Penta Water team to launch ‘sporty’ water drink in UK

A new rapid-hydrating bottled water called HydroPower aimed at sports stars and health-conscious consumers is to launch in the UK.

HydroPower, which its makers claim comes from a pure spring source in the US, will mostly sell in health food and organic stores, but 40 per cent of customers are expected to be sports players.

The brand will be distributed by Infinity Drinks, whose managing director, Debbie Flint, is a former managing director of Penta UK, which produced Penta water, an “ultra-premium purified drinking water” popular in celebrity circles.

Penta was withdrawn from the UK market last month because of objections by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that it didn’t comply with UK bottled water legislation (MW August 25).

Infinity Drinks, which is exclusively distributing the new bottled water in the UK, has signed a deal US company Arctic Natural Waters as part of a joint venture to produce HydroPower. It will sell at a recommended retail price of &£1.29, cheaper than Penta, which cost &£1.49 a litre.

Though she admits HydroPower is aimed at an extremely niche market, Flint says: “Throughout our two-year battle with the FSA we retained full contact with our customers to tell them what was going on. They appreciated that honesty and have placed enough advance orders of HydroPower to make it a success.”