You might have assumed after the curtain on bottled waters was pulled back, revealing that half of all such products sold in the U.S. were nothing more than tap water, that the $11.8-billion industry would have swirled down the drain. And you would have assumed wrong.
Bottled water sales are stronger than ever. The demand for “healthier” water remains so great that a cafe serving nothing but “pure water” opened in the East Village in 2012.
Now comes the latest phase in Americans’ obsession with paying through the nose for a commodity they could enjoy free of charge by opening their kitchen faucet. Introducing “diet water,” a variation on the zero-calorie beverage that has — well … zero calories.
The product, produced by Japanese beer maker Sapporo, has actually been around since 2004. Plans to bring it stateside are still in the talking stages, but rest assured: It will arrive. Who knows? It might be a bigger sensation than Skinny Water, Fitness Water, or even Mio, a liquid water enhancer.
See also…
