Coke is testing the water again

Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com
Published : 29 Jun 2004 10:49

Coca-Cola is said to be planning a return to the UK bottled water market, just a few months after the disastrous launch of its Dasani brand.

Reports in the trade magazine The Grocer reveal that the company is looking at a number of sites to begin manufacturing bottled water again, including one in Hadfield, near Glossop in North Derbyshire.

Coca-Cola previously entered the UK bottled water market with Dasani, which was withdrawn from sale in March after it was found to contain a higher level of the potentially harmful chemical bromate, which has been linked to cancer, than is legally permitted in the UK.

Coca-Cola was deeply embarrassed after it emerged that the source for Dasani was purified tap water from the mains supply to its factory in Sidcup, Kent. The company had said that a "highly sophisticated purification process" meant the product was "as pure as bottled water gets".

The Grocer reports that although Coca-Cola is “under no illusions” about how big a nightmare Dasani turned out to be, as the water market is the fastest growing sector in soft drinks, it needs to get back into it. Ian Deste, head of corporate affairs at Coca-Cola Enterprises, said: "The soft drinks category continues to grow and as such we are always looking at new sites to meet this growth. We are aware of the Hadfield site, among others, but we have no announcements to make at present and it is not company policy to comment on market rumour or speculation."

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