It’s no secret that there’s a shortage of clean water in the world. But we’re lucky here in the Midwest, where dozens of clean lakes and rivers allow us to turn on the tap and fill up a glass of safe, drinkable water.
Despite this fact, the bottled water industry is thriving. In 2012, total U.S. bottled water consumption increased to 9.67 billion gallons, up from 9.1 billion gallons in 2011, according to the International Bottled Water Association.
Nestlé Waters North America is capitalizing on this fact and making a splash with their new beverage: Resource. Resource, a premium bottled water, was introduced nationally earlier this summer.
“We look at bottled water as being at a more value, mainstream or premium level,” Larry Cooper said, group marketing manager for the brand. “And we have incredibly good coverage in those first two tiers, but we haven’t in all these years had a premium entry to compete with the Smartwaters, Fijis and Evians of the world.”
Nestlé is the producer of over seven different types of bottled water, including Pure Life, Poland Springs and sparkling brands like Perrier. Nestlé is hoping to take advantage of gaining access into the group of high-end, still bottled water.
According to Nestlé, the target demographic for Resource is “a woman who is a little more on the trendy side and higher-income side, and the bull’s-eye is 35 years old.” This description alone has made Resource a controversial product this summer.
University of Illinois senior Elisabeth Sledz thinks Nestlé has the potential to reach females who fail to drink the recommended amount of water each day.
“Personally, I have trouble drinking enough water every day,” Sledz said. “I am always looking for new brands of water. This gets me excited to drink them.”
Nestlé was under fire earlier this year when CEO Peter Brabeck said in a video interview that he does not believe that water is a human right, but rather a resource with market value.
Regardless of how Nestlé views water and its place in the world, they are the leaders in the bottled still water industry. Followed by Dasani, owned by Coca-Cola, and Aquafina, owned by Pepsi-Co, Nestlé has a 10 percent share of the market, according to SymphonyIRI Group, a market data company.
In a recent ad, Nestle claimed that Resource contains “100 percent naturally occurring electrolytes,” and the headline boasts that it offers “electrolytenment,” a word Nestlé has created specifically for Resource.
To launch the product, Nestlé held and event and presented a choreographed routine using dancers and – what else – water.
Despite all of the controversy, Resource is gaining positive press in some arenas. Environmental groups such as the Natural Resource Defense Council are going against the grain for an environmental group and applauding the bottled water company for using bottles made with 50 percent recycled material.
“The fact that they are using recycled content in their bottles is something that all beverage companies should emulate,” said Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Environmentally friendly or not, at the end of the day Nestlé is just trying to hit another market.