Wal-Mart no longer a friend of Dasani water?

Steven Mallas — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:00:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Wal-Mart (WMT), Coca-Cola (KO), PepsiCo (PEP), Marketing and Advertising

I hope the following article out on Reuters isn't wholly accurate. I can see the logic of what's being reported, however. According to the item, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) could be reducing the valuable real estate in its stores that is devoted to bottled water from popular brands. This includes The Coca-Cola Company's (NYSE: KO) Dasani and PepsiCo, Inc.'s (NYSE: PEP) Aquafina. This observation is being sourced to analyst Bill Pecoriello of ConsumerEdge Research. He believes that Wal-Mart might be trying to focus on the value consumer by offering more shelf space to generic brands.

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Wal-Mart no longer a friend of Dasani water? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pepsi will change the Aquafina water label -- a first, small step

Melly Alazraki — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Coca-Cola (KO), PepsiCo (PEP), Marketing and Advertising

PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP) has decided to change the label on its Aquafina bottled water. From now on it will say "Public Water Source," meaning, basically, tap water -- filtered tap water, but tap water nonetheless. I not only salute the label change but also the fact that Pepsi and The Coca Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) aren't bent on destroying natural springs. They are still, of course, selling us loads of bottles that will need to be discarded later.

I am not the first to speak out against bottled water as a prime example of an industry that has completely "invented" a public need and managed to push it successfully. The result? Depletion of natural springs, huge amounts of bottles added to the already massive quantities of garbage we produce, energy wasted on production and shipping, and increased corporate control over a basic resource -- water. Not to mention the morality of the issue: 2.6 billion cases of bottled water sold in 2006 while people in some parts of the world don't have access to clean water.

But a movement away from this has begun, and hopefully it will slowly make a difference. Only recently, San Francisco's mayor "signed an executive order banning the use of city funds for the purchase of single-serving water bottles." Many restaurants, including Mario Batalli's, will serve only filtered water, not bottled water, even though it is more lucrative. Reuters quotes the industry newsletter as saying that it's more about convenience than health or taste. Well, then, I guess John Sicher, the newsletter's publisher, never heard of empty bottles one can fill with ... tap water.

What to do now? Despite all my objections, this unnecessary industry that has sprung into a multi-billion dollar sector, now has many jobs on the line if it is threatened. I don't doubt that a change is needed, but it can be gradual. Telling people that they're drinking tap water may be the first, small as it is, step into changing consumer perception. As for Pepsi and Coke, I'm sure they'll manage.

Pepsi will change the Aquafina water label -- a first, small step originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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