Love that bottled water

http://www.athensreview.com/health/cnhinshealth_story_194234746.html?keyword=topstory

By Rosemary Ford and Julie KirkwoodTHE EAGLE-TRIBUNE (NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.)
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass.— Water is water, unless it’s water.Artesian, spring, distilled, flavored, enhanced: Water of all varieties can easily fill supermarket aisles, with dozens from which to choose.It may be the most plentiful substance on Earth, but lately bottled water is the most lucrative substance in the beverage industry, with worldwide sales exceeding $20 billion. Almost unthinkable 20 years ago, bottled water has become a staple of our culture. On local playgrounds, it’s more usual for a child to sip from a Poland Spring bottle (especially one shaped like a bubble) than the Bubbler — if there is one. “I absolutely believe (today’s children) are the bottled-water generation,” said Chris Testa, founder and chief executive officer of Wild Waters, which just launched a flavored water line aimed at kids, fortified with vitamins and nutrients. “But kids don’t want to leave their juice drinks for something that lacks taste,” Testa added. “Plain water is plain,” Testa said by way of explanation for why flavored and enhanced waters are finding an audience with adults as well as children.There are some people who don’t care about the brand. Whatever is on sale usually ends up in the shopping cart.“I find that (brand) loyalty is quickly fading away,” said water expert Jason Borane from Aquabar, which distributes and markets nonalcoholic beverages. “As more and more boutique brands are hitting the market, people are beginning to question that loyalty. It’s not the day when people can just choose still or sparkling.” But for those who notice and care about such things, retailers are trying to differentiate themselves, whether it’s to tout the exotic and uncontaminated locales from which their water originates, the enhancements that boost water’s naturally neutral flavor, or the added vitamins and minerals said to boost athletic performance.Some waters come from deep in the ocean, desalinated for drinking. Others, like Fiji, come from deep in a rocky aquifer or well, untouched by air until that first twist of the cap. “We make a great effort to communicate with customers that they are getting natural water from Fiji,” said Grace Leon, vice president for marketing.When it comes to these “luxury,” or premium, waters, part of the romance is in the bottle, whether its the tropical rectangle of Fiji, the mountain top of Icelandic Glacier, or the bubble of Ogo. “Thoughts of Iceland immediately conjure up images of purity, glacial lagoons, mountains, ice and a pollution-free environment,” said 20-year water industry veteran Patrick Racz, chief operating officer of Icelandic Water Holdings, makers of Icelandic Glacial. “One glance at our product immediately tells you that it is exceptionally pure water from Iceland,” he said. When it comes to sports, any type of hydrating fluid is going to make you perform better and feel better, said Douglas Casa, a hydration expert at the University of Connecticut who holds a doctorate in exercise physiology.Many waters are enhanced with electrolytes or oxygen, which is touted as a stimulant for the brain, or a way to enhance blood flow.Casa disputes the effect of such additions. “There’s no evidence that bottled water is any better than just tap water,” he said.There’s also an emerging market for flavor packets, which can be a cost-effective way to flavor your water. “I know I need to drink eight to 10 glasses a day, but it’s just blah,” said Nina Riley, head of Water Sensations, which sells six flavors that can be added to water. She developed the packets out of her own search for a cost effective way to jazz up the water she and her family drank. “People do want to drink more water, it just gets boring,” she said. Some diehards, however, continue to believe water remains just water.“There isn’t that much you can do to water, at the end of the day,” said Leon.Rosemary Ford and Julie Kirkwood writes for The Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass.