First Pepsi is making kids obese via hiring Beyonce as their spokesperson and now this. Glacéau vitaminwater, manufactured by Coca-Cola, is coming under fire for actually not being a good source of vitamins…or even water. Although the energy drink has water in its name, according to studies, vitaminwater has very little of the same benefits that water would have.
Let’s back up for a second. The whole reason this is coming to light is because Coca-Cola has positioned itself in the fight against obesity. I wonder if the same marketing team that came up with KFC’s campaign stating that their chicken was “healthy” because it contained no trans-fat is the same marketing team advising the sugary drink manufacturer to be the face against childhood obesity? Either way, both campaigns are a little more than misguided.
As a result of their stance against obesity, Coca-Cola put a list of nutritional benefits of vitaminwater; mostly in an effort to encourage people to make the switch to the watery-goodness that is Glacéau vitaminwater. According to the website, the Power-C flavor of vitaminwater delivers “zinc and vitamin C to power your immune system”; while the XXX flavor offers “antioxidant vitamins to help fight free radicals and help support your body.”
Really!? Do you buy this? Hopefully, not because not even Coca-Cola’s legal team believes it.
In fact, they said so in a court hearing a few years back. According to MotherJones, the Center for Science in the Public Interest filed suit against Coca-Cola for making “deceptive and unsubstantiated” health claims about vitaminwater. In 2010, Coca-Cola’s tried to have the motion to dismissed but failed. In their attempt to have the case dropped lawyers for the soft-drink giant argued, “…the defendants suggested that no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitaminwater was a healthy beverage.”
Again, really!? Executives at Coke are alleging that there is no way the general public could think that vitaminwater is a health drink?
Maybe they should ask the millions of gym-goers, athletes and others who use the product for it’s reported ‘vitamin’ qualities. While the case against Beyonce asserted that her celebrity was actively making kids obese was ludicrous, the link between Coke promoting vitaminwater as healthy is not. The company has poured tons of money into marketing the product as a healthy water option for active individuals.
Upon closer examination, vitaminwater contains less than %0.05 ingredients that are remotely close to vitamins. The entirety (more than 95%) of the contents of most bottles of vitaminwater is water, crystalline fructose, and sugar.
So basically, vitaminwater is sugar water. Be sure to think about that the next time you shop for a hydrating, ‘health’ drink. If you find yourself reaching for this product, you’re better off just pouring some refined sugar in your tap water. After all, it’s cheaper than the almost $2.00 per bottle Coke charges for the same thing.
