Pure water sellers in some towns in the country, have resorted to selling what was called ‘iced water’, back in the days, which is water poured in nylons and refrigerated, as was sold in the early 90s, owing to the high price of water sachets and bottled water.
Lately, the price of drinking water skyrocketed nationwide, making it difficult for most Nigerians to meet up with it’s high cost, especially with the increasing hardship being experienced in the country.
The bag of water used to be sold for N200. It is however now sold for N500 in some areas. The bottled water which used to cost N150 per bottle is now sold for N300 per bottle in some areas.
Nigerians have tried different means to cut costs in the area of water consumption which is very important for the human general wellness. While many have stopped buying bottled water and now resorted to water sachets, some others have resorted to boiling borehole water and sieving it into empty used bottles as a way of saving costs.
This resultantly has affected the sales of both bottled water and water sachets, thereby seriously affecting the income of hawkers in both the bottled water and water sachet business.
As a way of making ends meet and improving their sales margin, these hawkers have gone back to selling iced water which is actually cheaper and affordable.
One of the dealers of sachet and bottled water, Mrs Dorathy Ehis, during an interview with the Vanguard Newspaper, explained that she was left with no choice than to improvise by selling iced water in order to increase her sales.
Her words: ‘I never thought ice water would be sold in Nigeria again since the 90’s. But the continuous increase in the price of sachet and bottled water has left many drinking borehole water.’
‘My sachet and bottled water business is not moving at all. A bag of sachet water is sold for N500 here. It was sold for N300 a few months ago. In a day I sell 40 bags of pure water because those hawkers used to buy from me. But now, they only buy a few.’
She continued: ‘So I added the selling of iced water which goes for three N20 because of the cost of nylon and boiling of borehole water before icing it.’
According to her, people began to buy in large quantities And she found herself making much better sales.
Another woman who sells both bottled and water satchet confirmed that her business got better when she resorted to selling iced water. She said: ‘I sell snacks and water outside a public school. Students cannot afford a sachet of water for N50. Also, if you sell two sachet water for N50, you will run a loss because a bag is N500.’
‘So I had to improvise by selling iced water to increase patronage.’
‘I prepare the water by boiling it and when it cools off, I tie it in transparent nylons. Then I refrigerate them. When there is no electricity supply, I use ice blocks to make them chill.’
She maintained that she sells it for N10 per water sachet and she prepares as much as 200 sachets daily, reiterating that she prepares her water under good hygienic conditions.11:16
