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A teenage entrepreneur who once recalls how last year he had relied upon high school friends to make local deliveries of charity water Give from their cars, believes the beverage is making steady progress and will become a popular national brand.

Ben Lewis, the 19-year-old CEO of Pittsburgh based PurBlu Beverages, is currently looking to expand its sales force to boost the ethical brand in the competitive US bottled water market.

Launched in August 2007, Give picked up significant publicity at the Natural Products Expo West show in March 2008 and has already gained listings with Whole Foods Market stores throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region.

"Give is more than bottled water. It's a movement and our customers have proven that," added Lewis, currently studying Business Management at the University of Pennsylvania.

“It's not just that 10 cents of every bottle sold goes to charity, though clearly that's important. It's also that Give painlessly educates consumers about the philanthropic sector and the importance of giving back. And it lets them choose how to give and allows their giving to become part of who they are.”

Give drinkers can decide which cause to support by selecting any one of three different coloured bottles: Give Life is blue, for children in need; Give Hope is pink, for breast cancer research and prevention; Give Love is green, for environmental causes.

PurBlu will launch an interactive website mid-summer which will allow customers to make suggestions on which charities to make donations towards and vote for their favourite. Besides setting up an non-profit foundation with independent trustees so that vendors can also make contributions in a legitimate way, Lewis highlights that the company will be transparency and inform customers how much money was raised at the end of the year.