Live Free Water, an ambitious business created by four New Hampshire natives and alumni, opened its doors during the coronavirus (COVID-19). 

“Our company lives at the intersection of convenience, quality, and sustainability,” their website reads. Live Free Water promises “world-class water” sourced from their local spring in Glenrock Springs, located in Greene, Maine.  

Live Free Water was founded by four local college students and recent graduates from the Lakes Region. For six years, the men have worked together at Lake Winnipesaukee.  

Luciano Monizone, president of Live Free Water and student at Suffolk University, aims to provide exceptional service to each of his customers.  

“What we loved most about our job was forming meaningful relationships with customers,” said Monizone.  

Monizone took a leap of faith in founding the company, willing to take a chance to compete during COVID-19. 

“It’s not really anything I had the desire to do, but because of Danny, Jack and Ethan and their entrepreneurial spirit and then me with my connections, it was a no-brainer to try something,” said Monizone.  

Live Free Water’s business strategy has shifted numerous times since its founding, eventually settling on home and office delivery. 

“Originally we wanted to sell it to beverage companies. Then, we looked into bottling water ourselves. Then settled on home and office deliveries. It’s the most cost-effective and the most environmentally friendly,” said Monizone. 

At the moment, Live Free Water is building its bottling plant in Alton, New Hampshire. All of their work is in-house. 

“We do all of our distribution ourselves. And we’ll be doing all of our cleaning, filling, labelling, delivery. It’s a good system, and when the money is there I hope we can get some distribution going,” said Monizone. 

Live Free Water wants to distinguish itself from the competition by providing excellent customer service to its clients. 

“All of these conglomerates – you’re sitting on the phone for 30 minutes or more. With us, if you run out of water, I’ll be at your house within the hour,” said Monizone. “That local customer service is our competitive edge.”  

Live Free Water is working to ensure that single-use disposable bottles do not exist in their supply chain. As the technology is not quite there, they are exploring eco-friendly bioplastics.  

“We are looking to be the most eco-friendly beverage company,” said Monizone. “The fact that we have a superior product is not enough.”  

As a result of COVID-19, numerous businesses have shuttered. Some, like Live Free Water, have attempted to operate during the pandemic, despite the challenges.  

“People are wary go around and put the cup under the coolers, even though they have no reason to be as we offer COVID-friendly coolers. The customers [offices] are currently closed, and switching their water brand is not a priority for people. There is a very status-quo attitude right now. Getting customers has been the biggest challenge,” said Monizone. 

Live Free Water provides its test results online as an act of transparency.  

Live Free Water also provides coffee delivery to its clients. They offer their Ethiopia (light roast), their Winnipesaukee Sunrise (medium roast) and Italian (dark roast) blends. 

Live Free Water provided a sample bottle at no charge, which was delivered same-day.  

I had the opportunity to sample the water, which had a distinct taste compared to local tap water in Durham, as well as filtered Brita water.  

Photos courtesy of Live Free Water.