In the 1980s, Spritzer’s founder, Dato Lim Kok Boon was inspired to start the bottled water business in Malaysia after observing on his foreign travels that bottled water offers a convenient and hygienic choice. He also realised that good quality drinking water would be harder to find in a rapidly- developing world. However, in Malaysia at that time, it was not common practise to buy bottled water. Everyone would boil their own water at home and no one was willing to pay for something they can easily obtain at home. An opportunity in advertising came during the 1992 Thomas Cup, won by the Malaysian badminton team. Amidst all the excitement, our bottles could be seen around the arena and many were seen drinking from our bottles as we were one of the sponsors. That sole event put Spritzer on the map by generating great awareness of the product. Fast forward to today, the Spritzer Group is the largest and most integrated bottled water producer in Malaysia with a commanding market share of more than 40%. With their annual turnover exceeding RM300 million, the company has 16 bottling lines with annual production capacity of about 750 million litres of bottled water.
Spritzer is listed in the Malaysia Book of Records as the “Largest Bottled Water Producer”. Helmed by Kenny Lim, the Group CEO, the Spritzer Group of companies comprise of eight subsidiaries that specialize in the manufacturing and distribution of natural mineral water, sparkling natural mineral water, distilled drinking water, carbonated and noncarbonated fruit flavoured drinks. Their manufacturing operations are concentrated in Malaysia. In China, Hong Kong and 14 countries around the world, a combination of sales offices, distributors and their agents manage the sales of their products.
Special qualities of our water
Many people are still not aware of the difference of drinking normal or distilled water versus a natural mineral water. To begin with, Spritzer’s vast 330 acre site of natural mineral water sources in Taiping, Perak lie deep within a 220 million year old tropical Malaysian rainforest. The water is extracted from pure natural water sources which explains its rich mineral content. Sweet to the taste, the water is also naturally high in silicon content. This is great news for consumers as research has shown that silicon has a multitude of benefits; it has bone-strengthening qualities, improves collagen production, improves heart health and immune system, helps to lubricate joints, strengthens hair follicles and nails whilst also reducing the appearance of wrinkles! Another superpower of silicon is its ability to reduce traces of aluminium from human bodies. All of us are living in a world filled with toxins including aluminium. Independent clinical trials conducted by the esteemed Professor Exley, formerly of Keele University, United Kingdom, have found that silicon is a powerful antagonist to aluminium. When a person drinks silicon-rich natural mineral water, the water-soluble form of silicon is able to remove aluminium toxins from the body through urine. In addition, analysis conducted back home by the Standard and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia ( SIRIM ) found that Spritzer’s Natural Mineral Water contains zero microplastics. This makes it completely safe for consumption. Indeed, who knew that a bottle of Spritzer could be so good for you?
The passionate green practises
Many people avoid drinking bottled water as they feel that it is bad for the environment. The truth is, Group CEO Kenny Lim is a passionate advocate for going green. Throughout the entire production and maintenance process, the company goes to great lengths to be as kind as possible to Mother Earth. The Spritzer Natural Mineral Water bottle is made with 35% less plastic. The bottle, cap and even labels can be fully recycled. After drinking, people can give the bottle an easy twist, crumple it up and pop it into a recycling bin. This ‘twist to recycle’ feature saves up to 57% of recycling space. Meanwhile, Acilis by Spritzer is a plant-based bottle made from up to 30% plant-based materials including agricultural waste. The result? A reduction in carbon emissions to make a healthy beverage that is sold in ‘green’ packaging.
100% recyclable materials by 2030
A big proponent of the circular economy, Kenny has pledged that come 2030, it is Spritzer’s intention that all products will be made of 100% rPET. This follows in the footsteps of Spritzer Natural Mineral Water and Acilis. Intensive efforts are continuously being put into the company’s R&D on recycling materials and plastics. Under Kenny’s leadership, Spritzer is taking green practises to a whole new level. Spritzer is one of the key players in the establishment of the Malaysia Recycling Alliance (MAREA), a group of 10 companies, set up to communicate with government agencies and private sectors on how to advocate recycling collection rate and increase green practises in Malaysia. With packaging waste escalating in recent times, environmental concerns are at an all-time high. MAREA aims to promote sustainable end-of-life disposal of post-consumer plastic packaging waste through higher recyclability and recycled content.
A green and better future
Spritzer has indeed come a long way since 1989 where the first bottle of Spritzer Natural Mineral Water was “born” in Tupai, Taiping, Perak at a smallscale bottling plant. In 1994, the Spritzer bottling plant was moved to Air Kuning in Taiping, Perak where today it is a beautiful, vast environment with pristine tropical rainforests serving as a backdrop. A proud testament to their goals to preserve Mother Earth, Spritzer has started to renovate their buildings in order to achieve international-standard green building status, with installed solar panels to generate solar energy. Spritzer employs a team of professionals who maintain and protect the plant, in order to ensure that the water source continues to hold pure and clean water at all times. Once the water is extracted, it is hygienically filtered before being transferred to the all-familiar, iconic green Spritzer bottle. The team use automated and advanced bottling technology throughout the entire process to ensure that each and every bottle of Spritzer Natural Mineral Water maintains its pristine quality. It is this pristine and exceptional quality that has led Spritzer to gain international certifications and win numerous awards.
The company’s belief in giving back and contributing to society means that CSR projects are a regular activity and include Blood Donation drives, donation drives for pandemic front-liners and flood victims, Feed the Poor Projects, Coral Replanting, Active at Work challenges and many more. These days, the founder, Dato Lim Kok Boon has a new labour of love; the Spritzer Eco-Park. The park was opened in mid 2015 with the intention to educate their visitors of the importance of taking care of Mother Earth as well as how the brand’s mineral water comes from a pristine and natural source. The beautiful green eco-park next to the Spritzer factory has a Discovery Tunnel, 18-hole mini-golf course, café, and various other interesting features for their visitors. Spritzer Eco-Park is where friends and family can come together and have fun, and enjoy an interesting visit to the manufacturing plant to see how Spritzer products are packed from source to bottle, and continue to provide the highest quality drinking water whilst protecting Mother Earth.
