I’ll Just Have Water

Last year, the bottled water market posted total revenues of more than $10 billion, and new water products are popping up on retail shelves fast enough to make consumers’ heads spin. Plain water now has numerous fortified, enhanced, flavored or otherwise altered companions, forcing consumers to wade waist-deep in jazzy marketing campaigns and health promises.

“There are a lot of weird things going on in the industry, because enhanced beverages that are flavored, colored and sweetened are being called water when they aren’t,” said Glenn Morris, co-founder and official spokesman, eVamor Products Inc. But retailers building water inventories have choices when stocking their shelves, and FDA does regulate the bottled water industry. On the federal level, FDA regulates bottled water as a packaged food via the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. State regulation usually takes one of three forms. The first mimics the federal model . The second i s the environmental model, under which bottled water is regulated by a state’s version of the EPA. This regulation begins at the source of withdrawal and usually includes inspection, sampling, analysis and approval of water sources. The third regulatory method is a combination of the first two.

With federal, state and local regulations giving shape to the bottled water market, veteran companies as well as newcomers are forced to define their product niches in every aspect of product promotion—from advertising to the actual labels wrapping product containers.

Many companies offering water products with health benefits are using credible research and straight-forward marketing to build market share. “We’re into the efficacious side of the equation,” Morris said, noting the company’s eVamor Water is naturally alkaline, with a high pH, minerals and antioxidants. H e added the selenium and molybdenum in the water are antioxidants but also mimic insulin, as do chromium and vanadium. “The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition backs up all this in studies, so we’re coming from clinical-based science,” Morris added.

Differentiation for LeBleu Pure Premium bottled water is in the name. “Le Bleu’s 5 -Step Purification Process includes steam distillation and oxygenation with ozone,” said Brock Agee, general manager, Le Bleu Corp. “Ozone is the most power ful water sanitizer and disinfectant available—killing bacteria, toxins, mold, yeast spores, organic material and even viruses.” Agee noted the company’s unique spin on purification is patent pending. The product is also sodium free, chlorine free, lead free and Kosher certified.

Other manufacturers are avoiding sweeteners, and warn of enhanced “water” beverages hiding sugars in their formulations. “The most serious threat to our health today is over-consumption of calories, so even with some vitamins or minerals, at 60 calories or more per serving (150 per bottle), you have to wonder if the enhancement is worth the associated risk of heart disease, diabetes and other related problems,” said Theo Goldin, chief operating officer (COO), Hint. “Most flavored water beverages are not [refreshing],” he said. “Products that have sugar are not [either], and that’s true whether it is called sugar, concentrated fruit juice, crystalline fructose, cane juice, etc.”

Many companies, however, are letting consumers decide what’s refreshing. For consumers who can’t force themselves to drink plain water, added flavor makes water-drinking bearable. “Consumers want more from their water than just flavor, but don’t want to drink their calories,” said Vinay Sharma, senior brand manager, Fruit2O. “New vitamin-enhanced Fruit2O offers consumers the opportunity to enjoy great tasting water beverages without the unwanted calories.”

Esoteric waters are also making waves in the marketplace. Liquid OM Beverages, for example, uses a patented process that “energizes the water to the frequency of the earth,” according to Ken Mazursky, president and founder. Mazursky is a certified sound therapist, and instead of treating health ailments by energizing water already in the body, he created Liquid OM water.

Altering water’s frequency range is also the business of Aquamantra. “We use quantum physics to alter the structure of our water,” said Alexandra Teklak, CEO. “People don’t realize the power within water and how it is a conduit carrying an immense amount of information in different frequency ranges.” Health benefits from the products come from three mantras corresponding to each water’s frequency range: I AM LOVED, I AM LUCKY, I AM HEALTHY.

Hydration potential is another selling point for many bottled waters. “The major focus at Hydrate2o is on the science of hydration,” said Larry Stowe, M.D., chief science officer (CSO), Hydrate2o. “Hydrate2o absorbs nine times more efficiently than the leading bottled water, nine times more efficiently then the leading fitness water, and eight times more efficiently than tap water.” Hydrate2o adds organic mineral electrolytes as fulvic acid plus Himalayan salts to purified water; according to the company, this proprietary technology energizes the water molecules so they are more easily absorbed into the cells of the body.

Penta Water also aims to hydrate consumers, and is supporting research on increasing physical performance in athletes via quick and efficient hydration. Preliminary findings from a third-party study at Liverpool John Moores University in England indicate athletes who hydrated with Penta Water showed a 2- to 7-percent increase in athletic performance.

Other findings relevant to athletic performance indicate Penta leaves the stomach 6 mL faster per minute than other tested bottled water, hydrates 16.7 times faster than other tested bottled water, and causes more rapid nerve firing and power output from muscles. This increased performance threshold, Penta says, is possible because of Penta’s 11-hour, 13-step purification process which gives the water unique properties, including a higher boiling point, higher surface tension and lower viscosity.

As children might not always understand the health advantages of regular water consumption, usually defecting to tastier drinks, manufacturers are getting crafty with water product offerings. “With the national epidemic of childhood obesity and diabetes, parents are searching for healthier foods and beverages they can give their kids,” said Roberta Greenspan, Maddie’s Beverage Co. Inc., which markets Wateroos water in drink boxes.

Other companies are also doing business in the kid’s water segment. “Our fortification was chosen to specially address the ‘nutrients of concern’ outlined by USDA as missing from kids’ diets,” said Chris Testa, CEO and founder, Wild Waters.

Ultimately, retailers must educate themselves on water products so they can properly explain the health benefits of products and separate fact from fiction on product labels. “If your product is just on the shelf, and people don’t know about you, and your water is higher priced than the commodity water, people aren’t sure what they should buy,” Mazursky said. “So education is definitely key.”

Morris also expressed concerns about consumers taking all labeling and marketing literally. With new products surfacing weekly, Morris recommends retailers scrutinize manufacturers’ labeling and marketing campaigns. “It’s the truth in advertising issue,” he added. Greenspan seconded the importance of label integrity: “Retailers have an obligation to their customers to read the label of the water drinks they choose to merchandise since not all waters drinks are the same. Sugar and sweeteners can be hidden by many different names in the ingredients listing.”

As with other packaged foods, retailers have an obligation to be savvier than the average consumer about the growing bottled water marketplace. With so much variety in the industry, not to mention steady growth and huge potential for profit, retailers will continue to find a range of refreshing options to meet a range of consumer desires.

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