Aquafina

Type	Water Beverage
Manufacturer	PepsiCo, Inc.
Country of origin	United States
Introduced	1994

Aquafina is a brand of bottled water and skincare^[1] products manufactured by PepsiCo, Inc..

[edit] Products

[edit] Water

It started distributing bottled water in Wichita, Kansas in 1994, and was distributed across the United States, Canada, Lebanon, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Pakistan and India. As of 2003, it had become the United States' top-selling bottled water brand in measured retail channels. Aquafina is sold in 12-fluid ounce, 500-milliliter (16.9 fl oz), 20-ounce, 24-ounce, 1-liter, and 1.5-liter bottles.

Aquafina uses PepsiCo's own seven-step purification system, which it calls HydRO-7, which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles, two stages of polishing filtering, charcoal filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet and ozone sterilization ^[2]. PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes substances that may be in other brands of bottled water.

As of July 27, 2007, PepsiCo put a disclaimer stating the water comes from a "public source" on each bottle. Aquafina uses the term "Purified Drinking Water" on its label. In Canada, the current 1.5 L bottle of water displays "Demineralized Treated Water". Michelle Naughton, a Pepsi-Cola North America spokeswoman said, "If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do." ^[3] Their newest development is called the Eco-Fina Bottle; it uses 50% less plastic than their 2002 bottle. Aquafina will now save 75 million pounds of plastic each year.

Bottle of Aquafina

PepsiCo produces several other products under the Aquafina label:

• Aquafina Sparkling, carbonated flavored water, available in Berry Blast (Raspberry), and Citrus Twist
• Aquafina FlavorSplash, flavored water (without carbonation), and artificially sweetened with Sucralose, available in Grape, Citrus Blend, Wild Berry, Strawberry Kiwi and Raspberry.
• Aquafina Alive, a low calorie, vitamin-enhanced water beverage, available in Berry Pomegranate, Peach Mango, Lemon and Orange Lime.
• Aquafina plus+, a low calorie (120 calories per 591 mL bottle), vitamin supplement water beverage available in "Blackberry Grape", "Pomegranate Cherry","Passionfruit Citrus" and "Orange Tangerine".

Aquafina is an official sponsor of Olympus Fashion Week, Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Carolina Panthers, Major League Soccer, and the PGA. Its packaging also states that it is the "Official Water of Major League Baseball."

• Eco-fina, 50% less used plastic than the 2002 model. Released in mid-2009

In Canada, Aquafina is produced at Pepsi-QTG Canada's Mississauga, Vancouver and Montreal plants.

[edit] Skin care

Pepsico also licenses the use of the Aquafina name for a number of skin care products ranging from lip balm to wrinkle cream.^[4]

[edit] Lawsuit

Charles Joyce and James Voigt won a $1.26 billion judgment against PepsiCo after alleging that the company had stolen their idea for selling purified water to create Aquafina.^[5] This judgment was vacated on November 6, 2009 when it was discovered that Pepsi had failed to respond to the lawsuit due to a misplacement of the paperwork.^[6]

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.aquafinaskincare.com/product_center.asp?dept_id=1002
2. ^ HydRO-7 process
3. ^ Aquafina labels to spell out tap water source
4. ^ http://www.aquafinaskincare.com/default.asp
5. ^ Blaine, Charlie (October 28, 2009). "PepsiCo hit with $1.26 billion judgment". msn.com. http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/Dispatch/market-dispatches.aspx?post=1341021&_blg=1,1341021. Retrieved October 28, 2009. 
6. ^ "Judge scraps $1.26 billion judgment against Pepsi". jsonline.com. http://www.jsonline.com/business/69437027.html. 

[edit] External links

• Official site