US – Nestlé USA has announced that it has acquired leading alkaline water brand Essentia Water in an effort to expand its presence in the functional water segment.
Essentia pioneered ionized alkaline water more than twenty years ago and is the leading brand in that space in the U.S.
Its acquisition is part of Nestlé’s continued transformation of its global water business, which was announced in June 2020.
The company is sharpening its portfolio to focus on international premium and mineral water brands and healthy hydration products, such as functional water.
Nestlé has already sold its purified water business and beverage delivery service in the U.S. and Canada for USD 4.3 billion as part of its this transformation program.
Brands that were affected by the sale include Poland Spring® Brand 100% Natural Spring Water, Deer Park® Brand 100% Natural Spring Water, Ozarka® Brand 100% Natural Spring Water, among others.
“With the addition of Essentia we continue to transform and best position our water business for long-term profitable growth here in the U.S. and globally.”
Steve Presley, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé USA
Nestlé’s international premium brands such Perrier®, S.Pellegrino® and Acqua Panna® were however not part of the sale and will continue to part of the company’s north America operations.
“With the addition of Essentia we continue to transform and best position our water business for long-term profitable growth here in the U.S. and globally,” said Steve Presley, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé USA.
Essentia uses a proprietary process to ionize water, delivering a clean, smooth taste and a pH of 9.5 or higher.
The company’s 2020 sales were USD 192 million, Nestlé’s disclosed.
“Essentia gives us an immediate strong presence in the high-growth, functional water segment and supports our efforts to capture opportunities with emerging consumer trends such as healthy hydration,” Presley added.
Earlier, 7 Springs, a company that sells water directly to Nestle for bottling, recently received a permit to bottle nearly a million gallons of water a day.
Suwannee River Water Management District voted unanimously to follow a judge’s order to allow the Seven Springs Water company to continue pulling water out of Ginnie Springs and sell it to Nestlé.
Environment activists were however not pleased by the decision saying that it would have negative ramifications on the ecosystem of the river.
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