New Bottled Water Serves Up Inspiration And Health Benefits, Too

This Patch article is sponsored by Jellyfish Water.

With grocery stores filled with bottled water options based on fitness or flavor a new brand of water is pouring into Patch communities as a “philosophy” water with inspiration as its mission.

Patch had the chance to chat with Michael Bagley, CEO, and Salvatore Arena, CFO, of Jellyfish Water about their role in the community.

Patch: How long have you been doing business in town?

Bagley: We rolled out the first production line of Jellyfish Water in the Washington D.C. metro area in October 2021 and we are rolling out the second production line in the New York metro area in December 2021.

Arena: The first NYC location that we introduce Jellyfish Water is my hometown Patch neighborhood of Queens, however, we can deliver in any Patch community around the NYC metro area. We will be in full delivery mode along the east coast beginning January 2022.

Patch: Why Jellyfish Water?

Bagley: For over 500 million years jellyfish have had the unique ability to survive, adapt and succeed in water. We turned that quality of endurance into a bottle of water that inspires our clients to survive, adapt and succeed in life.

Patch: What attracted you to the line of work you're in, and how did you get started?

Bagley: I made some very terrible decisions in my life in 2019 that led me to being sentenced to 48 months in a federal prison camp in Lewisburg, PA.

Fortunately for me, with a lot of hard work, focus and dedication I completed a 500-hour volunteer education program that granted me release 24 months early and I went home on July 13, 2021.

However, while serving my time I made the very important decision to stay as healthy as I possibly could — physically, emotionally and spiritually — especially when the pandemic arrived in 2020.

First, I focused on eating healthy foods like chicken, fish and fruit. Second, I exercised for 30 minutes every day. And, finally, I drank ONLY water every day for two years. No soda, no juice, no alcohol.

Essentially, I drank five bottles of water every day to stay hydrated and healthy: One in the morning when I woke up. One in the evening before I went to sleep. And three during the day.

As a result of this routine, I felt so different — so healthy — that when I was released to go home in July I wanted to inspire others to “think different” about their approach to life, especially for anyone with setbacks and struggles to overcome.

Immediately after arriving home on Day 1, I went to work designing the bottle, the message, the label and the logistics. Again, with hard work and dedication, the first 30 cases of inspiration were delivered to the warehouse on Day 100.

Patch: How would you say your business distinguishes itself from the others?

Arena: Since most bottled water on the market is either based on flavor or based on fitness, we decided to produce a bottle of water based on “philosophy” so that we could inspire our clients with the message on the bottle.

Jellyfish Water is specifically produced to inspire our clients to “think different” about their body, mind and soul. The 12 Principles of Life that we share with our clients on the bottle are a framework for living a happy, healthy life that anyone can follow.

Also, we serve this purified water in a very cool and unique 12 oz. bottle and we only sell it by the case, which there are 24 bottles in a case. In fact, our clients enjoy the convenience of having Jellyfish Water delivered to their door in bulk so that they can have at least one bottle per day throughout the month.

Finally, with gas prices such as they are, we help our clients save $4 per gallon of gas so they don’t have to drive to the store. We deliver 24 bottles of inspiration to your door at a price of $1 per bottle.

Patch: If you had to sum up your business mission to a stranger in five words, what would those words be?

Arena: Jellyfish Water: Refresh — Reset — Rejoice

Patch: What's the most satisfying part of your job?

Bagley: It is the smile from someone who reads the Jellyfish Water label for the first time. When they see the message on the bottle, they see words of inspiration that they can identify with. People smile because they feel good about what the words represent to them in their own life.

I am a perfect example of a success story for drinking Jellyfish Water. By following the “philosophy” of the message on the bottle each day, my personal and professional lives get better each month as I go forward in life.

From a personal perspective, my family relationships are better because I make the 12 Principles part of my daily life.

From a business perspective, I went from prison release to product release in 100 days and there is much more success to come in 2022.

It’s great fun to see the successful results in my life as I follow the philosophy!

Patch: What's the biggest challenge or most difficult moment you've faced in your job?

Bagley: Learning the business and the logistics of moving a case of inspiration from the manufacturer to the client.

Jellyfish Water is bottled at a 40,000 square foot bottling facility in Maryland which uses an eight-step engineering process to purify the water. The result is that the water is a much higher purity than either spring water, tap water or filtered water.

In fact, purified water represents the fastest growing segment of the bottled water industry.
And for our “green” friends out there in the Patch communities, our bottles are made of 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic and are the “greenest” material available in the bottled water industry.

Patch: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given when it comes to success?

Arena: When you make mistakes in life, take the opportunity to learn from those mistakes and make adjustments. That sounds easy, but everyone stumbles from time to time.

Our business mission is to inspire people with our water in their daily lives. To refresh and reset from mistakes, but also to rejoice in the successes of life.

Patch: Are there any new projects or endeavors that you are working on that you are excited about? If so, what details can you share and what makes it so exciting?

Bagley: Yes, most definitely! In January 2022, we will be announcing partnerships with college athletes around the country to be brand ambassadors for Jellyfish Water.

As Patch readers may or may not know, as of July 1, 2021 the NCAA now allows student-athletes playing any sport in college to work with companies by signing endorsement deals with respect to the athlete’s name, image and likeness (NIL).

These NIL endorsement partnerships are a terrific way for college athletes to partner with a company like Jellyfish Water to earn extra money as a brand ambassador while representing themselves, their schools and their sports.

Patch: Do you have any special promotions for new clients?

Arena: Yes, we are welcoming new clients with a “Buy One. Get One. Give One.” promotion.
When you buy one case of Jellyfish Water you will get an extra one for free so long as you give it away as a gift. We want our clients to share Jellyfish Water with anyone they know that needs an extra dose of inspiration in their life.

For example, you could donate the extra case of inspiration to a nurse’s station at a nearby hospital, to the firehouse or police station in your neighborhood or you could even donate a case of inspiration to a local AA meeting.

Our “Buy One. Get One. Give One.” promotion is about “paying it forward” as a gift to share with others.

Patch: How can Patch readers learn more about your work and business?

Arena: Please visit our website. Readers can also find us on Instagram and Twitter, and our direct business line is 540-308-5762.