OP.
  - pigcat 5y ago
    Thank you!
greplogic 5y ago
this is pretty cool - if i could ask, where do you find a manufacturer to help you produce this? also, is fulfillment ran inhouse?
- pigcat 5y ago
  I found a factory on Alibaba. I started with a list of about 40 factories that seemed legit and might accommodate a small order (MOQ in their terminology). Since it was a custom shape that I wanted, I shared my designs, and after a bit of back and forth, I eventually settled on 4 factories. I paid for a sample from each, and one factory was far superior. I then had to negotiate down from a MOQ of 2000 units to eventually do a first order of 200 units. Once that one sold out, I ordered 400 units, and now I order 1000 units at a time. Fulfillment is done in house (I live in Toronto), and the warehouse is my basement! Happy to answer any other questions :)
  - greplogic 5y ago
    ahh very awesome! i do have one other question at the moment. is it common for the factory to provide individual packaging already for certain size of products or is it more like sending a pallet over and packaging is sourced elsewhere? thanks so much for entertaining this - this thread has been really cool!
    - pigcat 5y ago
      That's a good question. As a disclaimer - I don't have a lot of experience manufacturing in China, but I can tell you what I learned from my experience! And from what I can tell it is extremely common, yes. Our factory works with other factories they know to provide that kind of thing. For our first order they gave us a choice of plain cardboard boxes or white glossy ones. These boxes were clearly custom shaped because they fit the product perfectly. After selling the first 600 units, I then asked them if we could customize the packaging with a design, and they sent us what's called a "dieline" (google it). Our designer did up a nice design on top of the dieline and that's what we're still using. From memory, I think it was something like 45 cents more per box for the colour printing. Another example is a little info page that we include. At the beginning I was printing them at a print shop, then opening each box, putting it in, sealing it back up, etc. I eventually asked the factory if they could do that as well, and they did (for a small additional fee)
bmitc 5y ago
That's pretty brilliant. I have the same problem, and I think the time gradations are a perfect solution. I saw your other comment about down-selecting factories. How do you do quality checks? For example, as a wild hypothetical, how do you know the product isn't made in hazardous environments or isn't safe?
- pigcat 5y ago
  Great question! I did do a bit of QA myself: dishwasher cycles; hot & cold liquids (a good test of borosilicate glass); drop tests from very low heights (it is glass after all). Most factories worth their salt also undergo some third party testing and I asked for these certificates which detail the chemical breakdown of the glass. Granted, I suppose these could be forged, and I would have no way of knowing. Finally, there is quite a lot of back and forth with videos on Whatsapp, where you see the factory floor, and get a sense of the type of show they're running. Part of the down-selection process is also just how willing each factory is to engage with these types of questions!
asdev 5y ago
how did you get your first customers?
- pigcat 5y ago
  My life-partner and I both used to work in separate WeWorks, for our full-time jobs. My colleagues (and hers) were very supportive and bought a couple, then people would see them around on desks and word-of-mouth kind of just spread that way! The product benefitted from a bit of a viral effect in the pre-pandemic days :P Also, one thing I'm really proud of is that a lot of our sales (around 12%) come from repeat customers. I've reached out to many of these customers and a lot of them tell me they buy the first one for themselves, and then the next orders are gifts for their friends. Eventually I started running facebook ads. That worked pretty well for a while but I really noticed a change after the iOS privacy ads opt-in change. I've run experiments with reddit/pinterest/facebook/instagram ads since, and paid ads are overall just not profitable, at least the way I'm running them! We stopped running paid ads entirely two months ago, and I wish I had stopped a long time ago.
AdamJMarsh 5y ago
Pigcat, if you ever need advice for marketing ideas, feel free to pm me. I have a 14 year marketing career under my belt spanning growth & inbound for B2B/B2C/D2C businesses. I know exactly what it's be unable to come up with the ideas that stick in putting your product in front of a receptive audience of buyers. Especially in this day and age, where it can feel hard to find the confidence or angle for an organic non-spammy message.
probotect0r 5y ago
Post it on r/hydrohomies and you might be able to retire early lol
nlh 5y ago
This is awesome. Great idea, great execution, and great story. You scratched your own itch and turned it into a business. Thanks for sharing the project and background.
- pigcat 5y ago
  Thanks so much for the kind words!
s-xyz 5y ago
How do you manufacture them?

by pigcat 5y ago

gxespino 5y ago

Been looking for something like this. Just ordered one!

