BevNET: Icelandic Glacial Goes into Glass and Sparkling

Icelandic Glacial is adding bubbles to its super-premium spring water. On June 28, the company will officially unveil its new sparkling offering at New York City’s Summer Fancy Food Show at the Javits convention center. Available in a 330 mL and 750 mL glass packaging, the new product arrives as the company looks to further its presence within high end restaurants, hotels and other on premise customers. The brand’s still water will also now be available in glass at the aforementioned types of retailers.

In a call to BevNET, Icelandic Glacial co-founder Kristjan Olafsson said the company had a longstanding interest in making a foray into sparkling, but the decision to pull the trigger came as “a response to what the market’s been telling us.”

As for the new glass packaging, Olafsson described the new bottles as a “more elegant and subtle” line extension of the brand’s signature plastic bottle. Unlike its square, glaciar-heavy PET bottles, the new packaging will see a rounder shape, as the nature of carbonated beverages is not conducive to square containers.

“We’re a premium product and we aspire to be in front of the premium consumer whenever we can,” Olafsson added. “The key to doing that in a fine dining experience is being in glass as well.”

Earlier this month, the company announced distribution gains across the United States, including new retail partnerships on the east coast in Fairway Markets and Duane Reade and west coast expansion into Raley’s, Bel Air and Nob Hill Foods in Northern California.

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