Bottled water and cooler delivery round

Small offices, workshops, gyms, surgeries, schools, community groups and households that want regular water without carrying it.

You earn the margin between wholesale and selling price on each delivery, plus a regular rental or servicing fee for coolers. Regular weekly or monthly customers give steady repeat orders.

• Reliable driving and route planning
• Customer service and keeping regular customers happy
• Handling heavy items safely
• Basic bookkeeping and stock control

• Check whether bottled water supply needs registering as a food business with your local council
• Hygiene: coolers need regular cleaning and sanitising, so check what standards customers and suppliers expect
• Goods-in-transit and motor insurance for business use, plus public liability insurance
• Heavy lifting: use a sack truck and plan to avoid injury
• Stock storage space and managing returnable bottle deposits

Startup costs are typically estimated at around £3,000 to £15,000, depending on how much stock and how many coolers you buy, what vehicle you use and how much storage space you need.

Monthly revenue is typically estimated at around £1,000 to £5,000, depending on how many regular customers you build up, your route and whether you add cooler hire. Revenue is before stock, fuel and insurance costs.

Check whether supplying bottled water needs registering as a food business with your local council, and what hygiene standards customers and suppliers expect for coolers. Also check goods-in-transit, business motor and public liability insurance, and how returnable bottle deposits work.