Is there any difference between canned sparkling waters?
FINALLY we are digging into some of the preeminent and pressing questions of our age: Is there any difference between canned bubbly waters? And if there is a difference, then which one is the best?
Why this topic for Fixture Lab? Why not! Carbonated water makes people happy. Happy people make good decisions and they take great care of customers. So toss out all the other advice we have given on retail stuff and just do bubbly water right;-)
I’m a big fan of a little gassy water to accompany my coffee. When I buy the water, I have always wondered…Is there any difference? Should I just be buying the cheapest one? So we decided to do a super scientific blind taste test.
For our test, we grabbed three common brands that cost all cost a bit different: Soleil (Safeway’s store brand), LaCroix, and Bubly
How we tested
We poured equal amounts of the different products into matching cups. The sticky notes had the name of the product on the bottom, so we could keep track. Then, we had people taste test and take as much time as they wanted to determine if they tasted a difference, and which one they liked the best. We switched the order for every participant to keep it random.
The results
To be honest, I was the most challenged to taste any difference between the three waters. Beth, Christina and kimberly all said they could taste a clear difference. I thought they were lying until I asked them to identify the product by tasting it after we finished the test.
Interestingly, Bubly didn’t do too well in our test. Soleil and LaCroix battled it out for top honors, which was also interesting because those two represent the two ends of the price spectrum.
In a completely unfair and unscientific twist, I personally am going to buy Bubly water. Even though it was most people’s 3rd favorite, and it’s more expensive than Soleil or LaCroix, I like the can a whole bunch more. Drinking out of a can that I like makes the whole experience better. Take that Soleil!
The take-aways
- There is actually a subtle difference in taste between these waters!
- We recommend Soleil or LaCroix for taste, and Bubly for can design
- If you have a really discerning taste, we recommend that you taste all your options before you commit to the water you want to buy. It would be horrible for your to get the wrong one.
Fun extra fact:
We have heard people say LaCroix differently. Here is the correct pronunciation: La-CROY, rhymes with enjoy (that’s from the LaCroix web site)
