Unreal prices for bottled water

[enzfan]

Who would have thought something as simple as bottling water would turn out to be so lucrative.


Canadian water a sip to die for Steven Edwards, CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, July 14, 2007

NEW YORK -- To the overseas mind, thinking of Canada as a producer of world-beating wines has always been a bit of a stretch -- but water, that's another matter.

At a just-established "water bar" in Bill and Hillary Clinton's adopted hometown of Chappaqua, a Canadian H2O is the most prestigious and expensive among the 76 varieties on sale from around the world.

The converted Via Genova cafe in the ritzy community about 90 minutes' drive north of New York sells 10 Thousand BC from British Columbia for $30 US a bottle.

At $55 US, a bottle of Tennessee-sourced Bling H2O will set you back the most. As the name suggests, it comes with jewels attached: Swarovski crystals!

"The 10 Thousand BC is my most luxurious water," says Via Genova owner Diane Felicissimo. "If you're talking about just water, that's my most elite bottle, and people love it with a salad."

Not bad considering the competition on her list includes exquisite sounding names like Argentine-sourced Lauquen, Italian Alpine Lauretana or Scotland's Speyside Glenlivet.

Then again, Felicissimo's pronunciation of Ontario's One Litre Canadian -- she says "LEE-TREH" to distinguish it from the U.S. spelling "liter" -- makes that water sound exclusive too.

At $10.50 U, the plastic-bottled, screw-topped "litreh" is a bargain compared to 10 Thousand BC, which comes in a corked, foil-wrapped glass bottle -- "just like a wine," Felicissimo says.

Bottom of her line are dollar-a-bottle waters such as her "house" San Benedetto of Italy, or Austria's WILDALP "baby" water, said to be so rich in oxygen, it's suitable for feeding to tykes.

A handful of other water bars have come and gone on both sides of the Atlantic, but Felicissimo said she switched her cafe's focus after Clinton, through his foundation, pushed for a no-soda-in-schools deal last year.

She tells her customers 10 Thousand BC comes from such a remote coastal glacier source it "takes three days to reach by yacht."

One Litre Canadian is drawn from an aquifer in the heart of southeastern Ontario's Northumberland Forest.

Despite the success of these and other high-priced Canadian bottled waters, Canada is unlikely to corner the top-of-the-line H2O market globally.

"Canada is gifted with an abundance of clear, pristine water, and has a reputation for such," says Elizabeth Griswold, executive director of Canadian Bottled Water Association.

"But much of the 1.8 billion litres we produce is from spring water, which is not as high priced as the mineral waters coming from places like the Italian or French Alps."

Canada imports 14 times as much bottled water as it exports, while Canadian consumers typically pay 30 cents a litre for the stuff.

But Canadians have another source of great water. "Canada has some of the best tap water in the world," said Arthur von Wiesenberger, Water Master to the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Awards in West Virginia. "Canada consistently wins top prizes because its sources are so pure. Compare that to the blends that make up tap water in southern California, which you can just about chew."

Municipalities in British Columbia, Quebec and Saskatchewan have been among the Top 5 winners for their tap water for the past seven years, except 2004.