FoodMayhem

Steve snapped this pic with his cameraphone yesterday. Hint is another in a series of water products with subtle flavors of fruits (and possibly other extracts) in them. Other existing drinks include Glaceau’s Fruit Water, Volvic’s Touch of Fruit, and Kraft’s Fruit2O. While I haven’t yet sampled Hint, I am not planning on it. I don’t understand people’s enjoyment from slightly-flavored products; hence Steve’s email included the text “I’m not the only one who likes a ‘hint’ of fruit in my water,” based on the numerous times I’ve mentioned my feelings.

Usually I say it when restaurants provide a twist of lemon in the tap water. Originally, I assume, they started doing this to cover up the disgusting taste of their ice water (ice being the cause, based on story after story of contaminated ice). In my experience, most restaurants in the US have delicious tap water, sans ice at least. I do not want a bit of lemon in the water. If I want to taste lemon, I will ask for lemonade — which I also enjoy. Beverages need to take a flavor stance! Taste like water or taste like fruit, don’t go half way.

I don’t realistically expect the gradient of flavor attitude to subside though. Not when the flavored water market is just getting its feet wet. John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest, says in 2006 that bottled-water sales in the U.S. were $15.5 billion, and that flavored and enhanced waters show a growth of about 35 percent versus 18 percent by bottled water. Gary Hemphill, managing director of Beverage Marketing Corp., estimates the flavored and enhanced waters segment to have been as high as $1.4 billion wholesale in 2006. Both of these were published in TheLedger’s “Bottled Water Makes A Splash With Flavors, Colors And Nutrients” article.

It seems to me that many people drink flavored waters as alternatives for boring old spring water. But according to the FDA, these are soft-drinks and not water. But when selling for sometimes twice the price, the huge companies are not going to be quick to mention that fact. And neither will the plethora of new companies trying to sell these lazy flavors. As a matter of fact, every few weeks (including this one) one of these companies is on my corner, at Union Square, giving away tons of product samples.

For my two (or actually two hundred) cents, I’m buying only one of two products. For spring water it’s either Poland Spring, Fiji, or Volvic (in that order of preference, by cost-value); and for soft-drink it’s only Vitamin Water (and actually only “power-c/dragonfruit”, “endurance”, or “energy” flavors).