Self-employment

Bottling up profits

Entrepreneurs aren't normal people. They aspire to be unique. "We always wanted to be cool and be different, and now it's our company motto," entrepreneur Carlos Costa says with a laugh.

ROGER PIERCE -- www.bizlaunch.ca
[ 2006-04-19 ]

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Entrepreneurship was a natural choice for Carlos Costa (left) and Tim Mulya, owners of Ice Down Beverages Inc.

Costa and Tim Mulya own Ice Down Beverages Inc. (www.icedown.ca) manufacturers of popular bottled beverages. O2 Aqua is a pure, oxygenated water and Ice Down Splash is a low-calorie, natural, fruit-flavoured beverage.

"We primarily serve the health conscious consumer, but our products are made for everyone," Costa says.

Facing strong competition in the bottled water industry, Costa and Mulya knew early on how important it was to position their brand. "A majority of beverages on the market today are high calorie and loaded with sugar," Mulya says. "Our products are inspired by consumers who want to have pure water for everyday consumption."

Poster boys for entrepreneurship, the pair love their career choice. "I became an entrepreneur because I believe the only way to really achieve your dream is to run your own business," Costa says.


Mulya wanted to be his own boss so he could exercise his marketing muscles. "Working for someone else never gave me the proper avenue to apply my ideas," he says.

Their passion and hard work is obviously paying off. Now in its fifth year, Ice Down Beverages has survived the often shaky first few years of business life and is on the shelves of major Canadian retailers.

The distinctive blue-bottled O2 Aqua is available at Loblaws, A&P, Dominion, Fortinos, Longo's, Highland Farms, Zehrs, Sobeys and numerous health food stores.

Like most new small business owners, the duo discovered it isn't easy to get someone else to buy into the dream. "We had difficulty getting small business loans, so we were forced to use our personal credit cards and lines of credit," Costa says.

Future plans for Ice Down Beverages include moving to a larger location, investing in high-speed bottling machinery and launching several new products.

(Correction: Last week's profile on Nancy Kelly incorrectly stated the number of veterinary hospitals using her Enjay pet odour products. The correct number is 246.)



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