Waiakea

Product Type:Water: Still; Container: 500ml, 1L rPET
BevNET Review: Waiakea is water that is sourced from a spring in Hawaii and is being marketed as "Hawaiian Volcanic Water." The water claims to be rich in natural electrolytes and has a pH level of 7.8, which are two things that are popular in the water category right now. Otherwise, the branding and positioning of this product are likely to its two most important attributes. First, let's look at the branding. The name, which runs vertically along the front panel, is something that is clearly going for exotic in the way that Fiji Water and other brands have in the past. However, the name of this product is likely going to be difficult for some consumers to pronounce (placing it vertically doesn't help), so we'd suggest that they put the pronunciation of the name on the front panel. Otherwise, the look of this product does have a familiar look to it, which, depending on the channel of retail and the products that accompany it, could be something that either helps or hurts the product. On the back, the callouts for the product's sustainability (due to it being a natural source and the bottle using 100 percent recycled plastic) seems like a slippery slope -- this is water that is brought over from Hawaii. However, their "ethical" callout (regarding their donation of clean water through PumpAid.org) is certainly commendable. All in all, Waiakea is a clean and simple product that, at least for right now, is offering a benefit that is in line with where the water category is heading. But we're not totally certain that the market is ripe for another brand of water that's being shipped across the Pacific. Reviewed on: 11/28/2012