London - For a bottle of water, it looks pretty stylish.
But at £1.88 (about R40) a litre, Evian Pure Drop costs more than petrol or beer. However, the smart bottles contain exactly the same Evian mineral water that has been on supermarket shelves for decades at less than half the price.
Not only that, the French-designed containers have a tear-off lid and can only be used once.
The 200ml plastic bottles are promoted as the equivalent of a glass of water – enough to quench a thirst while being small enough to fit in a handbag.
They are on offer online at Ocado at £9 for a box of 24 small 20cl bottles – which works out at £1.88 a litre. However, if the pack is sold at the normal price of £12, it goes up to £2.50 a litre.
This is more than three times more than the same Evian water, which is sold in a 24 pack of standard 50cl (500ml) bottles. These are 70.8p a litre – a 165 percent mark-up on Pure Drop water.
And while the mini bottles have won plaudits at packaging design competition, the Pentawards, many are sceptical.
Spokesperson Fred Isaac, of consumer website commented: “Being sold at £1.88 this water should be able to reverse the ageing process. Consumers should shop around.”
Evian said: “This bottle is a quick, light solution to instantly quench a consumer’s thirst while on the move.”
Daily Mail