Bottled water services

With over twenty years experience in the bottled water industry, UL is now proud to offer a new certification program designed specifically for the bottled water industry.

Key advantages of the UL certified water quality Mark

The UL certified water quality Mark adds value in the bottled water marketplace because:

• It effectively communicates the high quality of your product.
• It reinforces your brand as the brand of choice relative to the competition.
• Consumers prefer bottled water brands that carry the UL Mark.

The value of the UL certified water quality Mark is backed by consumer market research

UL commissioned a blinded market research study of 1500 U.S. consumers¹ to determine the value of a UL Mark in the bottled water category.

UL chose Ipsos Insight, a highly regarded, global market research firm, to assess the importance of a variety of factors in consumers' purchase decisions. The study determined the impact of price, brand and the presence of the UL Water Quality mark, among a variety of factors, on share of preference².

The study found that in every tested scenario, all else being equal, there was significant consumer preference for bottled water brands that carry the UL Mark, and that consumers would switch brands or pay more to get the benefits of the UL Mark.

Certification program overview

UL's certification program comprises the following:

• Onsite audit of the facility where the product is packaged. The audit is inclusive of International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), FDA, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements.
• Analysis of source and finished product to all IBWA and FDA requirements.
• Verification of the FDA's Standard of Identity compliance for product labeling.

UL has more than 20 years of experience analyzing bottled water in accordance with FDA standards. Highly active in water safety and quality, UL staff has served on the Technical and Government Relations Committees for the IBWA and continues to make presentations to the water industry. In 2007, UL was awarded the IBWA Plant Inspection Contract, allowing UL to conduct unannounced annual third-party audits of bottled water plants for IBWA members and candidate members.

¹Ipsos Insight. US Bottled Water Study: Consumer Discrete Choice Analysis. October 12, 2007.

²The discrete choice technique presents the survey respondents with a series of realistic purchase scenarios rather than asking the respondents directly how important something is in their purchase decision. Survey respondents make trade-offs in their decisions, much as consumers are forced to do when making actual purchases. The technique typically produces more valid and accurate information than asking respondents the same questions directly.