What are the alternatives?

Sometimes innovation is less about invention and more about just noticing what’s around you. That’s what organic water company Nature on Tap learned in the creation of their company’s flagship product. Product developers there discovered something that consumers considered new and different even though it had been around for more than a thousand years—tapped birch water.
If you’re a frequent purchaser of brands like Dasani or Aquafina, it’s probably no surprise to you that bottled water is big business. U.S. per capita consumption of bottled water recently approached 40 gallons per person, per year, edging out carbonated soft drinks for the first time. Selling over $21.3 billion of a ubiquitous product (water) that is readily available almost for free is an impressive marketing feat. Of course, bottled water consumers are buying not just the commodity of water but also the perceived health benefit based on the filtering and/or sourcing of the water.
And that’s where Nature on Tap comes in with their innovative take: tapped birch water. For centuries people have tapped the waterlike sap of the birch tree for refreshment and health. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, the slightly sweet beverage contains a high level of manganese—a quite efficacious mineral that, according to experts, can help blood sugar regulation, fight “free radicals,”
and support bone structure through calcium absorption. To add to the value proposition, birch water also contains trace amounts of xylitol, a natural sugar alcohol that the California Dental Association says can help prevent tooth decay.
Birch water fits into a product category known as “alternative water,” with the category’s most famous formula being the very popular coconut water. Sales of that beverage have reached over $3 billion worldwide and Nature on Tap realized that consumers were looking for that next “superdrink.” They concluded that birch water was “it,” especially given the lower sugar content (and calories) versus coconut water. In addition to the benefit claims noted earlier, it has also been pointed out that birch water contains saponin, which may have antiinflammatory benefits and can lower cholesterol.