STAMFORD, Conn. – As more and more U.S. consumers seek healthy beverage options, Nestlé Waters North America is soon launching a new and updated line of sparkling spring waters with more flavors and packaging choices.
This February, the company is introducing a new sparkling portfolio for its six Regional Spring Water brands—Poland Spring, Deer Park, Zephyrhills, Ozarka, Ice Mountain and Arrowhead—with new flavors, a new bottle design and packaging, and the introduction of 12 oz. cans. While its premium sparkling brands have enjoyed strong year over year growth, the company has not placed an emphasis on sparkling offerings for its Regional Spring Water brands until now.
A total of 10 flavors will be available: Lively Lemon, Lemon Lime, Zesty Lime, Orange, Triple Berry, Summer Strawberry, Raspberry Lime, Black Cherry, Pomegranate Lemonade, and Simply Bubbles. The sparkling offerings are made with water from natural springs, natural fruit flavors and added bubbles, and are free of calories with no sugars, sweeteners or colors.
“Following rapid growth over the past few years, the sparkling water category is now mature enough for us to make a significant investment in developing this extensive line of mainstream sparkling offerings from our regional spring water brands, each of which is the top-selling still spring water brand in its market,” said Antonio Sciuto, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Nestlé Waters North America.
“As consumers increasingly choose healthy beverages over sugary soft drinks and juices, they are looking for exciting new options. Now is the time to give millions of Americans the sparkling product they have been missing, combining the regional spring water brands they love with delicious natural flavors and added bubbles in both bottles and cans,” Sciuto said.
According to Euromonitor, the sparkling water category grew 70% from 2011-2016. Millennials are increasingly responsive to sparkling water, with brands like LaCroix becoming a beverage of choice in recent years.
As for bottled water, U.S. sales surpassed carbonated soft drinks in 2016, making it the largest beverage category by volume in the country. Beverage Marketing Corporation found that total bottled water volume grew from 11.8 billion gallons in 2015 to 12.8 billion gallons in 2016, an increase of nearly 9%, which marked the third consecutive year of accelerating growth.