Having spent decades in the shadow of its older brother, the wildly popular Jarritos sodas, Mineragua is having a bit of a moment.
The sparkling water brand, packaged in glass bottles, has been around since late 1997, but as it approaches its 25th anniversary it feels in some ways like the product is just starting to take off. Over recent months, Mineragua has been rolling out its revamped packaging and refreshed identity, led by the tagline “Life With Sparkle,” which aims to position the brand as a bigger player in the $29.7 billion U.S. sparkling water market, and to compete directly with a certain other well-known Mexican import brand.
“Given the increased demand for sparkling water in the U.S., there’s been no better time to refresh a sparkling water brand and to build brand awareness and affinity across new audiences,” said Jazhen Gonzalez, Brand Manager for Mineragua, in an email. “Our updated brand identity coincides with this demand and we hope to utilize that momentum to continue to push the brand forward and connect with new consumers.”
Bottled at the source from two spring sites in Mexico, Mineragua has sold over 4 million cases this year alone. But within El Paso, Texas-based parent company Novamex’s product portfolio — which in addition to Jarritos Craft Sodas includes drinks like Sidral Mundet, Sangria Senorial and Tio Gazpacho — it remains a top-three brand. Jarritos continues to drive the majority of the company’s growth, outpacing the CSD category, and Novamex’s recent innovation has been centered primarily around that brand, including the launch of a 550ml bottle last year and a partnership with 7-Eleven to integrate Mandarin as a fountain beverage option in 8,000 stores nationwide.
But where Jarritos, founded in Mexico City in 1950, has leaned into its long history and unique positioning as the most popular Mexican soda brand in the U.S., Mineragua represents an opportunity for Novamex to expand beyond Latin consumers and offer a better-for-you alternative to its colorful cane sugar-sweetened CSDs. John Hall, Divisional Fountain/Vending Manager at Novamex, told Vending Market Watch last year that 25% of the company’s growth is attributed to non-Latin shoppers, while Mineragua is the top-selling product in its vending machines in Southern California.
With an eye towards both engaging existing consumers and “building connections with new markets and channels modern consumers,” Mineragua’s packaging has been subtly updated with a new font and palette, while the sodium content has been dropped slightly.
Though the brand is getting back out there, Mineragua is taking a patient approach towards innovation, which has thus far been mainly limited to hearing “the need for convenience packaging”; the current lineup includes six formats — individual 12.5 oz. glass bottles, 4-packs, 9-packs, 12-packs, 30-packs and 1.5 liter PET. Gonzalez noted that the brand remains “committed” to growing in conventional and natural grocery outlets, as well as food service.
“Given the growth of the sparkling water category in the past five years, the relevance of the product offering has gained more traction,” said Gonzalez. “Mineragua has maintained its roots and commitment to offer a crisp sparkling water in an iconic Jarritos glass bottle, and we intend to continue letting this product shine in its simplicity and build steady growth across U.S. markets.”
Correction: The original version of this story inaccurately stated that Mineragua has sold 4 million cases since launch. The article has been updated.