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Poland Spring

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Poland Spring
MarketNortheastern United States
Produced byBlueTriton Brands
Introduced1870; 154 years ago (1870)
Tagline"Born Better"
TypeStill
pH5.4–7.3
Bromine (Br)0–0.014
Calcium (Ca)3.7–12
Chloride (Cl)0–14
Fluoride (F)0–0.25
Magnesium (Mg)0.67–1.6
Nitrate (NO3)0
Potassium (K)0
Sodium (Na)1.6–9.1
Sulfate (SO4)0–8.1
TDS0–74[1]
Websitewww.polandspring.com
All concentrations in milligrams per liter (mg/L); pH without units

Poland Spring is a brand of bottled water produced in Poland, Maine. It is named after the natural spring in the town of Poland, Maine that it was originally drawn from. It was a subsidiary of the private equity firm, BlueTriton Brands, formerly Nestlé Waters North America, and sold in the United States, prior to its 2024 sale.[2] In 2024, BlueTriton merged with Primo Water, and relisted itself on the NYSE under the ticker symbol PRMB, on November 11. The spring was first exploited commercially in 1859 by Hiram W. Ricker, owner of a nearby inn.[3] Contemporary demand is so great that the brand's water is derived from multiple sources in the state of Maine including Poland Spring and Garden Spring in Poland, Clear Spring in Hollis, Evergreen Spring in Fryeburg, Spruce Spring in Pierce Pond Township, White Cedar Spring in Dallas Plantation, Bradbury Spring in Kingfield, and Cold Springs in Denmark.

Poland Spring was the top-selling spring water brand in America in 2006.[2]

History

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The spring dates back to the late 18th century. In 1797, The Wentworth Ricker Inn opened at the homestead of Jabez Ricker. In 1844, Jabez's grandson, Hiram W. Ricker claimed that spring water from the property cured him of chronic dyspepsia. In 1861, the inn was enlarged and renamed The Mansion House. The inn had grown to a resort, and his discussions with guests led them to also praise the drinking water. In this period, it was quite fashionable to "take the waters" for almost all illnesses, causing an uptick in business. The Rickers soon began bottling the water. Expanded again into an extravagant resort that locals dubbed "Ricker's Folly", the inn was renamed the Poland Spring House and opened on July 4, 1876. The inn remained a significant resort into the early 20th century, but the Ricker family lost control of the company during the 1930s. A resort still operates on the site.[4]

Poland Spring operated independently until it was purchased by the Perrier Water Company in 1980. In 1992, Nestle acquired Poland Spring when it took over the Perrier company. In March 2021, Nestle completed a $4.3 billion deal selling its North American bottled water brands, including Poland Spring, to two private-equity firms.[5] In June 2024 a merger of Primo Water and the private equity-owned, BlueTriton Brands, was announced, and then completed on November 8, precipitating a name change of the company to Primo Brands.[6]

Water sales

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1919 ad for the water and the resort

Today, Poland Spring sells the majority of its water in portable 8, 12, and 20 oz bottles; 500 ml, 700 ml, 1 L, and 1.5 L bottles, and also larger 5 gallon bottles usable in office or in home water dispensers. Smaller 3 L, 1 gallon and 2.5 gallon bottles are also available for sale in most supermarkets, and for home delivery in the Northeastern United States. Other varieties of Poland Spring include sparkling, lemon, lime, and distilled. They are also the producers of the Aquapod line of products.

All Poland Spring products are sold in plastic bottles, for both safety and economic reasons.[7] As of 2011, no portable Poland Spring bottles were made from the number "7" polycarbonate plastic that contains Bisphenol-A (BPA).[7] The large 5-gallon bottles are made of number "1" plastic and are also BPA-free, while the 3-gallon bottles are made of number "7" plastic and may contain trace levels of BPA.[8]

By November 2007, Poland Spring changed to a lighter bottle called the Eco-Shape which uses 30 percent less plastic.[9][10]

Controversies

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A large pile of half-pint Poland Spring bottles

Several towns in Maine have objected to the business practices of Poland Spring and its parent company Nestlé. In some towns, such as Fryeburg, Maine, Poland Spring actually buys the water (110 million gallons of water from Fryeburg a year) from another company, the Fryeburg Water Co., and ships it to the Poland Spring bottling plant in Poland Spring.[11] However, Fryeburg Water Co. also sells water to the town of Fryeburg.

