Aquafina
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Aquafina (Template:IPAc-en) is an American brand of purified bottled water that is produced by PepsiCo, consisting of both unflavored and flavored water. The Aquafina brand name is also licensed for use on multiple skin care products, including lip balm and wrinkle cream.<ref name=aqskin>Template:Cite news</ref> It was first distributed in Wichita, Kansas in 1994, before becoming more widely sold across the United States, Canada, Spain, Peru (called "San Carlos"), Lebanon, Turkey, the GCC countries, Iran, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India to compete with The Coca-Cola Company's Dasani and Dr. Pepper Snapple's Deja Blue. As of 2009, Aquafina represented 13.4% of domestic bottled water sales in the United States, making it the number one bottled water brand as measured by retail sales.<ref name=bottle09>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> There are over 40 Aquafina Purification Plants in the United States and Canada. These locations are unknown at this time.
Product variants
[edit]Aquafina Pure Water, the primary unflavored product produced under the Aquafina brand, is derived from local municipal water sources and goes through a purification process that incorporates reverse osmosis, ultraviolet, and ozone sterilization.<ref name="purif">Template:Cite web</ref> Beginning on July 27, 2007, a disclaimer was added to each bottle of Aquafina, stating the water comes from a "public source".<ref name="labelupd">Template:Cite news</ref> In Canada, the current Template:Convert bottle of water displays "Demineralized Treat Water". In response to concerns amongst environmental advocates who raised questions over the disclosure of water sources, a PepsiCo spokeswoman stated, "If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
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Flavored variations are also produced under the Aquafina brand name – all of which are labeled as containing no calories and no carbohydrates.<ref name="nutrfacts">Template:Cite web</ref> Aquafina FlavorSplash, first introduced in 2005,<ref name="flavorspl">Template:Cite news</ref> is a flavored water product line which is non-carbonated and artificially sweetened with Sucralose. As of 2011, it is produced in six flavors: Grape, Strawberry Kiwi, Wild Berry, Raspberry, Lemon, and Peach Mango.<ref name="productsweb">Template:Cite web</ref> Aquafina Sparkling is a carbonated line of flavored water; however its production was discontinued in the U.S. in late 2010.<ref name="productsweb" /> Other former products included Aquafina Alive (a low calorie, vitamin-enhanced water beverage introduced in 2007 and discontinued in 2009)<ref name="rept07">Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore</ref> and Aquafina plus+ (a low calorie flavored water labeled as a vitamin supplement) – both of which have been discontinued in the U.S.<ref name="brandlist11">Template:Cite web</ref> As of 2011, the "Sparkling" and "plus+" lines were still in production in other markets such as Canada.<ref name="brandslistcanada">Template:Cite web</ref>
Packaging
[edit]Aquafina is distributed in Template:Convert, Template:Convert, Template:Convert, Template:Convert, Template:Convert, Template:Convert bottles. The bottled water industry has drawn criticism for the production and distribution of plastic product packaging, which consumes additional petrochemicals.<ref name=actwater>Template:Cite news</ref>
The packaging has evolved from its original iteration to partially offset the environmental impacts of production and shipment. This has primarily involved packaging weight reduction. The weight of Aquafina bottles was reduced by approximately 50%, to Template:Convert, with a packaging redesign in 2009 which, according to the company, resulted in the use of 75 million fewer pounds of plastic during the production process.<ref name=bottle09 />
Sponsorship
[edit]Since shortly after its inception, the promotion of Aquafina has involved sports sponsorships. As of 2011, it is listed as being an official sponsor of Major League Soccer, the Professional Golfers' Association of America, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants.<ref name=sports>Template:Cite web</ref> Its packaging also states that it is the "official water of Major League Baseball", which has been the case since the beginning of the 2008 MLB season.<ref name=mlb>Template:Cite news</ref> In NASCAR, it is a sponsor for Hendrick Motorsports and Kasey Kahne.
Litigation
[edit]Charles Joyce and James Voigt won a $1.26 billion judgment against PepsiCo after saying that the company had created Aquafina by stealing their idea to sell purified bottled water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This judgment was vacated on November 6, 2009, when it was discovered that PepsiCo had failed to respond to the lawsuit due to a misplacement of the paperwork.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>