Dasani Gets “Bad Product Award”
Consumers International, an international federation of consumer groups, recently announced its Global Bad Product Awards. On the list was Coke’s Dasani water, which was included “for continuing the international marketing of its bottled water, Dasani, despite admitting it comes from the same sources as local tap water.”
For better or worse, the overall impact of the negative “tap water” PR seems to have had minimal impact on the Dasani brand. According to Beverage Digest, the Dasani brand grew volume 8.3% in 2007 (through August) and holds an 11.2% volume share. The growth is slower than in the past, but is in line with the rest of the category.
Perhaps the data proves that consumers:
- Care most about the convenience, portability, and availability of bottled water brands (both of which Dasani excels at)….
- …and that consumers are buying water as a “lifestyle choice” rather than a replacement for tap water (Dasani is sold in sizes < 1 gallon — not exactly a good way to replace your home tap)
- Have very short attention spans (remember “water from a parking lot” aka Poland Spring)
In any event, it might not be a bad idea for Coke to put a note on the label as Pepsi did with Aquafina.
Read the news release:
