Glacéau

Glacéau is the brand name of a line of products sold by Energy Brands, Inc., a beverage company based in the Whitestone section of New York City. According to its website, the company was founded in 1996 by J. Darius Bikoff after a water scare in New York City gave him the idea to market alternatives to ordinary bottled water. The success of the Glacéau brand launched a new marketing category in the beverage industry: enhanced water. They are also noted for their humorous descriptions on bottles. Glacéau's slogan is "hydrate responsibly".

Products
Energy Brands produces four main product lines under the Glacéau brand: vitaminwater, smartwater, vitaminenergy, and fruitwater. Each are designed to appeal to a health-conscious clientele. Glacéau products are distributed in most of the United States. The company also used to sell ready-to-drink coffee beverages under the America's Best Brew brand.

In October 2004, noted rap artist 50 Cent obtained a stake in Energy Brands, stating that he wanted to make his mark in healthful beverages, as opposed to other rappers who more tightly associate with alcoholic beverages (such as Hpnotiq or the Roc-a-fella Records distributed Armadale vodka). The company subsequently introduced a "Formula 50" flavor of vitaminwater, which was developed by the artist and refers to him on its label. After the sale of Glacéau to Coca-Cola for $4.2 billion, the Queens rapper earned an estimated $100 million dollars. Athletes such as Tony Parker, Tracy McGrady, Kasey Kahne, Brian Urlacher, David Ortiz, Ray Lewis, Gilbert Arenas, and David Wright have appeared in advertisements. Noted celebrities such as Kelly Clarkson have been sponsored by vitaminwater as well.

vitaminwater
vitaminwater consists of vapor distilled, deionized, and/or reverse osmosis water, crystalline fructose as a sweetener, citric acid, electrolytes, natural flavors and vitamins, including Vitamin C, B3, B5, B6, B12, and E. Other ingredients are added according to the flavor and intended purpose of the drink.

Flavors

 * Power-C - Dragonfruit - (Vitamin C + Taurine)
 * Energy - Tropical Citrus - (Vitamin B + Guarana)
 * Revive - Fruit Punch - (Vitamin B + Potassium)
 * Multi-V - Lemonade - ("Vitamin A to Zinc")
 * Focus - Kiwi-Strawberry - (Vitamin A + Lutein)
 * Essential - Orange-Orange - (Vitamin C + Calcium)
 * Formula 50 - Grape - (50% Daily Dose of Vitamins)
 * Defense - Raspberry-Apple - (Vitamin C + Zinc)
 * Rescue - Green Tea - (Vitamin C + EGCG)
 * Endurance - Peach-Mango - (Vitamin E + Ribose)
 * Vital-T - Lemon Tea - (Vitamin C + Vitamin E)
 * Balance - Cran-Grapefruit - (Vitamin C + Glucosamine)
 * B-Relaxed - Jackfruit-Guava - (Vitamin B + Theanine)
 * Charge - Lemon-Lime + (Vitamin B + Electrolytes)
 * XXX - Acai-Blueberry-Pomegranate - (Triple Antioxidants)

Previous Flavors


 * Perform - Lemon-Lime
 * Defense - Lemon-Ice
 * Stress-B - Lemon-Lime

smartwater
smartwater is distilled municipal water and electrolytes, available in 750 mL, 1 L, 1.5 L, and 20 oz bottles. Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs is known for having bottles of smartwater available on stage during his keynotes. The electrolyte formula of smartwater actually serves strictly as a marketing tool and has no scientific functionality.

vitaminenergy
vitaminenergy is an energy drink which consists of many of the same ingredients as vitaminwater, such as crystalline fructose, electrolytes, natural flavors, and vitamins (Vitamin B3, B5, B6, B12, and C) along with natural caffeine and ribose for sustained energy. Specific ingredients are added according to the flavor of the drink. The product is said not to cause the unpleasant "crash" associated with most energy drinks.

Flavors

 * Dragonfruit 9
 * Tropical Citrus 18
 * Fruit Punch 21

fruitwater
fruitwater is an all-natural, low-calorie water. Much like a diet version of vitaminwater, it consists of the same ingredients only with a light fruit flavor and less crystalline fructose. Instead of using so much fructose, fruitwater uses the same type of natural sugar that is found in many fruits and vegetables. As of May 2007, only four flavors are available.



Flavors

 * Raspberry
 * Grape
 * Peach
 * Lime

Controversies

 * While marketed as an enhanced, health-promoting water, nutrition experts question whether vitaminwater beverages are indeed healthful.  Depending on the variety, each 20 fl. oz. bottle contains 100 to 125 calories and from 20 to 32.5 grams of sugar, nearly the equivalent of a 12 fl oz. can of Coca-Cola. Instead of "1 serving" on the nutrition label, Vitamin Water's 20 oz bottles, like those of many soft-drink makers, say "2.5 servings," which enables the label to state the sugar content as 13 grams per serving instead of the 32.5 grams in the whole bottle.


 * On April 5, 2006, Energy Brands Inc. filed a lawsuit against PepsiCo in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, alleging that PepsiCo's new SoBe Life Water products confuse consumers by mimicking the distinctive packaging of its vitaminwater products, and that in addition the product itself is "a slavish knock-off" for "copying the product formulation, including the colored nature of the water, its ingredients, sweetener type and even its calorie content". The companies have since settled and PepsiCo agreed to change the SoBe Life Water packaging.


 * On April 18, 2007, the National Football League fined Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher $100,000 for wearing a vitaminwater cap and drinking vitaminwater during media day for Super Bowl XLI, on account that Energy Brands, Inc. is not an official NFL sponsor.

Acquisition by Coca-Cola
On May 25, 2007, The Coca-Cola Company agreed to buy Glaceau in a cash deal valued at $4.1 billion. Tata Tea Ltd. will sell their 30% stake in Energy Brands Inc. to The Coca-Cola Company for about $1.2 billion. This acquisition is referenced by rapper 50 Cent in his song, I Get Money.