An important contribution of American rule in the islands was the introduction of bottled water. The commodity was part of the military ration of Army soldiers when they were deployed in Manila at the turn of 20th century, along with U.S. troops assigned in Davao region.
The manufacture and selling of bottled drinking water commenced in the first half of the 19th century when it was fashionable among Americans to take a bath and drink mineral waters sourced from Saratoga Springs (New York) and Sulphur Springs (West Virginia). Later, in the 1850s, with “the practice of dip-molding made glass bottles cheaper and more reliable [becoming widespread], entrepreneurs began bottling those popular waters and selling them in drug stores, groceries, and even saloons.”
Initially, bottled water was sold for its supposed health benefits. And, as the bottling and overhead cost of distribution of the product dramatically dropped, it became the alternative to potable water produced by urban water systems until chlorination was introduced.
In the Philippines, the popularly of bottled mineral water shot up with its introduction in the first two decades of American rule. Locally, the artificially charged water that carried the label ‘Isuan’ was top of the line; it came from the springs of Los Baños, Laguna.
In 1921, according to Heise and Behrman of the Bureau of Science, by this time there were already numerous classifications of mineral waters produced locally, namely, thermal, carbonated, ferruginous, muriated, sulphated, bromide’ sulphurated, and arsenical. During this period, annually, around P100,000 worth of bottled water was imported to the country.
Five years later, according to data from the Bureau of Health in Manila, bottled water was made available “in first-class drug stores and [was] highly recommended by Spanish and Filipino physicians for moist skin diseases, low-grade ulcers, dyspepsia, gastro-intestinal catarrh, chronic dysentery, liver diseases, and menstrual diseases.”
In 1973, with DuPont engineer Nathaniel Wyeth having patented the polyethylene terephthalate, bottled water took on a different direction. Instead of breakable glass as container, the bottle used were now made from lightweight plastic. The proliferation of plastic gave rise to numerous types of bottled water, from distilled and purified water, namely:
Artesian water (sourced from a confined aquifer that has been tapped); fluoridated (with added fluoride such as ‘for infant’ water); ground water (from an underground source that is under a pressure); mineral water (contains minerals such as salts and sulfur compounds); purified water (produced by distillation, deionization, reverse osmosis, or other processes; also known as ‘demineralized water’); sparkling water (contains the same amount of carbon dioxide from its source); spring water (from an underground formation where water flows naturally); sterile water (passes sterilization); and well water (from a hole bored, drilled, or constructed in the ground.
An interesting topic of debate is which company has the rightful claim was the first purified bottled water producer in the country. Excluding the America-era Isuan brand, two firms contest the credit. Banahaw Spring purified water, produced by Philippine Bottling Beverage, proclaims itself as “the first bottled water manufactured in the Philippines,” claiming “every single drop of [the product] gives the beauty of the greens, freshness of plants, and the wonderful feeling of being close to nature… It’s locally sourced from Mt. Banahaw!” On the other hand, Solerex Water Technology, producer of Crystal Clear, brandishes its Solarex Water Technology.
Absolute, a pure distilled drinking water, is the first and only recognized by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF), a World Health Organization (WHO) collaborating center for food and water safety and indoor environment, in the Philippines.
For its part, Davao’s first water-bottling companies were mostly refilling outlets or franchisees of Manila-based firms. Brands like Nature’s Spring, H20, Aquastar, Apo Spring Water, Viva, Wilkins, Le Minerale, and Wet, to name a few, do not have Davao provenance.
Bottled water history is not complete without mention of Tansan (after whom the soft drink crown has been named), a sparkling carbonated water sourced from the mineral springs of Takarazuka, known as Tansan Springs, in the mountains of Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, and produced by Tansan Mineral Water Co., Ltd., owned by Englishman John Clifford Wilkinson.
Tansan as aerated water was registered as trademark in 1896 in Washington, D.C. It was exported to the Philippines in 1902 and sealed with a metal crown cap with cork, which was invented in 1892 by William Painter of Baltimore, U.S.A.
In 1915, Swiss trading firm Lutz & Zuellig (later succeeded in 1922 by F.E. Zuellig, Inc.) was made sole distributor of Tansan in the country. Given its popularity, the Japan-produced aerated water was honored with a Diploma of Honour in the Semarang (Java) Exhibition. The green-bottled water was sold for $6 for pints per four dozen and $8 for splits per eight dozen.
