Glaceau Smartwater (stylized as smartwater) is a brand of

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 ...

owned by

Energy Brands Energy Brands, also doing business as Glacéau, is a privately owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company based in Whitestone, Queens, New York, that manufactures and distributes various lines of drinks marketed as enhanced water. Founded in May 1 ...

, a subsidiary of

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, ...

. Introduced in 1996 in the United States, by 2016 it was one of the top five brands of bottled water in that country with sales worth nearly $830 million in 2017. The brand is also available in other countries including the United Kingdom, France, India, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, The United Arab Emirates, Croatia, Singapore, Serbia, Romania, Malaysia and Canada.

Product

Smartwater is manufactured by

distillation Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separation process, separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distilla ...

. This process removes most inorganic impurities, such as naturally dissolved minerals, but may let low boiling-point organic matter through. Afterwards, certain mineral

electrolytes An electrolyte is a medium containing ions that is electrically conducting through the movement of those ions, but not conducting electrons. This includes most soluble salts, acids, and bases dissolved in a polar solvent, such as water. Upon di ...

such as potassium, calcium and magnesium are added back. There are no known benefits of

distilling Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heat ...

potable water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ag ...

combined with the readdition of ingredients lost in this process.

Pack and variants

Globally, the brand has several variants introduced in 2017, such as Glaceau Smartwater Sparkling Green Apple, Lemon, and Berry & Kiwi. In 2020, four new combination flavors were introduced: Cucumber Lime, Strawberry Blackberry, Pineapple Kiwi, and Watermelon Mint.

Marketing and sponsorship

Starting in 2008, American actress

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

was the ambassador for the brand globally and was involved in a number of campaigns as the face of the product. She was succeeded in 2020 by Israeli actress

Gal Gadot Gal Gadot-Varsano ( he, גל גדות ; born 30 April 1985) is an Israeli actress and model. At age 18, she was crowned Miss Israel 2004. She then served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years as a combat fitness instructor, whereafter sh ...

. In June 2022,

Zendaya Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman ( ; born September 1, 1996) is an American actress and singer. She has received various accolades, including two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the ...

was announced as the global brand ambassador of Glaceau SmartWater and the face of its new campaign "Smart Solutions: Global Water Challenge (GWC)". The packaging featured an image of a

fantail goldfish The Fantail is a goldfish that possesses an egg-shaped body, a high dorsal fin, a long quadruple caudal fin, and no shoulder hump."Fancy Goldfish: A Complete Guide to Care and Collecting" by Dr. Erik L. Johnson, D.V.M. and Richard E. Hess, Weath ...

; earlier packagings featured an

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

. Smartwater was launched in India through its association with

TED Talks India Nayi Soch TED Talks India (originally known as TED Talks India Nayi Soch (Season 1) and also known as TED Talks India Nayi Baat (Season 2)) is an Indian talk show hosted by Shah Rukh Khan, that premiered on Star Plus. The slogan of the show is "Don't kil ...

as the official sponsor for property.

Criticism

In 2018, Smartwater was awarded the German ''Goldener Windbeutel'' ("Golden Windbag") anti-award by the consumer rights advocacy group

Foodwatch Foodwatch is a European advocacy group that focuses on protecting consumer rights as they pertain to food quality. Was founded in October 2002 in Berlin by former Greenpeace executive director Thilo Bode. the organization is active in Germany, t ...

Germany for "the most brazen lie in food advertising" that year. The group said that Smartwater is "nothing but ordinary water" sold by advertising a "scientifically-sounding but completely unnecessary production process" which yields no proven nutritional benefits, for as much as seven times the price of regular water. The product also won the Dutch ''Gouden Windei'' ("Golden Windbag") prize that year.

repudiated the criticism and said that it followed all applicable food labeling regulations in a transparent manner, that Foodwatch had nominated Coca-Cola in order to attract attention to itself, and that "the success of the water with consumers proved that they liked the product for the taste."

References

{{The Coca-Cola Company Bottled water brands Coca-Cola brands Mineral water