By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
CHEROKEE, N.C. – Thanks to a new distribution deal, Cherokee Water ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᎹ will be available to thousands more people in the region. The water, a product of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), will now be distributed by Pepsi Co. along with a new marketing strategy entitled “Yes Cherokee Can”.
“This is just an agreement that they are our exclusive distributor,” said Pamela Sneed, EBCI director of enterprise development. “There is no money involved except for what they pay for the water. We’re not paying them for anything.”
Above is an advertisement coming out for Cherokee Water ᏣᎳᎩ ᎠᎹ cans as the company is starting a new distribution deal with Pepsi Co. (Image courtesy of EBCI Commerce)
She added, “So now, Pepsi can put our water front and center. If you go into Food Lion, our cooler is right as you’re walking out the door so if you want some of our water you have to go back and get in line. And how many people do that? They don’t have cases for us. We just have a little cooler that we stock. But now, with Pepsi doing it, Pepsi will be able to sell those cases. Pepsi will make sure that our water is front and center. Our water will be in those coolers before you check out, not after you check out. It’s product placement. They can do this for us. Pepsi is going to go as far as Greensboro and some mom and pop shops down into South Carolina. That’s where they’re going to see our water.”
Sean Ross, EBCI Secretary of Commerce, commented, “With this Pepsi contract, it ties us into an agreement with the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, and this is going to be exclusive product at that venue for all of the concerts, all the events, all the programs they have there…They wanted to partner with us and they believed in this canned product. It makes sense from a branding perspective, being the Harrah’s Cherokee Center, having Cherokee canned water. But it was more than that. It was our commitment to a like-minded mindset of what we were trying to do with our goals…talking about how big it is to have a major venue within the region that is partnering with us and making our product exclusive.”
He said the exposure to new customers will be huge. “It starts at a 60-mile radius and it expands to, roughly, a 240-mile radius. So, that footprint gets significantly bigger. And, basically, the distribution and sales align with that…we know our reach will expand by that much. Our product will expand by that much. Just going into that relationship with the Harrah’s Cherokee Center puts us at 170,000 cans and that’s just a start.”
Sneed said, “Their reach is further than we can get at this point. We just don’t have the manpower like they do or have the connections like with the event center.”
She related that Pepsi has agreed to keep the prices the same, and Cherokee Water will not lose any employees. “Pepsi doesn’t do our 5-gallon jugs. They don’t want to do that, so we will still maintain that. We will keep all the tribal businesses and all the residential businesses and the hospitals that we do right now.”
Sneed said the contract with Pepsi will be year-to-year. “So, at the end of this time next year, if it doesn’t pan out for either one of us, then we’ll just walk away. But, they are ready to hit the ground running. They have been talking to Walmart and Food Lion and Ingles and putting our water in these stores that we didn’t have the opportunity before to put them in.”
Branding is an important aspect to the product which currently features the Cherokee Long Man story on the can. Secretary Ross commented, “When you put this one against all these other waters, this one has a story to it. It has a concept and there truly is a brand within it. There’s stories within it. There’s something to tell other than just opening it up and taking a drink of it. There’s an ability to connect to it, either for a cause or for a culture. And, I think we’ve done it in a tasteful way. Pam’s been super strategic with that. We’re not exploiting our culture in any way. The whole Long Man legend ties into the preservation of our waters. We’re trying to preserve our environment. So, we tastefully connect to the culture without exploiting it.”
Cherokee Water recently featured the Tsalagi Anata Anitsvyasdi (Cherokee Lady Braves) on a can after winning their second consecutive 1A State Basketball Championship. And, there are plans to do more themed can designs upcoming.
Sneed related that Tap Hopper, LLC in Greensboro, N.C. cans the water and noted that production will increase to meet the new expanded distribution. “Pepsi wants tractor trailers full of water on their docks. And we have talked with both of our distributors and they’re fine with that. They understand what’s coming because we’ve been in talks over a year. This has been a long process.”
She said there are other advantages to using cans for the water. “Aluminum costs more…the cost is more than the plastic. But, the shelf life of a can is 30-50 years. A bottle of water is roughly a year before the microplastics break down…if you have people that want to store it in their emergency boxes, then a can is the way to go. This can has been a can four or five times already, and the integrity is still there. Aluminum you can recycle and recycle and recycle. And the Tribe does recycle aluminum.”
The canned Cherokee Water was launched last summer and was first distributed to participants in the Remember the Removal Ride. The can itself describes the water as “Community sourced water. Reverse Osmosis and UV Filtered Water. Remineralized for taste.”
EBCI Division of Commerce officials noted at that time, “This exciting initiative underscores our commitment to environmental stewardship and highlights the significance of sustainable practices within our community. As proud stewards of the environment, the EBCI has long recognized the importance of protecting our natural resources. The eventual shift from plastic bottles to recyclable aluminum cans is a significant step in reducing our environmental footprint and promoting sustainability. Aluminum cans are not only more recyclable, but also reduce waste and energy consumption, aligning perfectly with our values of environmental preservation and respect for nature.”
