As more and more consumers seek healthy beverage options, Nestlé Waters North America is preparing to drive significant growth in the sparkling water category. The company is applying its sparkling expertise from premium brands Perrier® and S.Pellegrino® and harnessing the brand loyalty to its Regional Spring Water Brands to offer Americans a new and updated line of sparkling spring waters with more flavors and packaging choices than ever before.
This February, the company is introducing an entirely new sparkling portfolio for its six beloved Regional Spring Water brands - Poland Spring®, Deer Park®, Zephyrhills®, Ozarka®, Ice Mountain® and Arrowhead® - with new flavors, a brand new bottle design and packaging, and the introduction of 12 oz. cans to meet all consumption occasions and consumer preferences.
Nestlé Waters is already a leader in the sparkling category with premium brands Perrier® and S.Pellegrino® and mainstream Regional Spring Water brands. 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.
According to Euromonitor, the sparkling water category grew 70 percent from 2011-2016. “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.
The Regional Spring Water Sparkling portfolio will provide consumers a selection of great tastes, with the introduction of all new flavors based on consumer insight and testing. A total of ten flavors will be available -- Lively Lemon, Lemon Lime, Zesty Lime, Orange, Triple Berry, Summer Strawberry, Raspberry Lime, Black Cherry, Pomegranate Lemonade, and Simply Bubbles.
In addition to its new flavors, a key differentiator for the Regional Spring Water Sparkling portfolio is the use of real spring water as its primary ingredient. The Regional Spring Water sparkling offerings are made with water from natural springs, natural fruit flavors and added bubbles, and are, like always, free of calories with no sugars, sweeteners or colors – just a refreshing and delicious taste.
“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,” said Sciuto.
Beginning in February at retailers including supermarkets, club stores, convenience stores and chain drug stores, consumers will discover exciting new packaging features in the Regional Spring Water Sparkling portfolio such as:
- Proprietary bottle design – a sleek, elegant PET bottle design that resembles vintage glass, is more comfortable to hold and highlights the movement of sparkling bubbles
- Eye-catching label – more prominent branding and fruit imagery, as well as a new colored cap to accentuate visual brand cues and distinguish from competitors
- Bold new case pack visuals – vibrant and colorful fruit graphics designed to capture attention on shelf and highlight flavor varieties
- Cans with colorful fruit graphics – offering 12 oz. cans, preferred by some customers, in all markets
- Rainbow packs – popular flavor combinations in 24-pack bottles and cans to encourage flavor trial
With these dramatic changes, Nestlé Waters hopes to nearly double the number of Regional Spring Water Sparkling households by 2020 as compared to the number of households in 2016.
Nestlé Waters was the first to introduce sparkling water to the mainstream in the 1980s with the introduction of Perrier® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water in the U.S. Many of its Regional Spring Water brands also have long heritage, such as the Poland Spring® brand, which dates back to 1845. Because of this rich history with water, Nestlé Waters is uniquely positioned to tap into the growing sparkling market.
“Consumers are choosing sparkling water at an unprecedented rate,” said Sciuto. “We already have great equity in our Regional Spring Water brands, and we hope that, as our existing customers enter the sparkling category, they will choose our brands first. With our ten great flavor options, they now have a whole new way to enjoy the spring water they love.”
Nestlé Waters plans to make a significant advertising and marketing investment to support the new Regional Spring Water Sparkling campaign, details of which will be announced later this Spring.
About Nestlé Waters North America
Nestlé Waters North America provides people with an unrivaled portfolio of bottled waters for healthy hydration. Brands such as Poland Spring®, Nestlé® Pure Life®, Perrier® and S. Pellegrino® have driven Nestlé Waters North America to be the third largest non-alcoholic beverage company by volume in the U.S. Nestlé Waters North America also owns and operates ReadyRefreshSM by Nestlé®, the largest home and office water delivery service by volume in the U.S. Based in Stamford, Connecticut with some 8,500 associates, Nestlé Waters is committed to reducing its environmental footprint across its operations. As a natural resource company, Nestlé Waters sustainably manages 47 spring sources and conserves nearly 21,000 acres of natural watershed area. The company is also committed to creating shared value and being a good neighbor in the 140 communities where it operates in the U.S.
