Custom Labeled Water for Restaurants

DrinkMore Custom Water produces custom labeled water for restaurants — custom labeled bottles and custom printed cans, filled with award-winning purified water. Bottles are the usual choice here — six cases to start and about two weeks from artwork approval. Cans start at 18 cases and take about five weeks. Use either as a branded amenity or sell them on the menu.

Two Ways Restaurants Use Branded Water

One reason restaurants come to us has nothing to do with branding. Diners notice tap water. If yours draws comments — a chlorine note, a mineral edge, something guests mention more than once — that is a small thing quietly working against an otherwise good meal, and serving your own bottled or canned water solves it outright. Beyond that, restaurants tend to arrive with one of two goals, and the economics differ:

• AS AN AMENITY — complimentary water at the table, where the label does the work of a coaster or a matchbook, and the taste is yours to control rather than the municipal supply’s
  • Takeout and delivery orders, where your branding leaves the building with the food
  • Private dining, buyouts, and catered events
• AS A RETAIL SKU — sold on the menu or from a cooler at a markup, which turns branded water into a margin line rather than a cost
  • Merchandise counters at restaurants with a following, where a branded can sells alongside hats and sauce

Bottles or Cans: Sizes, Minimums, and Turnaround

Bottles are the more common restaurant choice — lower minimum, faster turnaround, and our 16.9 oz half liter comes in flat-cap, bullet, and sport-cap shapes. Cans suit patio, takeout, and anything you plan to sell.

Bottles are the faster and lower-commitment option — six cases gets you started and most orders turn in about two weeks. Cans take about five weeks because each design is printed directly onto the aluminum, and the result is a seamless, full-wrap look with no label edge. Either way, pricing improves as order size increases, so it is worth asking what the next tier looks like before you settle on a quantity. Timelines run from artwork approval and payment. Delivery is included inside our DC-area zone, and we ship anywhere in the continental United States through our freight partners.

Artwork needs to arrive print-ready as vector EPS or high-resolution PDF. We provide the dieline and print spec sheet, and our in-house art team can build a design from scratch if you do not have one.

Mamma Lucia, Compliments Only Subs, Jazmin Cuisine Tex-Mex Grill, and Jessica’s Snowballs

We produce custom labeled bottles for Mamma Lucia, Compliments Only Subs in DC, and Jazmin Cuisine Tex-Mex Grill. All three run 16.9 oz bottles rather than cans, which is the more common restaurant pattern — lower cost per unit, faster reorder cycles, and a label that can be redesigned without a new can print run.

The economics favor bottles when water is complimentary and volume is steady. Cans make more sense when the water is being sold, photographed, or needs a much larger canvas for your brand. Jessica’s Snowballs uses custom cans as their for-sale water product, adding their business’s personality to a previously boring revenue line item.

Common Questions

Can we sell these to customers?

Yes, and some of our restaurant customers do. Talk to us before you plan a retail program though. Water sold at retail carries labeling requirements that complimentary water does not, and we will walk through what your label or can needs to include so it is right the first time.

What do we need to sell these on the menu?

A UPC barcode, supplied with your artwork as a PDF or EPS vector file, so it scans at the register. Beyond that you set your own price. Pricing improves at 21 cases and again above that, which is worth factoring in if you are building a retail margin around it.

Bottles or cans for a restaurant?

Bottles cost less per unit and reorder faster, which suits complimentary table water at steady volume. Cans photograph better, chill faster, and hold up on a patio or in a takeout bag — and they are the better choice if the water is being sold. Plenty of restaurants run bottles inside and cans for takeout.

Can we set up standing monthly reorders?

Yes. Once artwork is on file, reorders skip both the design cycle and the setup charge. Most restaurants settle into a standing schedule once they see how fast their first order moves — and since pricing improves at 21 cases and again above that, a slightly larger standing order usually costs less per unit than frequent small ones.

Our guests complain about the tap water. Does this actually fix that?

Yes, and it is a more common reason for ordering than most people expect. Our water goes through a twelve-step purification process at our own plant and was judged best in the world at the 2025 Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, so what reaches the table is consistent every time rather than dependent on the municipal supply that day. If tap water is drawing comments, this is the straightforward fix — and you get your name on it.

Can we use branded water for private events and buyouts?

That is one of the strongest uses. A buyout or private dinner is exactly the setting where a guest notices the detail, and it is often what prompts a restaurant to place its first order. Six cases of bottles covers a private dining program comfortably.

Ready to Design Your Water?

Send us your logo and we will send back a free digital mockup within two business days, plus a free first sample. We will also help you decide between bottles and cans for how you actually plan to use them.

See Can Options & Request a Quote See Bottle Options

Or call us at 301-591-9391.