The name has now changed, from ‘Om’ to ‘Qua’, and PepsiCo tested its first premium bottled water brand at the Golden Globes awards ceremony in Hollywood on 12 January.
A PepsiCo spokeswoman noted that ‘the company was still working out the kinks and that the name and design for Qua might change before it’s rolled out more broadly’.
Like The Coca-Cola Company’s SmartWater, Qua is made with purified tap water. The brand, which PepsiCo says is ‘micro-filtered’ and free of sodium, is slated to be tested regionally in California this summer before expanding to other markets.
But does Qua sound familiar? FoodBev Media talked to Danone Narang’s Rahul Narang in India about the success of his ‘Qua’ brand of bottled water way back in 2010. In India, Qua is a natural source water. Later in 2010, we looked at the brand’s extension into functionality, the result of a joint venture between Danone and Narang. Narang’s other strategic partner is Japan’s Suntory through which it distributes Orangina in India.
Let’s see if PepsiCo’s premium ‘Qua’ can resonate with American consumers and if they’re willing to pay a little more for a ‘premium’ brand of non-source water.
Source: Star Tribune/FoodBev
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