Abbey Well (also sometimes branded as Schweppes Abbey Well) is a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

bottled water Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., well water, distilled water, mineral water, or spring water) packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not. Sizes range from small single serving bottles to large car ...

produced by

Coca-Cola European Partners Coca-Cola Europacific Partners plc (CCEP), formerly Coca-Cola European Partners (2016–2021) is a British company formed as a result of the combination of the three main bottling companies for The Coca-Cola Company in Western Europe: Coca-Col ...

in the United Kingdom.

History

Abbey Well was originally produced by

Waters & Robson Waters & Robson was a British manufacturer of bottled water and soft drinks. History Waters & Robson was established in 1910 in Morpeth, Northumberland by Stephen Waters and Thomas Robson as a soft drinks manufacturer. Robson named the source of ...

in the 1980s. The name comes from a location near to the source of the water, a 12th century

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

Abbey,

Newminster Abbey Newminster Abbey was a Cistercian abbey in Northumberland in the north of England. The site is protected by Grade II listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument status. Ranulph de Merlay, lord of Morpeth, and his wife, Juliana, daughter of ...

, one of the favourite places of the founder of the company, Thomas Robson. In 1981, a new bottling site was built in

Morpeth, Northumberland Morpeth is a historic market town in Northumberland, North East England, lying on the River Wansbeck. Nearby towns include Ashington, Northumberland, Ashington and Bedlington, Northumberland, Bedlington. In the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 ...

to bottle Abbey Well at source. The company uses a 117-metre deep artesian well for its still water. As of 2008, the company had 91 employees, produced 30 million litres of water annually and had a turnover of £11 million. In 2000, the Abbey Well label featured a portrait of

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

by fellow artist, Peter Blake. At its source, Abbey Well filters through the area's white sandstone. In 2008, the manufacturer of Abbey Well, Waters & Robson, was acquired by

Coca-Cola Enterprises Coca-Cola Enterprises was a marketer, producer, and distributor of Coca-Cola products. It was formerly the anchor bottler for Western Europe and most of North America. Coca-Cola Enterprises' products included Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, ...

. The acquisition of Abbey Well marked Coca-Cola's third foray into the UK water market after its previous attempts using the

Dasani Dasani () is an American brand of bottled water created by the Coca-Cola Company, launched in 1999. It is one of many brands of Coca-Cola bottled water sold around the world. The product is filtered and bottled. Marketing United States Coca-C ...

and

Malvern Malvern or Malverne may refer to: Places Australia * Malvern, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide * Malvern, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne * City of Malvern, a former local government area near Melbourne * Electoral district of Malvern, an e ...

brands. Coca-Cola was the official drink sponsor of

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and they decided not to reintroduce its previous Dasani water brand which was still used in other countries to the UK market and used Abbey Well, branded under the Schweppes brand name (which Coca-Cola holds the UK rights to), to provide a locally sourced water brand for the event. To meet Olympic branding regulations, Abbey Well water was labeled as "Still Water" for on-camera appearances during the Games. In 2014, £3.5 million was invested in the Morpeth site by Coca-Cola for the UK launch of Glaceau Smartwater. In 2016, £14 million was invested in the Morpeth site by Coca-Cola. Waters & Robson's Morpeth site is still used by

today for Abbey Well as well as for their

Glaceau Smartwater Glaceau Smartwater (stylized as smartwater) is a brand of bottled water owned by Energy Brands, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company. Introduced in 1996 in the United States, by 2016 it was one of the top five brands of bottled water in that cou ...

product and

Schweppes Schweppes (, ) is a beverage brand that originated in the Republic of Geneva; it is made, bottled and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, depending on licensing and region, that manufacture and sell soft drinks. Schwep ...

Soda Water. It is currently the only Coca-Cola water site in the UK.

References

External links

Abbey Well
{{The Coca-Cola Company Food and drink introduced in 1981 British brands Morpeth, Northumberland Coca-Cola acquisitions