Aquafina Sparkling

Product Type:Water: Sparkling; Container: 20 fl oz (591 ml) PET
BevNET Review: There’s a lot more aspartame detectible in this raspberry version of Aquafina’s water beverage (call it a water soda), which leaves it a less attractive option than Citrus Twist. Still, it’s a drink that could be a lot worse than it is. With their soda-like taste and appearance, we feel strongly that there will be some strong appeal to these drinks in flyover states where the sweet tooth consistently trumps the desire to cut calories; how much appeal there is, however, is a question worth tens of millions of dollars. And we’re not sure this is the complete answer.

Product Type:Water: Sparkling; Container: 20 fl oz PET (591 ml)
BevNET Review: Goodbye, water, hello diet soda. With this product, Aquafina has completely embraced category blurring. Is it a water? It’s clear and calorie-free, sure, but it’s also sweet, flavored, bubbly and makes us burp. But it’s not bad – the carbonation hides most of the chemical flavor of the aspartame/ace-K sweetener mix before it descends on your tongue like man-made snow, and the citrus smell and taste is fresh and tangy. Wrapped in a an attractive gray label with a burst of blue and orange, Citrus Twist comes in a 20 oz. PET bottle with CSD-like grooves. Give Pepsi credit – they know CSD’s are on their way out, and they’re bracing for the fall.