Masafi today announced plans to launch SOURCE®, the world’s first renewable, sustainable bottled water, in the UAE and soon, across the Gulf Coast region.
By tapping the sky for the finest water on earth, SOURCE Global, PBChas created theworld’s only premium bottled drinking water that’s sustainable inside and out. SOURCE® Water comes from an entirely new, endlessly renewable, and locally created resource – the pure water vapor in the air – and is harvested using nothing but the sun. It starts pure, is mineralized for great taste and good health, and always packaged in reusable, recyclable bottles. Because SOURCE® is locally made, it reflects the unique terroir of the region and has a smaller carbon footprint. For every litre sold, SOURCE and its partners donate a litre of the same, world-class drinking water to local, water-stressed communities.
“This premium product is designed for modern consumers, who care about health, wellbeing, sustainability and community. SOURCE® Water embodies each of these values,” said Neil Grimmer, Brand President of SOURCE Global, PBC. “We’re revolutionizing a large, fast-growing category, transforming the drinking water experience, and redefining what is means to create premium eco-friendly consumer products, and we’re excited to partner with Masafi to bring SOURCE® bottled water to the GCC.”
Masafi, the pioneer of deep earth drinking water and the Middle East’s industry leader, will offer SOURCE® still, sparkling and flavoured sparkling water, packaged in recyclable glass, at retailers throughout the GCC. The company is working with SOURCE to develop the region’s first and the world’s largest water farm in the Masafi Mountains, creating a landmark where people can see the future of water and a technological breakthrough in developing the sustainable products consumers want. The water farm will be located in the Al Hajar Mountains at Masafi in the Ras Al Khaima Emirate, in the United Arab Emirates.
According to Boston Consulting Group, more than 40 percent of Gulf States consumers have begun or are considering buying eco-friendly products and many cite lack of sustainable product offerings as a barrier to change.
“We are proud of this strategic venture, which is an important milestone in our 44-year journey and an essential step toward the future we aspire to for our industry, our country and the region,” said Saood Al Ghurair, CEO of Masafi. “This fantastic, truly proprietary product combined with our industry know how, reach and consumer engagement expertise will transform the bottled water category and help solve one of the region’s most pressing problems – access to clean, safe drinking water.”
In a region where groundwater is scarce, high in salinity and threatened by drought, many countries including UAE have been identified by the Water Project as needing “immediate, global attention.” For every litre of SOURCE® UAE water consumers buy, SOURCE and Masafi will, through funding for community water farms, give a litre of the same premium water found in a SOURCE bottle to people living in local, water-stressed areas.
SOURCE® Water is produced by patented Hydropanel technology, which uses the energy of the sun to create premium drinking water by drawing pure, constantly replenished water vapor out of the sky, even the driest places in the world. SOURCE Hydropanels operate entirely off the grid and without electricity or traditional infrastructure. Each panel generates a large volume of water, with multi-panel water farms delivering sustainably sourced drinking water on a significant scale.
“A cornerstone to Masafi’s innovation pedigree is to enable the creation of consumer products that leverage truly sustainable, off-grid technology to produce the world’s cleanest, safest, and best-tasting bottled water,” said Dani Afiouni, Masafi’s Chief Commercial Officer. “There’s clearly a growing demand for products like SOURCE® and soon, we will unveil the largest ‘off-grid’ landmark in the region and begin to produce and bottle an entirely new, best-in-class offering of still and flavoured sparkling water.”