January 14, 2002 ATLANTA (Cox News Service) - Get ready for the next wave in bottled water: Souped-up H2O for people who find the plain stuff too, well, plain.
The booming market for energy drinks, bottled water and functional foods is leading some of the biggest beverage makers to reimagine water as the ultimate body hydrator. They're introducing or considering waters that are lightly flavored, sweetened and fortified with vitamins and minerals, products that in the past were the province of smaller manufacturers and sold mostly in natural food stores.
Propel, billed as a fitness water from the makers of Gatorade, rolls out nationally this month from Pepsi-owned Quaker Oats. Available in four fruit flavors, it's sweetened with sugar and the artificial sweeteners sucralose and Ace-K and fortified with six vitamins.
"It's for anyone who typically would drink plain water during exercise, but they like the idea of the vitamins, and the flavor encourages you to drink more," says Jill Kinney, marketing manager for Propel. "They might be getting a little bit bored with water."
Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Cadbury Schweppes' Snapple are all eyeing enhanced waters. Like its Propel, Pepsi would sell its other waters under the Aquafina label.
The companies have declined to comment on their plans, but all say that announcements will be coming soon.
Bottled water is the fastest-growing beverage category in the United States by far, says John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest. Case sales of bottled water more than doubled from 1998 to 2000, from 398 million cases to 807 million. Whether enhanced waters tap into that demand remains to be seen. But "experimenting with vitamin waters makes a tremendous amount of sense," Sicher says.
From power bars to calcium-enriched fruit juices, food manufacturers are rushing to introduce products for a booming market in functional foods or "nutraceuticals," foods that may offer a health benefit. Snapple tested flavored water last winter but decided not to proceed with a national rollout. The company is considering other enhanced waters, says Steve Jarmon, vice president of communications.
Some smaller companies already have products on the market. Glaceau Vitaminwater, sold at natural food stores, comes in 11 formulations of vitamins, minerals and/or botanicals such as ginseng, St. John's wort, echinacea and guarana. Veryfine's Fruit20 Plus, introduced in 2001, comes in three fruit flavors with vitamins A, B and C and herbals like guarana and ginseng.
Coke's product, to be sold as Dasani NutriWater according to Beverage Digest, would contain vitamins and minerals in four varieties: bone strength, lemon-tangerine flavored with calcium, magnesium and vitamin B; immunity, orange with zinc and vitamin C; balancing, pear-cucumber flavored with vitamins B and C; and wild berry with vitamins B, C and E.
"Consumers are much more health-conscious," says Kirsten Witt, a Coke spokeswoman. "Any type of nutritive substance, whether it's soy, vitamins, some of the herbs, all of these elements, that's the area that's exploding."
No one questions that water is one of the body's most essential nutrients, affecting almost every major function. The average person needs eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day, which could come from drinking water as well as eating water-filled fruits like watermelon. So why tinker with a good thing?
Nutritionists say that most of us don't drink enough water. Low-calorie waters tasting of, say, lemon-tangerine or black cherry may be a good way to increase hydration for those reluctant to drink plain water, but consumers should read the label before buying, says Jackie Berning, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association and specialist in sports nutrition.
If a bottled water has added ingredients, the label on the front of the bottle must give some indication, such as, "spring water with vitamins." Checking the nutrition facts label on the back of the bottle for calories, carbohydrates and botanical ingredients is a good idea, says Berning.
Propel, for example, has 10 calories per 8-ounce serving, about 10 percent of the calories you'd find in a similar-size Coca-Cola. It's sold in 17- and 24-ounce bottles. Berning advises her clients to steer clear of products that contain guarana, an herbal caffeine that can be dehydrating, and ginseng, a central nervous system stimulant.
If you take a multivitamin or eat a lot of fortified foods, you should pick a bottled water with a lower dose of vitamins, she says. And you shouldn't rely exclusively on such products for your water needs. Added vitamins likely won't make much difference for most consumers, says Berning.
"Chances are you're probably getting the B vitamins in the nutrients you're including in a balanced diet," Berning says. "This is added insurance to make sure you get some B vitamins. They're at a pretty low dose, so it's not like you'd meet all your nutritional requirements by drinking three Propels."
Copyright 2002 Cox News Service. All rights reserved.
