Wild Waters Launches First Vitamin-powered Naturally-flavored Bottled Water for Kids

31/08/06 A new beverage brand, Wild Waters, launches the first vitamin-powered, naturally-flavored bottled water made just for kids. Wild Waters boasts 60 to 70 percent less sugar and calories than the leading sugary juices and soft drinks and is free of any controversial artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup. Packed with the specific nutrients identified by the USDA as lacking in children's diets, Wild Waters is available in six great fruit flavors kids love and parents can feel good about buying.

Water may be the healthiest beverage on earth, but kids find it boring regardless of predictable marketing gimmicks like cartoon characters on the labels. Kids want flavor and a brand of their own, not just a shrunken version of their parents' drink. Unlike other bottled kids beverages, Wild Waters blends the taste and look kids want with the important nutritional value parents approve. Available in six naturally flavored options like Flippin' Fruit Punch and Groovin' Grape, Wild Waters makes water fun and ensures kids get the healthy hydration they need.

"Now more than ever kids are empowered to make their own choices, however, parents don't want those choices to include high-calorie, sugary 'belly washers' or soda," said Chris Testa, CEO and Co-Founder, Wild Waters. "Wild Waters provides parents with a negotiation-free option that kids want and is good for them too."

"The regular bottled water we sell is mostly for the teachers," said Tim Harington, director of food services for Stratham, New Hampshire Elementary School System. "Kids would rather drink something with flavor, something that's new, and something that's fun. Wild Waters is a good fit for schools because it's healthy and the students will like the taste," he added, citing the recent nutritional standards implemented in all United States public schools, which include a ban on soda.

IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT TASTE

Over the past 30 years, the obesity rate in the United States has more than tripled for children aged six to 11. Much of the increase is attributed to the consumption of high-calorie soft drinks and a lack of physical activity. The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages parents to promote healthy eating patterns early in life by offering nutritious snacks and by modeling healthy food choices. One step parents can take is to replace high-calorie, sugary soft drinks and sugary juices with water. Fortified with the essential nutrients kids need including calcium, magnesium, zinc, potassium, fiber, and Vitamins A and C, Wild Waters is the healthy beverage option for kids.

"There are lots of companies making healthy products for kids," said Kim Slominsky, Registered Dietitian and CEO of Nutrition Evolution. "The key is getting kids to actually consume them," she added, citing the importance of taste and fun. "I advise all of my clients, adults and kids to incorporate nutrient-dense foods and beverages into their daily diets."

Wild Waters are available in made-to-grip, custom 10 oz PET bottles, perfect for smaller hands. The sport top allows for portability and fewer spills than juice boxes and pouches while colorful labels feature silhouetted images of kids engaged in various activities ranging from snowboarding to skateboarding to dancing, flipping and more. With a suggested retail price of $.99 Wild Waters is being distributed in the Northeast, Texas and the West Coast and via the Web site http://www.drinkwildwaters.com.

WILD WATERS IS AVAILABLE IN THE FOLLOWING FLAVORS:

* Flippin' Fruit Punch
* Groovin' Grape
* Rippin' Raz Lemonade
* Rockin' Red Cherry
* Kickin' Green Apple
* Twistin' Tropical Punch

FOUNDED BY A BEVERAGE INDUSTRY VETERAN

After 12 years in the beverage business, overseeing high-profile brands such as Nantucket Nectars, Yoo-Hoo, Hawaiian Punch and Motts, Testa saw consumer trends move away from high-calorie fruit juice toward healthy beverage alternatives including bottled water. As a father of two young children, he noticed kids had been neglected.
  
"Adults have an abundance of convenient, great tasting, healthy beverage alternatives, while kids have been ignored with cheap and sugary offerings; Wild Waters provides an option specifically for kids," said Testa.