Bottled Water

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When visiting the nation’s capitol last month, in addition to enjoying the museums, monuments and memorials, I couldn’t help but take notice of the popular beverage of choice on those hot July days — bottled water. Vendors carried around coolers and walked up and down the streets selling water, and tourists flocked to them.

Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo brand SoBe partnered with iPhone game developer RockLive to give boxing, gaming and all-around fans the chance to train with boxer Mike Tyson.

As companies continue to position bottled water as a healthier refreshment, the category saw sales rebound across segments leading to an overall category boost of 2.9 percent for more than $7.7 billion in sales, according to SymphonyIRI Group, Chicago, for the 52 weeks ending May 15 in U.S. supermarkets, drug stores, gas and convenience stores and mass merchandise outlets, excluding Wal-Mart.

Thousands of people flocked to Times Square for yoga sessions, health and wellness talks, music and tranquility for the Lucy Summer Solstice in Times Square event on June 21, which featured Sydney-based Balance as the official beverage sponsor of the event. Packaged in a biodegradable and recyclable bottle, Balance Mind is a non-flavored, enhanced water that features the functional benefits of focus and concentration.

Princeton, N.J.-based Bot Beverages LLC re-launched its enhanced water with new packaging designed to appeal to an adult audience. Formerly positioned as children’s beverages targeted to appeal to moms, Bot’s previous packaging had a white background that used a different color and character to represent each of the low-calorie flavored water varieties. The company has repackaged its existing Key Lime, Valencia Orange, Blue Plum, Mixed Berry, Meyer Lemon and Concord Grape varieties in 16.9-ounce packages featuring primary color blocking with a white dot pattern that is intended to appear modern, friendly and light, according to advertising and design agency TDA_Boulder, which completed the redesign.