Fountain Fresh International
Encyclopedia
Fountain Fresh International is a defunct United States company
that operated soft drink and water dispensers at retail locations. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah
, Fountain Fresh developed and marketed in-store, self-serve soft drink and pure drinking water beverage centers in the mid-1990s.
The original value proposition was for consumers to enjoy low-priced beverages by washing and refilling reusable soft-drink bottles in the Fountain Fresh dispenser. In return for providing a bottle and operating the machine, consumers could purchase soft drinks for as low as 59-cents for one liter and two liters for 69-cents, a significant discount from the price of commercially bottled soft drinks. The concept was rolled out in several retail locations throughout the United States, including a large number of Wal-Mart
stores.
The stations proved messy, confusing, and difficult to operate, and few consumers saw the value of saving a few cents on beverages by using the units. The company enjoyed a brief flurry of interest in the mid-1990s, but by the late 1990s, was essentially out of business.
The company has since become an object lesson in understanding user needs before launching a major product line, and has been covered by such media outlets as NPR
.
Numerous scams now operate out of Russia offering to purchase the worthless stock of this company for up to 15 USD per share, before asking for an upfront payment to release the funds. Be warned these are scams that will only result in further losses to the former share holders.
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
that operated soft drink and water dispensers at retail locations. Based in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, Fountain Fresh developed and marketed in-store, self-serve soft drink and pure drinking water beverage centers in the mid-1990s.
The original value proposition was for consumers to enjoy low-priced beverages by washing and refilling reusable soft-drink bottles in the Fountain Fresh dispenser. In return for providing a bottle and operating the machine, consumers could purchase soft drinks for as low as 59-cents for one liter and two liters for 69-cents, a significant discount from the price of commercially bottled soft drinks. The concept was rolled out in several retail locations throughout the United States, including a large number of Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. , branded as Walmart since 2008 and Wal-Mart before then, is an American public multinational corporation that runs chains of large discount department stores and warehouse stores. The company is the world's 18th largest public corporation, according to the Forbes Global 2000...
stores.
The stations proved messy, confusing, and difficult to operate, and few consumers saw the value of saving a few cents on beverages by using the units. The company enjoyed a brief flurry of interest in the mid-1990s, but by the late 1990s, was essentially out of business.
The company has since become an object lesson in understanding user needs before launching a major product line, and has been covered by such media outlets as NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
.
Numerous scams now operate out of Russia offering to purchase the worthless stock of this company for up to 15 USD per share, before asking for an upfront payment to release the funds. Be warned these are scams that will only result in further losses to the former share holders.
External links
- Water Tech Online Article featuring Fountain Fresh International and the Beverage Center 2000
- Behavioral Prototype: Concept and Testing Beverage Center 2000