Who Owns Aquafina?

• Parent Company: PepsiCo
• Ownership Type: Brand division
• Company Type: Publicly Traded
• Stock Ticker: NASDAQ: PEP

• Founded: 1994
• Founders: PepsiCo (internal development)

• Founded: 1965
• Headquarters: Purchase, New York, USA
• Company Type: Publicly Traded
• Stock: NASDAQ: PEP
• Revenue: $93.9 billion (FY2025)
• Employees: Approximately 318,000

Visit PepsiCo website

• Headquarters: Purchase, New York, USA (PepsiCo headquarters)
• Manufacturing / Operations: United States, Canada, International

Aquafina operates within PepsiCo's comprehensive sustainability framework, implementing environmental initiatives and ethical business practices while maintaining its position as a leading bottled water brand. The brand participates in PepsiCo's broader ESG commitments while addressing the unique environmental considerations of the bottled water industry and plastic packaging challenges.

Environmental Leadership and Water Stewardship: Aquafina benefits from PepsiCo's ambitious water stewardship goals, which include achieving water-use efficiency improvements across operations. PepsiCo met two of its 2025 water targets early, including a 25% improvement in water-use efficiency in high-water-risk areas. Aquafina's production facilities implement water conservation technologies and monitoring systems to minimize water consumption during bottling processes.

Sustainable Packaging Initiatives: Aquafina has introduced aluminum can packaging as an alternative to plastic bottles, responding to environmental concerns about plastic pollution. In 2020, PepsiCo began selling Aquafina in aluminum cans to U.S. food service outlets while testing the format in retail channels. The company aims to design 100% of packaging to be recyclable, compostable, biodegradable, or reusable by 2025, though critics note that plastic recycling rates remain low.

Plastic Reduction and Circular Economy: Aquafina participates in PepsiCo's efforts to reduce plastic waste and promote circular economy principles. The brand has implemented lightweight bottle designs to reduce plastic usage and supports recycling programs. However, environmental advocates criticize the inherent limitations of plastic recycling, noting that most plastic bottles collected for recycling are never actually recycled and instead end up in landfills or incinerators.

Water Quality and Purification Standards: Aquafina maintains comprehensive water quality testing programs, with bottling facilities conducting an average of 320 tests daily and 1,950 tests weekly. The brand's purified water meets and exceeds requirements set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and local regulatory standards. Independent laboratory evaluations ensure consistent water quality and safety across all production facilities.

Supply Chain Responsibility: Aquafina works with suppliers and partners who meet PepsiCo's ethical business standards. The company maintains supplier codes of conduct that address environmental responsibility, labor practices, and ethical sourcing throughout the bottled water supply chain, including water source management and packaging material procurement.

Community Water Engagement: Aquafina supports community water initiatives and water conservation programs in regions where the brand operates. The company participates in PepsiCo's broader water replenishment projects and community education programs focused on water conservation and sustainable water management practices.

Transparency and Consumer Education: Aquafina provides information about water sources, purification processes, and environmental initiatives on its packaging and website. However, the brand has faced criticism regarding the accuracy of environmental claims and the transparency of its sustainability reporting, particularly regarding plastic recycling effectiveness.

Aquafina has received recognition for its brand design, market leadership, and innovative packaging approaches within the competitive bottled water industry. The brand's awards span design excellence, market performance achievements, and recognition for its visual identity and marketing innovations.

Design Recognition and Red Awards: PepsiCo Design + Innovation received the prestigious Red Dot Agency of the Year 2024 award for the Aquafina redesign project. The new visual identity, launched to capture simplicity and modernity while maintaining the brand's core "pure water, perfect taste" positioning, was acknowledged for successfully reimagining Aquafina for modern consumers while preserving brand equity.

Market Leadership Achievement: Aquafina achieved remarkable market success, reaching the number one position in U.S. retail sales by 2009 with 13.4% market share. This market leadership position represented a significant achievement in the highly competitive bottled water category, where Aquafina successfully challenged established brands and captured substantial consumer preference.

Brand Innovation Recognition: The introduction of Aquafina's aluminum can packaging format received recognition for innovation in sustainable packaging solutions. The 2020 launch of aluminum cans for food service outlets demonstrated the brand's commitment to addressing environmental concerns while maintaining product quality and consumer convenience.

