AriZona Tea Is Getting Into The Fancy Sparkling Water Game

You know AriZona as the brand behind the 99-cent iced tea can that has stubbornly refused to raise its price since roughly the dawn of time (or circa 1992, to be more precise). So “AriZona” and “premium Italian mineral water” are not two phrases you’d expect to see holding hands.

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And yet here we are.

AriZona has signed a deal to become the exclusive U.S. distributor for Ferrarelle, an Italian mineral water brand that’s been around for more than 130 years. The deal also brings three new flavored sparkling waters to the U.S., made specifically for American shoppers.

So to be clear about who’s doing what: Ferrarelle makes the water. AriZona gets it onto shelves. It’s less that AriZona has entered the Italian water business and more that AriZona has decided it knows a guy.

Meet The Three Flavors

The new lineup is leaning heavily into the Italian vacation fantasy, with names that make a bottle of sparkling water sound like it has a summer house.

There’s Capri Style, with orange and tangerine; Sicilian Inspiration, with grapefruit and elderflower; and Amalfi Dream, with lemon and basil.

Lemon and basil is the one I’m most curious about. It sounds less like a flavored water and more like something you’d be handed at a restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean while someone named Luca brings you a plate of pasta you can’t pronounce.

The naming strategy is pretty obvious, but I can’t say I blame them. It’s hard to resent your Tuesday quite as much when you’re drinking something called Amalfi Dream, even if you’re drinking it at your desk while answering emails.

What’s In The Bottle?

Ferrarelle isn’t some new brand that put an Italian flag on a bottle and called it a day. The company sources its water from the Roccamonfina volcano in Italy and has been doing this for more than 130 years.

The water contains electrolytes, calcium, and magnesium, putting it neatly in the increasingly crowded world of drinks that want to be more than just something you drink because you’re thirsty.

The new still and sparkling waters will come in 16.9-ounce bottles designed for U.S. retail and convenience stores. Although this one probably won’t be as cheap as the iced teas.

Why AriZona?

The partnership makes a little more sense once you look at what each company brings to the table.

Ferrarelle has the Italian water, the volcanic source, the 130-year history, and the premium positioning. AriZona has a distribution network that already knows how to get drinks into American stores.

Ferrarelle has been trying to build its presence in the U.S. for a while, including a sponsorship of America’s Got Talent. Now it has AriZona helping get the actual product into coolers.

When Can You Get It?

The new Ferrarelle waters are coming to U.S. retail and convenience stores through AriZona’s distribution network. The companies haven’t announced a specific launch date yet, but keep an eye out.

So, somewhere between now and whenever this actually hits your local cooler, AriZona will have gone from 99-cent iced tea to Italian mineral water.

History moves fast.