Designer Water: Super Chefs Promote Next Wave?

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Evian, watch out: Fiji Water has landed on these here American shores and is aiming at a fine dining restaurant near you. Sound funny? Tell that to Evian's French parent Danone Group, or to Evian itself for that matter, which list numerous fine dining partners across the US, including Todd English at his Fish Club restaurant in Seattle, Washington. There are some big players in this arena. Pepsi and Coke are selling designer water by the caseload under their respective Aquafina and Dasani brands. When you see some top corporations in fast-moving consumer goods make such an investment, you can bet that there is a long-term market there. According to The Baltimore Sun, Fiji Water took off in the US market after appearing on the TV sitcom Friends, but their marketing director, Killeen Brettmann, is particularly interested in capturing the support of some 30-40 major chefs. "Not only are they serving it, but they are using it in their cooking." The Fiji Water chef team already includes Charlie Trotter, Nobu Matsushisa, Jean-George Vongerichten and Roy Yamaguchi. According to David Schardt, senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, "Water is good for you, but there is no evidence that this water is any better for you... There is perfectly adequate water here." Perhaps, but sales of Fiji Water rose 60% last year -- while Evian's dropped by over 20%. During First Quarter 2005, Fiji Water plans to have its capacity tripled to 53 million cases annually. Considering that it sells for about double of most other bottled waters in your local supermarket, according to The Baltimore Sun, that makes Fiji Water extra sweet.