The town of Fryeburg began to question the amount of water the company was selling to Poland Spring. In 2004, the town's water stopped temporarily because of a pump failure, but Poland Spring's operations were able to continue.[2] In 2004, the group H2O for ME began gathering support to create a tax on water drawn for commercial purposes. Poland Spring claimed the tax would force the company into bankruptcy.[12]

In June 2003, Poland Spring was sued for false advertising in a class action lawsuit charging that their water is not spring water but is in fact heavily treated common ground water.[13] The suit also states, hydro-geologists hired by Nestlé found that another current source for Poland Spring water near the original site stands over a former trash and refuse dump, and below an illegal disposal site where human sewage was sprayed as fertilizer for many years.[13] The suit was settled in September 2003, with the company not admitting to the allegations, but agreeing to pay $10 million in charity donations and discounts over the next 5 years.[14] Nestlé continues to sell the same Maine water under the Poland Spring name.

In August 2017, a class-action lawsuit was filed in Connecticut alleging that "Not one drop of Poland Spring Water emanates from a water source that complies with the Food and Drug Administration definition of 'spring water'. The famous Poland Spring in Poland Spring, Maine, which defendant's labels claim is a source of Poland Spring Water, ran dry nearly 50 years ago." A Poland Spring spokeswoman responded that "Poland Spring is 100 percent spring water. The claims made in the lawsuit are without merit and an obvious attempt to manipulate the legal system for personal gain." Scientist Peter Gleick said that "Most of Nestle's waters are pumped from the ground, but the bigger issue that the regulatory definition of what really counts as spring water is really weak. No one is really looking over the shoulders of the bottled water companies."[15]

In March 2019, the district court judge dismissed the claims in the class-action lawsuit in Vermont out of the eleven northeastern states in favor of Nestle.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2020 Poland Spring Water Analysis Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-02-28. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  2. ^ a b c "Source of trouble". The Economist. 26 October 2006. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  3. ^ Harris, Brian. "The Ricker Family founders of Poland Spring". baharris.org. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  4. ^ Maine League of Historical Societies and Museums (1970). Doris A. Isaacson (ed.). Maine: A Guide "Down East". Rockland, Me: Courier-Gazette, Inc. p. 398.
  5. ^ "Poland Spring Water Brand Has A New Owner". 2021-03-31. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  6. ^ https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/business/article/Nestle-Waters-North-America-owner-of-Poland-16083487.php, Stamford Advocate, Paul Schott, April 7, 2021
  7. ^ a b "Safety and Storage page from Poland Spring website". Archived from the original on 2010-12-29. Retrieved 2011-01-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ "Poland Springs Water FAQ".
  9. ^ "Poland Spring(R) Lightens Up with New Eco-Shape(TM) Bottle". bevnet.com. 2 November 2007.
  10. ^ Coultas, Carol. "Poland Spring eyeing debate". Archived from the original on 2007-07-13. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  11. ^ Turkel, Tux. "Water deal too sweet?". Archived from the original on 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  12. ^ "Group plans water-extraction tax, asks state support". Archived from the original on 2013-01-20. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
  13. ^ a b "Nestlé Sued for Falsely Advertising Poland Spring Water". Water & Wastes Digest. 2003-06-19. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
  14. ^ Anthony Brooks (2003-09-04). "Poland Spring Settles Class-Action Lawsuit". Morning Edition. National Public Radio. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  15. ^ Bhattarai, Abha (22 August 2017). "'Not one drop' of Poland Spring bottled water is from a spring, lawsuit claims". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  16. ^ Valigra, Lori (2019-04-02). "Judge lets most of lawsuit move ahead in Poland Spring water case". WGME. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
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