PepsiCo has announced the launch of its latest sparkling water beverage, bublya, to U.S markets.
Making A Splash
Following consumer health trends, the sparkling water beverage is formulated without artificial flavors, calories and added sweeteners. At launch, the beverage will be available in eight flavors, which include limebubly, grapefruitbubly, strawberrybubly, lemonbubly, orangebubly, applebubly, mangobubly and cherrybubly. This marks the first PepsiCo bottled water launch since LIFEWTR last year.
"When we looked at the sparkling water category, we saw an opportunity to innovate from within by building a new brand and product from the ground up to meet consumer needs. We created bubly to provide consumers with a great-tasting, flavorful, unsweetened sparkling water in a fun, playful, and relevant manner that is unlike anything we've seen in the sparkling water category today," said Todd Kaplan, VP, water portfolio for PepsiCo North America Beverages.
Beverages in the Clear
The launch of bubly coincides with similar activity in the sparkling water beverage category. Nestlé Waters North America announced an updated line of its Regional Spring Waters brands, after selling off its U.S. confections business. Fast food restaurants are even getting in on the sparkling water game. Earlier this year, Sonic Drive-In launched Sonic Fruit Fizz, a lightly sweetened sparkling water with either strawberry peach, mango lime or raspberry lemon flavors.
The growth in the sparkling water category can be directly attributed to shifting consumer demands and loss of sales in other segments, specifically soda. To revitalize its soda business, Coca-Cola relaunched its Diet Coke brand with new flavors and packaging. Other brands are focusing on clear beverages. Sprite will release a limited flavor at McDonald’s, while Mountain Dew released MTN Dew Ice, a clear lemon soft drink.
a bubly is a registered tradename of PepsiCo