Consumer Preference Awards: Aquafina has been recognized in consumer surveys and market research studies for consumer preference and brand awareness. According to YouGov survey data covering May 2024 to April 2025, Aquafina ranked among the most popular bottled water brands that consumers would consider purchasing, reflecting strong brand loyalty and market acceptance.

Packaging Design Excellence: Aquafina's bottle design and packaging have received recognition for their functional aesthetics and consumer-friendly features. The brand's distinctive bottle shape, label design, and packaging innovations have been acknowledged by packaging industry organizations for enhancing the consumer experience.

Marketing Campaign Recognition: Aquafina's advertising campaigns and marketing initiatives have received recognition for effectively communicating the brand's purity and quality positioning. The "pure water, perfect taste" messaging strategy has been acknowledged as successful in differentiating Aquafina in a crowded marketplace.

Industry Leadership Recognition: Within PepsiCo's portfolio, Aquafina has been recognized as one of the company's successful beverage brand launches and a key contributor to PepsiCo's non-carbonated beverage segment growth. The brand's performance has been acknowledged as demonstrating effective brand development and market expansion strategies.

Aquafina has faced significant controversies related to environmental impact, plastic pollution, and marketing claims, while maintaining its position as a leading bottled water brand. The company's sustainability practices and advertising representations have drawn scrutiny from environmental organizations, consumer advocates, and regulatory authorities.

False and Deceptive Marketing Lawsuit (2025): In April 2025, the Plastic Pollution Coalition filed a complaint in the District of Columbia Superior Court against PepsiCo, Inc. for alleged "false and deceptive marketing" of Aquafina bottled water. The lawsuit alleges that PepsiCo promotes Aquafina as "pure water, perfect taste" and claims packaging does not contain bisphenol-A (BPA), despite independent laboratory tests revealing BPA presence in Aquafina products. The complaint challenges the accuracy of environmental and health claims made on Aquafina's packaging and website.

BPA Contamination Allegations: Independent laboratory evaluations revealed the presence of bisphenol-A (BPA) in Aquafina "pure" bottled water products, contradicting the brand's marketing claims. BPA, a chemical added to plastics to increase rigidity, is known to disrupt human endocrine systems and has been identified as among the most concerning chemicals added to plastics. These findings raised serious questions about the safety and accuracy of Aquafina's purity claims.

Plastic Pollution Criticism: Aquafina has faced criticism from environmental advocates regarding its contribution to plastic pollution through single-use plastic bottles. Despite PepsiCo's sustainability messaging and recycling claims, critics argue that plastic production inherently produces pollution and that most plastic bottles collected for recycling are never actually recycled, instead ending up in landfills, incinerators, or being shipped overseas.

Misleading Recycling Claims: The lawsuit alleges that PepsiCo perpetuates misleading industry narratives around plastic recycling by claiming "100% recyclable" on packaging and pledging to design 100% of packaging to be recyclable, compostable, biodegradable, or reusable by 2025. Environmental advocates argue that plastic is not designed to be recycled and that such claims mislead consumers about the actual environmental impact of plastic bottled water.

LA County Plastic Pollution Lawsuit (2024): In October 2024, Los Angeles County sued PepsiCo and Coca-Cola over plastic beverage pollution and allegedly deceiving the public about plastic recycling. The lawsuit challenges the companies' environmental claims and marketing practices regarding the recyclability and environmental impact of their plastic packaging, including Aquafina bottles.

Environmental Justice Concerns: Environmental justice advocates have criticized the bottled water industry, including Aquafina, for perpetuating environmental injustices through plastic production and pollution. The industry's impact on communities near production facilities and disposal sites has raised concerns about disproportionate environmental burdens on marginalized communities.

Water Source Sustainability Questions: Aquafina has faced scrutiny regarding the sustainability of its water sources and the environmental impact of large-scale water extraction for bottled water production. Critics argue that commercial water extraction can strain local water resources and ecosystems, particularly in water-stressed regions.

Consumer Health and Safety Concerns: Beyond the BPA controversy, Aquafina has faced questions about the overall health and safety implications of consuming purified bottled water compared to tap water alternatives, with some health advocates questioning the necessity and environmental justification of single-use bottled water consumption.