WATERTOWN, WIS. – America’s non-alcoholic beverage industry today joined First Lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America, of which Mrs. Obama serves as honorary chair, in supporting a new initiative designed to encourage Americans to stay hydrated by drinking water.

“We congratulate Mrs. Obama and PHA on its new initiative encouraging people to drink water,” said ABA President and CEO Susan Neely. “Staying hydrated is important to staying in balance, and bottled water provides people with a convenient and popular choice. By supporting this new initiative, our industry is once again leading with meaningful ways to achieve a balanced lifestyle.”

The beverage industry – whose leading companies include The Coca-Cola Company, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Nestlé Waters North America and PepsiCo – makes a wide variety of beverages including bottled water. Whether spring, purified, mineral, artesian or sparkling, bottled water provides people with a choice that is both convenient and portable.

ABA member companies that offer bottled water brands such as Aquafina, DASANI and Nestlé Pure Life®, will support the PHA’s waterinitiative by promoting its water drop logo in a variety of ways. This may include placement on bottled water packaging and company trucks, as well as in advertising and through social media, reaching hundreds of millions of people throughout the country.

Moreover, ABA will support the initiative through its digital and social media platforms, including on its website, blog and Facebook and Twitter feeds. The ABA website also will provide a link to the water initiative website.

The beverage industry has long been committed to the health and wellness of Americans, and this initiative provides a new opportunity for it to build upon previous industry initiatives that are already having a real and lasting impact in communities across our country:

Clear on Calories: In 2010, in support of the First Lady’s launch of her “Let’s Move!” anti-obesity campaign, America’s beverage companies announced the Clear on Calories initiative – a voluntary commitment to place easy-to-use calorie labels on the front of every bottle, can and pack they produce. By placing total calories on the front of all bottles and cans up to and including 20 ounces, consumers know exactly how many calories are in the beverage before making a purchase. For packaging larger than 20 ounces, the labels provide calories per serving. The calorie labels put this information right at the fingertips of consumers so they can make a choice that’s right for them. Calories Count™ Vending Program: In 2012, America’s beverage companies launched the Calories Count™Vending Program in an effort to provide clear calorie information on vending machines, encourage lower-calorie beverage choices and remind consumers that “calories count” in all the choices they make. By placing a “Calories Count™” vending sticker on the front of beverage vending machines, industry aims to remind consumers to consider calories in their beverage choices with messages such as “Check Then Choose.” School Beverage Guidelines: America’s beverage companies cut beverage calories in schools by 90 percent by successfully implementing voluntary national School Beverage Guidelines, which removed full-calorie soft drinks from schools across America and replaced them with more no- and low-calorie, smaller-portion options. The industry developed these guidelines together with the William J. Clinton Foundation and its Alliance for a Healthier Generation. These voluntary guidelines also helped form the basis for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s interim final rule on competitive foods and beverages sold in schools.

 

To learn more about all the ways that our industry is innovating and supporting all of its consumers, visit DeliveringChoices.org.

 

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The American Beverage Association is the trade association representing the broad spectrum of companies that manufacture and distribute non-alcoholic beverages in the United States.  For more information on ABA, please visit the association’s Web site at www.ameribev.org or call the ABA communications team at (202) 463-6770. 

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