Glaceau Smartwater

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Glaceau Smartwater
Glaceau Smartwater 20oz bottle
Product typeBottled water
OwnerEnergy Brands privately owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company
Introduced1996; 28 years ago (1996) (Americas); 2014; 10 years ago (2014) (UK);[1] 2017; 7 years ago (2017) (India); 2018; 6 years ago (2018) (The Netherlands, Russia)
MarketsAustralia, Brazil, Canada, Europe, India, Middle East, USA, UK, China
Ambassador(s)Jennifer Aniston (2008–2020)
Gal Gadot (2020–2022)
Zendaya (2022-present)
Websitedrinksmartwater.com

Glaceau Smartwater (stylized as smartwater) is a brand of bottled water owned by Energy Brands, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company.[2][3] Introduced in 1996 as Ice Mountain Spring Water and Glaceau Mineral Water in the United States, it became known as Smart Water in 1998.[4][5] By 2016 it was one of the top five most sold brands of bottled water in that country[6] with sales worth nearly $830 million in 2017.[7]

The brand is also available in other countries including the United Kingdom,[8] France,[9] India,[10] Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China,[11] The United Arab Emirates, Croatia, Singapore, Serbia,[12] Romania, Malaysia and Canada.,[13] Hungary[14][15]

Product[edit]

Smartwater is manufactured by the process of distillation.[16] This process removes most inorganic impurities, such as naturally dissolved minerals, but may let low boiling-point organic matter through. Afterwards, certain mineral electrolytes such as potassium, calcium and magnesium are added back.[17] There are no known benefits of distilling potable water combined with the readdition of ingredients lost in this process.[18] The Smartwater bottle (not the water itself) is used in ultralight backpacking because it's relatively light, strong, and compact, compared with other disposable water bottles.[19]

Pack and variants[edit]

Globally, the brand has several variants[20] introduced in 2017, such as Glaceau Smartwater Sparkling Green Apple,[21] Lemon, and Berry & Kiwi.[22][23] In 2020, four new combination flavors were introduced: Cucumber Lime, Strawberry Blackberry, Pineapple Kiwi, and Watermelon Mint.[24]

Marketing and sponsorship[edit]

Starting in 2008, American actress Jennifer Aniston was the ambassador for the brand globally[25] and was involved in a number of campaigns as the face of the product.[26] She was succeeded in 2020 by Israeli actress Gal Gadot.[27]

In June 2022, Zendaya was announced as the global brand ambassador of Glaceau SmartWater and the face of its new campaign "Smart Solutions: Global Water Challenge (GWC)".[28]

The packaging featured an image of a fantail goldfish; earlier packagings featured an otter.

Smartwater was launched in India through its association with TED Talks India Nayi Soch as the official sponsor for property.[29]

Criticism[edit]

In 2018, Smartwater was awarded the German Goldener Windbeutel ("Golden Windbag") anti-award by the consumer rights advocacy group Foodwatch Germany for "the most brazen lie in food advertising" that year. The group said that Smartwater is "nothing but ordinary water" sold by advertising a "scientifically-sounding but completely unnecessary production process" which yields no proven nutritional benefits, for as much as seven times the price of regular water.[18] The product also won the Dutch Gouden Windei ("Golden Windbag") prize that year.[30]

The Coca-Cola Company repudiated the criticism and said that it followed all applicable food labelling regulations in a transparent manner, that Foodwatch had nominated Coca-Cola in order to attract attention to itself, and that "the success of the water with consumers proved that they liked the product for the taste."[31]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Coca‑Cola Great Britain to Launch glaceau smartwater" (Press release). Coca-Cola GB. 23 May 2014. Archived from the original on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  2. ^ Esterl, Mike (2015-11-18). "Coke Launches Carbonated Smartwater In Expanded Sparkling Water Push". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  3. ^ Team, Trefis. "Coca-Cola Eyes Growth In The Sparkling Bottled Water Market". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  4. ^ "The Wichita Eagle 05 Jun 1996, page 78".
  5. ^ "History of Smartwater".
  6. ^ "Glacéau Smartwater launches 'Hit the bottle' campaign". Talking Retail. 2016-01-07. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  7. ^ "Bottled water companies: top selling bottled water brands U.S., 2017 | Statista". Statista. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  8. ^ Team, Trefis. "Coca-Cola Life And Glaceau Smartwater To Be Launched In The U.K." Forbes. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  9. ^ "Coca-Cola lance Smartwater, une eau "premium"". www.coca-cola-france.fr (in French). Retrieved 2019-06-11.
  10. ^ Mitra, Sounak (2017-11-03). "Coca-Cola to launch premium water brand Smartwater in India". Livemint. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  11. ^ Wang, Zhuoqiong (2022-10-12). "Coca-Cola heats up bottled water market". China Daily. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  12. ^ "smartwater". www.coca-colasrbija.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  13. ^ "smartwater brings a little sparkle to Canada's growing market in premium water". www.coca-cola.ca. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
  14. ^ "Glaceau smartwater – tiszta, friss íz | Coca-Cola HU". www.coca-cola.com (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  15. ^ "A new investment at Coca-Cola Hungary: smartwater". Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  16. ^ "Glaceau smartwater". The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  17. ^ "Glaceau smartwater". The Coca-Cola Company. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  18. ^ a b "'Smartwater' von Coca-Cola erhält den Goldenen Windbeutel 2018". www.foodwatch.org/de (in German). Retrieved 2018-12-04.
  19. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20180707125609/https://backpackers.com/outdoor-gear/glaceau-smartwater/water-bottles/smartwater-bottle/glaceau-smartwater-bottle-review/
  20. ^ "Coca-Cola launches Glacéau Smartwater sports cap". PlasticsToday. 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
  21. ^ "Glacéau Smartwater adds Berry & Kiwi, Lemon and Green Apple flavours to its sparkling range". betterRetailing.com. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
  22. ^ "Coca-Cola launches three new Glacéau Smartwater flavours - FoodBev Media". www.foodbev.com. June 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
  23. ^ "Coca-Cola European Partners : News : Glacéau Smartwater announces NEW sparkling fruit flavours". Coca-Cola European Partners. 2017-06-08. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
  24. ^ "Gal Gadot promotes new flavors of Smartwater". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  25. ^ "Glaceau Smartwater Launches Major Summer Campaign Fronted By Jennifer Aniston". B&T. 2016-12-06. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  26. ^ "Why Coke Tapped Jennifer Aniston for New Smartwater Ads". Fortune. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  27. ^ "Coca-Cola Bets on Gal Gadot to Create Splash for SmartWater". Variety. 2020-01-08. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  28. ^ "Zendaya Is The New Queen Of Coca-Cola's Glaceau SmartWater Brand - GlamStyled". 2022-06-22. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  29. ^ "Coca-Cola's Glacéau Smartwater is the title sponsor of Star Plus' Ted Talks India Nayi Soch". www.bestmediaifo.com. Retrieved 2018-02-22.
  30. ^ "Coca-Cola smartwater wint het Gouden Windei 2018". Foodwatch.org (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  31. ^ "Werbelüge des Jahres: Wasser von Coca-Cola erhält Goldenen Windbeutel". Spiegel Online (in German). Retrieved 2018-12-04.
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