BlueTriton Brands, Inc., the company formed to purchase the Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) portfolio of domestic brands, is growing its roster of natural spring waters with the acquisition of Saratoga Spring Water Company (SSWC). Financial terms of the deal were not released.
The transaction, announced today, will enable BlueTriton to “expand its brand offerings and access a national, upscale beverage market” and provide SSWC “with the leadership and resources it needs to both grow and maintain production of the premium products it is known for,” according to a press release.
BlueTriton is a partnership between One Rock Capital Partners and family-owned investment firm Metropoulos & Co. Its $4.3 billion deal to purchase NWNA, completed in March 2021, included all six regional spring water brands — Poland Spring, Ozarka, Ice Mountain, Zephyrhills, Arrowhead and Deer Park — and 27 production facilities in North America, plus the Pure Life trademark and the ReadyRefresh delivery platform.
According to NielsenIQ data, retail dollar sales of the company’s portfolio rose 7.7% to over $3.5 billion in the 52-week period ending November 6.
“We are thrilled to welcome Saratoga Spring Water Company’s products into the BlueTriton family,” said Tony W. Lee, Managing Partner of One Rock Capital Partners, LLC and a member of the Board of Directors of BlueTriton. “As a leader in the premium spring water segment, the SSWC business enables us to expand our brand offerings and access a national, upscale beverage market that will contribute to BlueTriton’s strategic growth and success.”
Founded in 1872, New York-based SSWC is one of the original bottled spring waters in the U.S. Though the brand has a presence at retail, it’s primarily positioned as a premium water, available in still and sparkling varieties in blue glass bottles, for fine dining and hospitality accounts.
As part of BlueTriton, SSWC could help address one of the gaps in its parent company’s evolving portfolio. Nestlé kept its premium imported sparkling and still brands S. Pellegrino, Acqua Panna and Perrier in the NWNA sale, and previous attempts to generate traction for carbonated or premium-positioned SKUs of Poland Spring have seen mixed results.
“We believe BlueTriton’s leadership and resources will position SSWC’s products for growth while enabling the company to continue producing the high-quality, premium products we are known for,” said Adam Madkour, the CEO and sole shareholder of SSWC. “We look forward to our partnership with BlueTriton, who shares our commitment, mission and long-held philosophy of service and corporate responsibility.”