BlackMP: Black mp Living Water

Black Living Water is a bottled water beverage that blends water from the Rocky Mountains with fulvic and humic acid, probiotics, trace minerals, and electrolytes. At a pH of 10, this product also qualifies as an alkaline water. The liquid is, as the name states, pretty close to pure black in color and largely tastes like what you’d expect from still mineral water. Like other alkaline or specialty bottled waters, the taste is unique, but not in such a way that you’d seek this product out purely for flavor. In addition, the color of the water plays tricks on your palate in terms of how earthy the product tastes. Beyond that, we do like the way that the company has attempted to add functionality to the product. The probiotics in particular make for a marketable benefit that isn’t typically found in water. All in all, we like what's inside the bottle. As for the packaging and branding, we think there’s a lot left to do. While it seems obvious to include “black” in the name of a fulvic acid-enhanced water, it feels a bit too in-your-face (not to mention there’s already a brand called BLK Water on the market). Furthermore, the messaging that the company has chosen, including “5 in 1 beverage,” seems to make the product more complex rather than approachable. If the target is a super technical consumer, this might work, but it does not feel like an approach that’s going to result in an overly broad audience. Focusing in on one theme -- perhaps the “alive and living” aspect -- would certainly help the cause as would revisiting the packaging and design. Overall, it’s a unique concept, but one that feels a bit too complicated in its presentation.