More than just water
A recent report suggests that functional waters are going to be big — so what is out there?
Stablemate to Innocent at Fruit Towers (the company's London headquarters) is This Water. Summer sees the brand executing its first TV advertising campaign and, by the end of the year, its first appearance in pubs.
Douglas Lamont, managing director of This Water, says they are actively exploring launching the drink in glass bottles, positioning it as the most natural still soft drink there is. This Water, first launched in 2007, is a blend of pure squeezed juices, crushed fruit and natural spring water.
Lamont believes now is the moment to bring healthier innovative drinks to pubs. "Choice in on-trade will evolve as it has done with convenience. The balance is changing and we will be there to capture it."
If Lamont is right then maybe it won't be too long before the new wave of enhanced waters finds its way into the on-trade. Both big players PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have such drinks in their portfolios. Last year in the US, Coca-Cola acquired glacéau vitaminwater, pioneer of the vitamin-enhanced waters (being launched into the UK off-trade this summer) and last month PepsiCo acquired the UK market leader V Water.
Will these waters (identified as a global megatrend in the Britvic Soft Drinks 2008 report) find their way into pubs? One industry buyer recognising the need to respond to market demands believes so, "even if it's to justify that big burger we've delivered to your table".
Bottled water itself grew 2% in 2007. Water is one of the success stories of the last year, as people pay more attention to eating healthily with some moving away from high-sugar, high-calorie soft drinks, including juices," says Simon Midgley, operations director of Market Town Taverns.
It stocks Harrogate Spa Water, bottled less than a mile away from one of its outlets, the Old Bell Tavern. "It's a premium brand that has won awards for its product quality and the unusual silver and black packaging enhances the ambience in our dining areas."
