Arrowhead Water, also known as Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water, is a brand of

drinking 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, a ...

that is sold in the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

, particularly in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, the Northwest, and in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It is bottled from 13 springs throughout the Western United States.

Discovery

Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water takes its name from a natural mark in the San Bernardino Mountains that is shaped like a giant arrowhead. The arrowhead is naturally barren; it is not manicured in any way. Nearby cold springs on Strawberry Creek in the

San Bernardino National Forest The San Bernardino National Forest is a United States National Forest in Southern California encompassing of which are federal. The forest is made up of two main divisions, the eastern portion of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernard ...

are the original source and namesake of Arrowhead water. The first documented reference by Europeans to Arrowhead springs (Agua Caliente) was in records of priests stationed at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, around 1820.

David Noble Smith David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

was the founder of the first sanitarium facilities at Arrowhead Springs in 1863, which were used to treat patients with tuberculosis and numerous other ailments. By the 1880s, the Arrowhead waters were famous for their supposed curing powers. By the early 20th century, the hot springs were a popular resort for tourism and vacationing.

History

In 1909, The Arrowhead Springs Company was formed and the company's water products were marketed in Southern California. The water was transported from Arrowhead Springs, north of San Bernardino, California, to Los Angeles in glass-lined railroad tank cars. In 1917, the bottling operations moved to a new plant in Los Angeles. In 1929, the Arrowhead Springs Company merged with the company that marketed Puritas water, and began co-marketing the Puritas products with Arrowhead water. Puritas water products were first introduced in Los Angeles in 1894. The Arrowhead and Puritas brands were bottled in the same plants and co-marketed until the 1970s. Arrowhead Springs marketed the brands in separate containers that sometimes carried the Arrowhead or Puritas names alone, but containers were often labeled "Arrowhead and Puritas." The Arrowhead Beverage Company was the bottler for many different brands of water and soft drinks including seltzer, fruit-flavored soda, and ginger ale. In 1932, another important development for the company happened in the Los Angeles area, as it was named the official water refreshment of that year's

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

, held at the ''City of the Stars''. Arrowhead water returned to the Olympic Games again in 1984, when the games were again held in Los Angeles. In 1993, Arrowhead water bought the naming rights for the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim.

The Nestlé era

In 1987, Arrowhead waters was bought by

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since ...

. Soon after, the presence of Arrowhead water bottles in supermarkets across the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the We ...

grew considerably. In 1996, a bottle was introduced by the company. By the early 2000s, the company had introduced waters with different flavors to the market. ''It's Better Up Here!'' is a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

ed tagline for the Arrowhead Water

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 ...

. In 2006, the label released Aquapod under the same brand umbrella. Southern Californian newspaper ''

the Desert Sun ''The Desert Sun'' is a local daily newspaper serving Palm Springs and the surrounding Coachella Valley in Southern California. History ''The Desert Sun'' is owned by Gannett publications since 1988 and acquired the Indio ''Daily News'' in 1 ...

'' investigated Nestlé's bottling activities in 2015 and published findings that the water company had been operating in the San Bernardino National Forest without a permit since its last one expired in 1988. Local activists and retired forest personnel began to organize opposition to the Swiss company's continued withdrawal of water from a forest that is struggling from drought and bark beetles. In December, 2017, the California Water Resources Control Board notified Nestlé that an investigation had concluded that the company does not have proper rights to about three-quarters of the water it withdraws for bottling, including water from the

. In April, 2021, California regulators moved to stop

from siphoning water from the forest.

BlueTriton

In early April 2021,

Nestlé Waters Nestlé Waters is a Swiss multinational bottled water division of Nestlé it was founded in 1992. Key Facts and figures (2015) Sales: 7.625 billion CHF Nestlé Waters has roughly 31,740 employees and includes several brands such as Acqua Pa ...

' bottling operations in the United States were sold to One Rock Capital Partners LLC and Metropoulos & Co. The unit rebranded to BlueTriton Brands, based in Stamford, Connecticut.

References

External links