Vitamin Water? How about oxygen water?
The Big Pitcher claims to increase the oxygen level in drinking water from 2 to 11 parts per million. That boost, the company says, will lead to “increased energy and metabolism, improved sleep patterns, reduction in circulation problems and healthier, younger-looking skin and hair.”
And the blender-shaped Big Pitcher oxygenator has competition, as other companies tout their own oxygenated water products. Oxygen-saturated water, however, is not the only unusual take on nature’s oldest form of refreshment.
At a time when sales of bottled water are at an all-time high, a number of surprising water products are trying to carve out niches in the market. Consumers can indulge in deep-sea water drawn from 3,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean and purported to be unrivaled in its purity. For those of a more religious bent, holy water is available for drinking, complete with “Sinners Beware” labeling.
But many experts argue that attempts to improve on plain old H2O are more marketing than science. Even as unusual forms of water gain in popularity, skeptics say their claims are pretty hard to swallow.
“If you need oxygen, it’s through breathing,” says Dr. Joshua Barzilay, a Georgia-based internist and co-author of “The Water We Drink: Water Quality and Its Effects on Health.” “This is just playing on people’s desire to be healthy. There’s no scientific evidence for any of this.”
Backed by aggressive marketing, the size of the bottled water industry in the U.S. expanded to more than $12 billion in 2008. But with hundreds of brands of water on the market today, along with a wide variety of filtration devices, new companies have relied on their creativity — and the distinctiveness of their product — to try to find a niche.
MaHaLo Hawaii Deep Sea says its product is “a modern miracle enriched by thousands of years of protection from pollution and brimming with life’s essential minerals.” They also charge as much as $75 per case, not including shipping.
“The claims don’t bear out,” said Tom Lauria of the International Bottled Water Association. “We don’t represent any of the companies that sell so-called oxygenated water or deep-sea water because they’re not selling water — they’re selling myth.”
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HOLY WATER?
Brian Germann is president and CEO of California-based Wayne Enterprises, a company that sold computer software for law enforcement before diversifying into drinkable holy water. Wayne Enterprises has sold around 10,000 bottles since then, each featuring a “Sinners Beware” label that jokingly warns of burning, vomiting and rashes among the other maladies that may befall an unfit drinker.
