Poland Spring Sparkling products. Credit: Nestlé Water North America

Nestlé Water North America is launching a portfolio of sparkling spring water including new flavours, branding and packaging choices in the US in February.

Nestlé Water is applying its expertise from ownership of Perrier and San Pellegrino to six of its spring water brands: Poland Spring, Deer Park, Zephyrhills, Ozarka and Ice Mountain. The company was motivated in this move by the growing number of consumers choosing sparkling water over other beverage options for health reasons.

The new sparkling water products will continue to use spring water, which gives them an edge in a crowded market, and use only natural fruit flavours. They will also be calorie-free and contain no sugar, sweeteners or added colours, like the still spring water products of the brands.

Consumer insight and testing determined the new flavours options. They include pomegranate lemonade, triple berry, raspberry lime, black cherry and orange.

The launch includes a packaging redesign. This includes sleeker PET bottles which resemble vintage glass with more prominent branding and fruit imagery on the label and a distinctive coloured cap. In response to consumer demand, 12oz cans with colourful fruit graphics. Packs of the cans and bottles will now have a bold rainbow design.

Nestlé Waters North America executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Antonio Sciuto, explained the company’s decision to expand the portfolio of its spring water brands, saying: “Consumers are choosing sparkling water at an unprecedented rate. We already have great equity in our Regional Spring Water brands, and we hope that, as our existing customers enter the sparkling category, they will choose our brands first. With our ten great flavour options, they now have a whole new way to enjoy the spring water they love.”

“As consumers increasingly choose healthy beverages over sugary soft drinks and juices, they are looking for exciting new options. Now is the time to give millions of Americans the sparkling product they have been missing – combining the regional spring water brands they love with delicious natural flavours and added bubbles in both bottles and cans,” he continued.

The sparkling water market has flourished in recent years. Global sales grew by 70% between 2011 and 2016, according to Euromonitor. US sparkling water sales surpassed those of carbonated soft drinks in 2016, making the former the largest beverage category by volume in the country.

“Following rapid growth over the past few years, the sparkling water category is now mature enough for us to make a significant investment in developing this extensive line of mainstream sparkling offerings from our regional spring water brands, each of which is the top-selling still spring water brand in its market,” he said.

Nestlé Water is hoping that through the introduction of sparkling spring water products, associated packaging rebrand and investment into advertising and marketing the number of households who buy its spring water products in 2020 will be double those who bought them in 2016.