He and Flax knew that gas-guzzling trucks and planes were often used to ship bottled water across the country or from other parts of the world. They knew New York's system is almost entirely gravity-driven, delivering water without emitting greenhouse gases.
They figured enough people are suffering from a guilty water-gulping conscience to make Tap'd NY a hit.
"We don't believe it should travel from Fiji, from France or even the West Coast," Zucker said.
But critics say sparing the environment from transportation pollution doesn't go far enough. If people drink Tap'd NY, the environment can still take a hit, said Richard McIntyre, director of the water program for Food & Water Watch. According to recycling reports, water bottles make up much of the 80% of drinking bottle varieties that end up in landfills or oceans.
McIntyre suggested residents install filters on their home faucets instead.
Saucier, the city spokesman, said that the bottling of New York City tap water was flattering but it raised the question: Why pay when you can get it straight from the source?
At Irving Farm Coffee Co. in Manhattan, which sells about 100 bottles of Tap'd NY a week, manager Muffin Spencer said her store canceled its shipments of Poland Spring after a few weeks of carrying the hometown brand. "It's a step in the right direction," she said.
So far, only one customer has complained that Tap'd NY doesn't taste as good as the competition, but he begrudgingly buys it anyway out of loyalty.
Zucker and his partner spend their days delivering shipments and going door to door pitching the idea to cafes, delis and hotels.
So far, they have sold 50,000 bottles and 75 New York businesses have signed on. He expects to expand into bodegas and supermarkets by the summer, and hopes to begin beating out other water brands this year. Zucker won't ship outside New York, although he has received requests from around the world. The idea, he said, is to stay local.
During a recent visit to Tap'd NY's small, cluttered office in Manhattan, a table stood littered with promotional stickers that read: "Not from the top of some mountain far away" and "The anti-bottled-water bottled water." Tacked to a wall was a handwritten list of the latest businesses to order shipments, including Urban Outfitters and the Marriott East Side Hotel.
Across the hall, workers from other companies sharing the floor were on break, filling cups at a water cooler filled with Poland Spring.
It will take a while, Zucker said, to get the message across to everyone.
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erika.hayasaki@latimes.com
