Enhanced water is a category of beverages that are marketed as water with added ingredients, such as natural or artificial flavors, sugar, sweeteners, vitamins and minerals. Most enhanced waters are lower in calories than non-diet soft drinks.
PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company and other companies market enhanced water. The marketing usually capitalizes on the healthy image of water combined with the perceived health and taste. Bottled water was introduced to the United States by television commercials in 1977. After the television commercial, bottled water sales increased by 3,000 percent from the year 1976 to the year 1979. In the year 2004, Americans spent $9 billion on bottled water. Many companies produce enhanced water in the United States. The enhanced water category of beverage continues to grow in volume every year, and as of 2007 was the fastest-growing segment of the still beverage category. In 2001, flavored and enhanced water sales were estimated $80 million, and 2002 proved even more successful with $245 million in sales. The U.S. wholesale market for enhanced water was $170 million in 2004.
Enhanced waters vary from zero-calorie beverages certified organic and flavored with natural herb extracts, such as Ayala's Herbal Water, to the Glacéau brands of beverages owned by The Coca-Cola Company. In May 2007 Coca-Cola bought Energy Brands, the maker of Glacéau Vitamin water, for $4.1 billion to narrow its gap with competitor PepsiCo. This was the largest acquisition in the company's history. PepsiCo owns several brands of enhanced water such as SoBe, Propel Fitness Water, and Aquafina Flavorsplash. Coca-Cola owns the brands smartwater, vitaminwater and Dasani.
Brands
| Water | Flavors | Calories per 8 US fl oz (240 ml) serving | Servings per container |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquafina Flavor Splash | Grape, Wildberry, Strawberry-kiwi, Raspberry, Peach-mango, Lemon | 0 | 2.5 |
| Ayala's Herbal Water | Lemongrass mint vanilla, Lavender mint, Lemon verbena geranium, Cloves cardamom cinnamon, Cinnamon orange peel, Ginger lemon peel | 0 | 2 |
| Clearly Canadian | Mountain Blackberry, Orchard Peach, Wild Raspberry, Black Cherry | 25 | 4 |
| Dasani flavored water | Lemon, Strawberry, Grape, Raspberry | 0 | 2.5 |
| Fruit 2o Essentials | Cranberry Raspberry, Strawberry Kiwi, Peach Mango, Cherry Acai, Citrus, Blueberry Pomegranate | 0 | 2.5 |
| Hint | Cucumber, Raspberry-lime, Blackberry, Honeydew Hibiscus, Mango-grapefruit, Pomegranate-tangerine, Watermelon, Lime, Strawberry-kiwi, Pear | 0 | 2 |
| Skinny Water | Orange Cranberry Tangerine, Lemonade Passion Fruit, Raspberry Pomegranate, Goji Fruit Punch, Acai Grape Blueberry, Peach Mango Mandarin | 0 | 2.5 |
| Metromint | Peppermint, Spearmint, Lemonmint, Orangemint, Chocolatemint, Cherrymint | 0 | 2 |
| Obrilo | Sour Apple, Lemonade, Orange Squeeze, Lemon Lime, Blueberry Lemonade, Cherry Limeade, Grape Drink, Passion Fruit Orange Guava, Wonder Melon, Berry | 0 | |
| Owater | Original, Wild berries, Lemon & lime, Peach, Strawberry, Mandarin orange | 0 | 2.5 |
| Powerade | Orange Mountain berry blast Fruit punch Grape Lemon lime Sour melon White cherry Strawberry lemonade Mystic mountain blueberry | ||
| Powerade Zero | Mixed berry Grape Strawberry Lemon lime Orange | ||
| Propel | Lemon, Berry, Grape, Kiwi-strawberry, Blueberry-pomegranate, Black-cherry, Peach-mango | 0 | 2.5 |
| SoBe Lifewater | Agave Lemonade, Goji Melon, Orange Tangerine, Strawberry Kiwi, Pomegranate Cherry, Blackberry Grape | 40 | 2.5 |
| SoBe Lifewater zero | Cherimoya Punch, Strawberry Dragonfruit, Yumberry Pomegranate, Fuji Apple Pear, Black and Blue Berry, Mango Melon, Acai Fruit Punch | 0 | 2.5 |
| Twist Organics | Mandarin white tea, Marionberry, Mandarin, Peach, Lemon, Pomegranate blueberry, West indies lime, Mango acai | 10 | 2.5 |
| VitaminWater | Dragonfruit, Acai-blueberry-pomegranate, Fruit Punch, Orange-orange, Kiwi-strawberry, Grape, Raspberry-apple, Tropical Citrus, Lemonade, Berry-cherry, Grape-blueberry, Jackfruit-guava | 50 | 2.5 |
| VitaminWater Zero | Grape-Raspberry, Mixed Berry, Acai-Blueberry-Pomegranate, Peach-Mandarin, Orange, Green Tea, Lemonade, Dragonfruit, Fruit Punch, Strawberry-Kiwi, Strawberry-Guanabana | 0 | 2.5 |
| WaddaJuice | Apple, Wild berry, White grape | 50 | 1 |
| Zing Anything | Blackberry-Mint, Ginger-Peach, Orange, Lemon, Lime, Strawberry-Cucumber | 0 | 2.5 |
Ingredients
Ingredients used as enhancements in the water include hydroxycitric acid, chromium picolinate, epigallocatechin gallate, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.
See also
References
- Moskin, J. (February 15, 2006). "Must be Something in the Water". New York Times.
- "2007 US Bottled Water Sales Statistics". Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- Schaarsmith, Amy McConnell (March 26, 2006). "Battle of the Bottles: 'Enhanced' waters can promote hydration but at a cost". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
- Van Deusen, Amy (January 9, 2006). "Swimming in a Crowded Pool". Forbes. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
- "Ayala's Herbal Water". Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- "USDA Grants Organic Certification to Ayala's Herbal Water". Archived from the original on 2012-07-06. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
- Credeur, Mary Jane; Fineman, Josh (May 26, 2007). "Coke buys trendy water producer for $4.1 billion". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2010-11-08.
- The Coca-Cola Company. "Product List" "Brand List"
- *Skinny National Corp. "Skinny Water Home Page" "Skinny Story", 2009.
- Obrilo Inc. "obrilo shakes up the enhanced water market". Obrilo Inc.