Essentia Water’s Claims of Providing ‘Superior Hydration’ Are Misleading, Class Action Claims

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Water is the subject of more litigation, with a proposed class action arguing Essentia Water’s supposedly “overachieving” bottled water is marketed, advertised and labeled based on scientific claims that “are literally false.”

Filed in New York, the case first picks at the defendant’s labeling of its Essentia bottled water, which features statements calling the product “overachieving H2O,” “Ionized Hydration,” and “9.5 pH or higher” alongside a plus sign, a symbol the lawsuit says consumers view in conjunction with label claims as “backed by scientific rigor.” The defendant’s position of its bottled water leads reasonable consumers to believe the water itself is more effective and efficient in its hydration capabilities, the case says.

Moreover, the defendant, based on a study that compared individuals who drank alkaline water with those who instead drank purified reverse osmosis water following exercise-caused dehydration, claims alkaline water is a superior hydration method. According to the suit, however, the study on which the defendant rests its supposedly hydration-boosting claims—published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 13.1 (2016)—concluded that hydration is, in fact, unrelated to water being alkalinized. From the complaint:

“This is because the control group was given purified reverse osmosis water, which has had all minerals and electrolytes removed, while the alkalinized water notably possesses electrolytes, though they are purportedly present ‘for taste.’”

The lawsuit argues that marketing claims and iconography aside, Essentia Water’s representations of its product being more effective at hydration are false and misleading.

“The studies purporting to substantiate defendant’s claims are poorly designed, incredible and represent the view of a minority of scientists,” the case reads.