While the Gilson family entrepreneurs were wrestling with packaging line equipment issues, they faced similar questions in selecting package components. First, they pursued a 16-oz bottle of polyethylene terephthalate that fit the hand well, fit automotive cup holders and had a big 38-mm finish. Samples were packed, but, Ted Gilson says, "It simply didn't sell. Consumers just didn't seem to like it. Maybe they thought it looked too much like a milk bottle." Ledge Rock then tested an 8-oz bottle of high-density polyethylene, "but the general reception to that bottle wasn't real good. Clarity is still a big issue with water," Ted says. That experience sent the company to a more common water bottle design, a generic PET bottle from Ball (Atlanta, GA). It supplies both the 16-oz and l-L sizes, although the company is evaluating other sizes.
