BlueTriton Brands, Inc. is an American

beverage A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothie ...

company based in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

. A former subsidiary of

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It has been the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other metrics, since 20 ...

, it was known between 2002 and 2021 as Nestlé Waters North America, Inc. and operated as the North American business unit of Nestlé Waters. It produces and distributes numerous brands of

bottled water Bottled water is drinking water (e.g., Water well, well water, distilled water, Reverse osmosis, reverse osmosis water, mineral water, or Spring (hydrology), spring water) packaged in Plastic bottle, plastic or Glass bottle, glass water bott ...

across North America including

Arrowhead Water Arrowhead Water, also known as Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water, is a brand of drinking water that is sold in the Western United States, particularly in Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and California. It is bottled from 13 spri ...

, Deer Park Spring Water, Ice Mountain, Pure Life, Splash, Saratoga, Ozarka, Poland Spring, and Zephyrhills. In early April 2021, the sale of the company's bottling operations to One Rock Capital Partners LLC and Metropoulos & Co. was concluded.

History

The company was founded in 1976 by Perrier as Great Waters of France, Inc. to sell and produce Perrier in the United States. In January 1979, the company opened its first production facility in the United States. From 1976 to 1979, the company was able to increase its sales from three million bottles a year to two billion bottles a year. In 1980, the company bought Calistoga and Poland Spring, the latter of which was nearing bankruptcy at the time. In the following seven years, Perrier increased the sales of Poland Spring from to . In 1987, the company acquired

from

Beatrice Foods Beatrice Foods Company was a major American food conglomerate founded in 1894. One of the best-known food processing companies in the U.S., Beatrice owned many well-known brands such as Tropicana, Krispy Kreme, Jolly Rancher, Orville Reden ...

, giving it 21 percent of the total United States bottled water market and making it the largest producer of bottled water in the country. In October 1993, ''Perrier Group of America, Inc.'', the parent company of Great Waters of France acquired Deer Park Spring Water from The Clorox Company. In 1994, Great Waters of France,

, Calistoga, Poland Spring, and Zephyrhills merged to form ''Great Spring Waters of America, Inc.'' In 2000, the Californian company Big Sur Bottled Water, Inc. was acquired by Great Spring Waters of America. On October 19, 2000, Perrier Group of America acquired the Canadian company Aberfoyle Springs and its two manufacturing plants, one in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and one in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. From 2002 to 2003, Nestle began transition away from the Aberfoyle brand and towards the Nestlé Pure Life brand. In April 2002, the company bought Sparkling Spring Water Co., the largest water company in the

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also referred to as Chicagoland, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the Midwest, containing the City of Chicago along with its surrounding suburbs and satellite cities. ...

. The company owned six facilities in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and was around for over 100 years at the time of the acquisition. That same month, Great Spring Waters of America was renamed to Nestlé Waters North America, Inc. and the assets of Perrier Group of America were combined into the new company. At the same time, its parent company, Perrier Vittel, was renamed to Nestlé Waters. In July 2020, Nestlé Canada announced that it had agreed to sell its Canadian water bottling business to Ice River Springs. The latter would acquire the source and bottling operations in Puslinch, Ontario (Aberfoyle) and in

Hope, British Columbia Hope is a district municipality at the confluence of the Fraser River, Fraser and Coquihalla River, Coquihalla rivers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Hope is at the eastern end of both the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland regio ...

and an untapped well in Erin, Ontario. The sale fell through in September 2020. On 16 February 2021, Nestlé announced that it had agreed to sell Nestlé Waters North America, Inc. to One Rock Capital Partners and Metropoulos & Co. The Perrier, S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna were not included in the agreement. The sale of Nestle Waters North America to One Rock Capital Partners LLC and Metropoulos & Co. was concluded for in early April 2021. On April 7, 2021, the company announced that it had changed its name to ''BlueTriton Brands'', a reference to the Greek god Triton.

Brands

The company produces water under the brand names

, Deer Park Spring Water, Ice Mountain, Nestlé Pure Life, Splash Refresher, Ozarka, Poland Spring, and Zephyrhills. The company also formerly produced water under brands like Calistoga. Before being sold by Nestle, the company also bottled water international Nestle brands Perrier, San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.

United States

In the United States, the various brands are sold in distinct regions of the country. Arrowhead Water is sold in the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

. Deer Park Spring Water is sold in the

Mid-Atlantic United States The Mid-Atlantic is a region of the United States located in the overlap between the nation's Northeastern and Southeastern states. Traditional definitions include seven U.S. states: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virg ...

. Ice Mountain is sold in the

midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. Ozarka is sold in the

South Central United States The West South Central states, colloquially known as the South Central states, is a region of the United States defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as covering four states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The West South Central or Sou ...