pigcat 5y ago
Thank you for your order! :D
_nnxj 5y ago
I bought one too. I tried to make the giant water bottles work and they just don’t for me. They’re too clunky to use. I like that this pitcher is made of borosilicate glass and has a good profile for desk usage. Good job OP.
- pigcat 5y ago
  Thank you!

greplogic 5y ago

this is pretty cool - if i could ask, where do you find a manufacturer to help you produce this? also, is fulfillment ran inhouse?

pigcat 5y ago
I found a factory on Alibaba. I started with a list of about 40 factories that seemed legit and might accommodate a small order (MOQ in their terminology). Since it was a custom shape that I wanted, I shared my designs, and after a bit of back and forth, I eventually settled on 4 factories. I paid for a sample from each, and one factory was far superior. I then had to negotiate down from a MOQ of 2000 units to eventually do a first order of 200 units. Once that one sold out, I ordered 400 units, and now I order 1000 units at a time. Fulfillment is done in house (I live in Toronto), and the warehouse is my basement! Happy to answer any other questions :)
- greplogic 5y ago
  ahh very awesome! i do have one other question at the moment. is it common for the factory to provide individual packaging already for certain size of products or is it more like sending a pallet over and packaging is sourced elsewhere? thanks so much for entertaining this - this thread has been really cool!
  - pigcat 5y ago
    That's a good question. As a disclaimer - I don't have a lot of experience manufacturing in China, but I can tell you what I learned from my experience! And from what I can tell it is extremely common, yes. Our factory works with other factories they know to provide that kind of thing. For our first order they gave us a choice of plain cardboard boxes or white glossy ones. These boxes were clearly custom shaped because they fit the product perfectly. After selling the first 600 units, I then asked them if we could customize the packaging with a design, and they sent us what's called a "dieline" (google it). Our designer did up a nice design on top of the dieline and that's what we're still using. From memory, I think it was something like 45 cents more per box for the colour printing. Another example is a little info page that we include. At the beginning I was printing them at a print shop, then opening each box, putting it in, sealing it back up, etc. I eventually asked the factory if they could do that as well, and they did (for a small additional fee)

bmitc 5y ago

That's pretty brilliant. I have the same problem, and I think the time gradations are a perfect solution. I saw your other comment about down-selecting factories. How do you do quality checks? For example, as a wild hypothetical, how do you know the product isn't made in hazardous environments or isn't safe?

pigcat 5y ago
Great question! I did do a bit of QA myself: dishwasher cycles; hot & cold liquids (a good test of borosilicate glass); drop tests from very low heights (it is glass after all). Most factories worth their salt also undergo some third party testing and I asked for these certificates which detail the chemical breakdown of the glass. Granted, I suppose these could be forged, and I would have no way of knowing. Finally, there is quite a lot of back and forth with videos on Whatsapp, where you see the factory floor, and get a sense of the type of show they're running. Part of the down-selection process is also just how willing each factory is to engage with these types of questions!

asdev 5y ago

how did you get your first customers?

pigcat 5y ago
My life-partner and I both used to work in separate WeWorks, for our full-time jobs. My colleagues (and hers) were very supportive and bought a couple, then people would see them around on desks and word-of-mouth kind of just spread that way! The product benefitted from a bit of a viral effect in the pre-pandemic days :P Also, one thing I'm really proud of is that a lot of our sales (around 12%) come from repeat customers. I've reached out to many of these customers and a lot of them tell me they buy the first one for themselves, and then the next orders are gifts for their friends. Eventually I started running facebook ads. That worked pretty well for a while but I really noticed a change after the iOS privacy ads opt-in change. I've run experiments with reddit/pinterest/facebook/instagram ads since, and paid ads are overall just not profitable, at least the way I'm running them! We stopped running paid ads entirely two months ago, and I wish I had stopped a long time ago.

AdamJMarsh 5y ago

Pigcat, if you ever need advice for marketing ideas, feel free to pm me. I have a 14 year marketing career under my belt spanning growth & inbound for B2B/B2C/D2C businesses. I know exactly what it's be unable to come up with the ideas that stick in putting your product in front of a receptive audience of buyers. Especially in this day and age, where it can feel hard to find the confidence or angle for an organic non-spammy message.

probotect0r 5y ago

Post it on r/hydrohomies and you might be able to retire early lol

nlh 5y ago

This is awesome. Great idea, great execution, and great story. You scratched your own itch and turned it into a business. Thanks for sharing the project and background.

pigcat 5y ago
Thanks so much for the kind words!

s-xyz 5y ago

How do you manufacture them?