Harrogate water company lands contract with easyJet
The UK’s best-selling charity water has landed a prestigious new contract that will give it potential new sales of more than 40 million bottles in a year. Thirsty Planet, which is produced by Waterbrands of Harrogate, has been selected by leading low-cost airline easyJet to be sold on all its 157 aircraft which operate to 100 destinations around Europe and North Africa, carrying more than 40 million passengers a year.
Every sale of Thirsty Planet guarantees a donation to the charity Pump Aid which works with impoverished rural communities in Zimbabwe and Malawi to access clean and disease-free water supplies by digging wells and installing cost-effective and sustainable pumps, called Elephant pumps. A pump costs just £250 to build and can supply clean water for a village of up to 500 people. Thirsty Planet sales currently fund a pump every six hours.
Lee Johnson, easyJet in-flight retail manager, said: “Thirsty Planet is a natural fit with easyJet’s principles of running our business in a sustainable and responsible manner. When we heard about the partnership Thirsty Planet had developed with Pump Aid, we were impressed with its simplicity and transparency. The idea that you can transform a person’s life simply by buying a bottle of water is very powerful, and I expect our passengers to respond very positively.
“easyJet operates one of the world’s more environmentally-efficient fleets and focuses on efficiency in every aspect of its business to minimise its environmental impact. This new partnership with Thirsty Planet will also contribute to this vision.”
For every 300ml bottle of water sold on board, a donation of 5p will be made to Pump Aid. easyJet will receive a certificate for every pump it funds, with a special gold standard award to mark 10 pumps.
Paul Martin, managing director of Waterbrands, commented: “We’re proud that Thirsty Planet had been selected by easyJet. Securing this contract gives us a fantastic opportunity to make more people aware of the one billion people in the world who still do not have access to clean water, and the amazing work Pump Aid is doing to help solve the problem. We’re confident that easyJet passengers will make a substantial contribution to Pump Aid’s work.”
Thirsty Planet was launched in March 2007. It has listings in all the major UK supermarkets and with leading charter airlines, and sales account for 65 per cent of the charity water sector.