. Poland Spring, founded in 1845, is derived from multiple sources in the state of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, including Poland Spring and Garden Spring in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, Clear Spring in Hollis, Evergreen Spring in Fryeburg, Spruce Spring in Pierce Pond Township, and White Cedar Spring in Dallas Plantation and it is primarily sold in the

northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

. It is the top-selling spring water brand in the United States.Source of trouble
''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

'', October 26, 2006 Zephyrhills is produced in

Zephyrhills, Florida Zephyrhills is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. The population was counted at 17,194 in the 2020 census. The city is the headquarters of the Zephyrhills (water), Zephyrhills bottled water company. The current mayor is Melonie Monso ...

and is sold in the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

Canada

Nestlé Waters is currently Canada's largest water bottling company, with two bottling facilities. The larger of the facilities is located in Aberfoyle, Ontario with the second facility located in

and warehouses located in

Chilliwack, British Columbia Chilliwack ( ) is a city of about 100,000 people and in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located about east of the City of Vancouver in the Fraser Valley. The enumerated population is 93,203 in the city and 113,767 in the gr ...

and

Laval, Quebec Laval is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is in the southwest of the province, north of Montreal. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third-largest city in the province after Montreal and Quebec City, and the thirteenth largest city in Can ...

Controversy

Water sourcing

Ice Mountain has been part of the Great Lakes water use debate in which diversion of the basin's water for export has been controversial. In 2004, a Michigan court ordered pumping of Sanctuary Springs to cease. After an appellate court overturned the cease and desist, the company and local groups came to an agreement to pump only per minute, which is comparable to other local beverage operations. Nestlé has run into similar local opposition when trying to locate a new source location near the headwaters of the White River in the upper

lower peninsula The Lower Peninsula of Michigan – also known as Lower Michigan – is the larger, southern and less elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; the other being the Upper Peninsula, which is separated by the S ...

of Michigan. Several towns in Maine have objected to the business practices of Poland Spring and its parent company

. In some towns, such as Fryeburg, Maine, Poland Spring actually buys a year from another company, the Fryeburg Water Co., and ships it to the Poland Spring bottling plant in Poland Spring. However, Fryeburg Water Co. also sells water to the town of Fryeburg. The town of Fryeburg began to question the amount of water the company was selling to Poland Spring. In 2004, the town's water delivery system stopped temporarily because of a pump failure, but Poland Spring's operations were able to continue. The group H₂O for ME wants to create a tax on water drawn for commercial purposes, however, Poland Spring said the tax would force the company into

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

. State congressman Jim Wilfong proposed a 20¢ per tax be allowed to be voted on in a referendum, but the measure was defeated. He also believes that laws should be revised to place limits on the amounts of groundwater landowners can pump out of their land. The town of

Sterling, Massachusetts Sterling is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,985 at the 2020 census. History Previous to its incorporation, it was "the Second Parish of Lancaster." It was commonly called by a portion of its In ...

, is attempting to prevent Nestlé from pumping spring water from conservation-restricted town land. Nestlé Waters North America has responded to an RFP issued by the Town of Clinton to purchase the Town of Clinton's Wekepeke aquifer water rights located in Sterling. In

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, residents have been organizing against a proposed bottling plant in the city, though details on the city's contract with Nestlé have not been released to the public. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, much of the water extracted by the company for its Nestlé Pure Life brand has been at a source in the village of Aberfoyle, Ontario, in Puslinch, Ontario, located in

Wellington County, Ontario Wellington County is a county and census division located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The county consists of two towns and five townships, with its seat in the City of Guelph, which is geograp ...

, and under the jurisdiction of the City of

Guelph, Ontario Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

. For some years, a local advocacy group, Wellington Water Watchers, has expressed concern about the amount of groundwater being extracted by the company.

False advertising

In June 2003, Poland Spring was sued for

false advertising False advertising is the act of publishing, transmitting, distributing or otherwise publicly circulating an advertisement containing a false claim, or statement, made intentionally, or recklessly, to promote the sale of property, goods or servi ...

in a

class action lawsuit A class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage R ...

charging that their water that supposedly comes from springs is in fact heavily treated common ground water. The suit also states hydro-geologists hired by Nestlé found that another current source for Poland Spring water near the original site stands over a former trash and refuse dump and below an illegal disposal site where human sewage was sprayed as fertilizer for many years. The suit was settled in September 2003 with the company not admitting to the allegations, but agreeing to pay $10 million in charity donations and discounts over the next 5 years. In August 2021, BlueTriton was sued by

Earth Island Institute The Earth Island Institute is a non-profit environmental group founded in 1982 by David Brower. Located in Berkeley, California, it supports activism around environmental issues through fiscal sponsorship that provides the administrative and or ...

, a nonprofit environmental group, which claimed that BlueTriton made misleading claims about

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

that violated the Consumer Protection Procedures Act, a

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

law designed to prevent " deceptive trade practices." In response, attorneys for BlueTriton filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in March 2022, in which they argued that many of the allegedly deceptive statements made by the company constituted "non-actionable

puffery Puffery is undue or exaggerated praise. Puffery serves to "puff up" what is being described. In law, puffery is usually invoked as a defense argument: it identifies general praising speech, typically produced by a seller, which is not expected ...

" because they were "couched in aspirational terms" and that "BlueTriton's representation of itself as 'a guardian of sustainable resources' and 'a company who, at its core, cares about water'" was "vague and hyperbolic" and therefore could not serve as the basis for a legal claim against the company.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Triton Brands Bottled water brands American companies established in 1976 Companies based in Stamford, Connecticut Drink companies of the United States Food and drink companies established in 1976 1976 establishments in Connecticut Food and drink companies based in Connecticut 2021 mergers and acquisitions Nestlé