Bottled+water

Water Look at the images of these water bottles. Don you buy any of them?

[|Images of water brands] Do you drink bottled water? How many bottles a day/week do you buy? Are there any particular brands that you buy? Do you pay attention to brands? What brands are common in your country? Do people in your country drink a lot of bottled water? Why do you think bottled water has become so popular? Do you think bottled water is safer than tap water? How carefully do you read the labels of the beverages (and for that matter, the food) you buy? Do you think there is "smart" water (the way it is marketed in some bottles)

II. Read the article about water __Exploding Sales for Bottled Water. in the USA__ and the excerpt bellow, then discuss the following questions 1) How did the habit of drinking bottled water begin? Why were people concerned with drinking or bathing in mineral water? 2) What is the reason so many American started drinking bottled water? <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">3) Why do some people not like drinking tap water? <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">4) What age group does the marketing of bottled water target most? Why? <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">5) What do the packaging of water bottles emphasize? <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">6) Do you think the sale of bottled water is justified in developed countries? Is it never or ever justified? <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">7) What is the market perception being promoted by bottled water? What do you think the images on the labels of streams, glaciars imply? <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">8) Have you bought water for its label or for its trendiness? <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">9) Would you drink tap water in NYC (the tap water here is excellent. The problem can be the pipes, but there is a solution for that. People can buy filters to get rid of the toxins found in the pipes.)

<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**III. Watch the video about water in the STORY OF STUFF and then discuss further this subject.** <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(http: //www.wikispaces.com/i/a.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 10px;">[|The story of stuff: water]

<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">If you are i**nterested in how the Nestle Company is targeting a new demographic audience** in the US because it's sales of water is declining in the other targeted groups, check out this article (also found if you explore links in the web page: the story of stuff).

<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; url(http: //www.wikispaces.com/i/a.gif); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 10px;">[|Nestle Company targets the Latino Community to consume bottled water] In the article it states: Even in the United States, Nestlé is now targeting populations that are more likely to see bottled water as a good alternative to the tap because they come from countries where tap water is often not safe to drink. In 2008, the advertising magazine Brandweek reported that Pure Life’s target audience is “recent U.S. Hispanic immigrants, moms in particular, who are un-acculturated to American products, yet have an affinity for the Nestlé name.”<span style="font: normal normal normal 6px/normal Optima;">96 <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">If you are **interested in Marketing, you are welcome to read this article and summarize it or respond to it verbally or in writing (as an extra assingment or instead of the assignment on water.**

<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Food for thought....... <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Read this excerpt from the article //Coca-Cola Company:**Inside the Real Thing**// written by Richard Girard and prepared by the Polaris Institute Researcher

<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> **__ Bottled Water __** <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Coke has become a major player in bottled water throughout the world, mostly in the last five years, as they have expanded rapidly into dozens of countries. Over the past three years, Coke’s water sales have seen an incredible 59% growth; including 68% growth in 2002 (the industry average was 8%). They have dozens of different brands, with their most powerful, rapidly growing brands being Bonaqua (in mostly European countries of countries including Spain, Czech Republic, Slovakia), Dasani in the U.S. and Canada, Kinley in India, Mount Franklin in Australia, Malvern in Great Britain, and Ciel in Mexico. <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> This growth in water for Coca-Cola has been very good for the ‘corporate health’ of Coke, given that Coke’s soft drink brand has been in slight decline, not seeing much growth in a quite saturated market. For Coke, water has been a real cash cow, which is helping alleviate these other difficulties. Still, water remains only a small part of the company’s business, as soft drinks still account for 85% of Coke’s market. <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Non-carbonated drinks, especially water, are to be the core of their growth strategy, though soft drinks will of course continue to be the core of their sales and production. <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> It is often stated that the bottled water industry is still in the middle of its process of consolidation, with many smaller brands being bought out by the big players or being pushed out of the market. It is expected that the big three players in the global market, Coke, Pepsi, and Nestle, will continue to battle for the 30 billion gallon and growing bottled water market and will come out as the 3 key players in the years to come.

<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> ** Is Dasani Real Spring Water? ** <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Dasani is essentially filtered tap water. During the bottling process water is taken from municipal water supply and then treated through a process of reverse osmosis that gets rid of many of minerals in the tap water. The bottler then adds a mineral blend (potassium chloride and magnesium sulfate) that comes in a packet. The packets are sold by Coke to the bottlers where they are added after the filtering process. In the end Dasani is simply glorified tap water that comes in a fancy bottle with an excellent advertising and distribution system to make it into a major brand <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Bottled Water <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Coke has become a major player in bottled water throughout the world, mostly in the last five years, as they have expanded rapidly into dozens of countries. Over the past three years, Coke’s water sales have seen an incredible 59% growth; including 68% growth in 2002 (the industry average was 8%). They have dozens of different brands, with their most powerful, rapidly growing brands being Bonaqua (in mostly European countries of countries including Spain, Czech Republic, Slovakia), Dasani in the U.S. and Canada, Kinley in India, Mount Franklin in Australia, Malvern in Great Britain, and Ciel in Mexico. <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> This growth in water for Coca-Cola has been very good for the ‘corporate health’ of Coke, given that Coke’s soft drink brand has been in slight decline, not seeing much growth in a quite saturated market. For Coke, water has been a real cash cow, which is helping alleviate these other difficulties. Still, water remains only a small part of the company’s business, as soft drinks still account for 85% of Coke’s market. <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Non-carbonated drinks, especially water, are to be the core of their growth strategy, though soft drinks will of course continue to be the core of their sales and production. <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> It is often stated that the bottled water industry is still in the middle of its process of consolidation, with many smaller brands being bought out by the big players or being pushed out of the market. It is expected that the big three players in the global market, Coke, Pepsi, and Nestle, will continue to battle for the 30 billion gallon and growing bottled water market and will come out as the 3 key players in the years to come.3

<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> ** Is Dasani Real Spring Water? ** <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Dasani is essentially filtered tap water. During the bottling process water is taken from municipal water supply and then treated through a process of reverse osmosis that gets rid of many of minerals in the tap water. The bottler then adds a mineral blend (potassium chloride and magnesium sulfate) that comes in a packet. The packets are sold by Coke to the bottlers where they are added after the filtering process. In the end Dasani is simply glorified tap water that comes in a fancy bottle with an excellent advertising and distribution system to make it into a major brand

<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Excerpt from the article //Coca-Cola Company:Inside the Real Thing// written by Richard Girard and prepared by the Polaris Institute Researcher, 2005

<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> (found in the Story of stuff:water)

<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> Listen (and if you need to read) the NPR podcast of the show Fresh Air. The host of the show, Terri Gross interviews Charles Fishman <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 10px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">.