Is Aquafina a subsidiary of PepsiCo?

Aquafina is not a separate legal subsidiary. It is a brand division operating within PepsiCo's Beverages North America segment. PepsiCo owns all Aquafina trademarks, production assets, and distribution rights. There is no independent Aquafina company or corporate entity.

Is Aquafina publicly traded?

Aquafina is not traded as a standalone security. Investors who want exposure to Aquafina's revenue can purchase shares in PepsiCo, Inc., which trades on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol PEP. PepsiCo does not separately disclose Aquafina revenue in its public financial filings.

When was Aquafina founded?

PepsiCo launched Aquafina in July 1994, with its first commercial distribution in Wichita, Kansas. The brand achieved national U.S. distribution by the late 1990s and reached the top position in U.S. single-serve bottled water retail sales by 1998.

Who founded Aquafina?

Aquafina was developed internally by PepsiCo's beverage product teams. There is no individual founder; the brand was created as part of PepsiCo's corporate strategy to enter the bottled water category in the early 1990s.

Where does Aquafina water come from?

Aquafina's water comes from local public municipal water systems at each of its bottling facilities. Since 2007, PepsiCo has labeled Aquafina bottles with the phrase "Public Water Source" to comply with voluntary disclosure standards following advocacy group challenges. The water is then treated through PepsiCo's HydRO-7 purification process before bottling.

Has Aquafina had any recalls or controversies?

Aquafina has not been subject to a formal product safety recall by the FDA or CPSC as of June 2026. However, the brand faces two active lawsuits: a 2025 false advertising complaint alleging BPA presence in bottles, and a 2024 Los Angeles County lawsuit over plastic pollution and misleading recycling claims. In 2007, PepsiCo voluntarily changed labels to disclose municipal water sourcing after public pressure.

Food & Beverage

Who Owns Aquafina?

Q: What is Aquafina's market position?

Aquafina holds approximately 13 to 15 percent of the U.S. branded still water market as of 2026, making it one of the top two branded purified water products in the country alongside Coca-Cola's Dasani. Its competitive positioning is mass-market, budget price tier, with broad distribution in mainstream retail and foodservice.

Aquafina is owned by PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP), a publicly traded American food and beverage corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York. PepsiCo developed Aquafina internally and launched it in 1994. As of 2026, Aquafina holds approximately 13 to 15 percent market share in the U.S. bottled water category, making it one of the top two branded still water products in the country alongside Coca-Cola's Dasani.

Parent Company

PepsiCo, Inc.

Founded

1994

Status

Publicly Traded

Headquarters

Purchase, New York, USA

Aquafina Timeline

1965

PepsiCo, Inc.

Parent company established in Purchase, New York, USA

Company Founded

1994

Aquafina

Founded by PepsiCo (internal development)

Founded

budgetmass marketGlobalOfficial Website

Who Owns Aquafina?

Parent Company: PepsiCo, Inc.
Ownership Type: Brand division
Company Type: Publicly Traded
Stock Ticker: NASDAQ: PEP

Brand	Parent Company	Ownership Type
Aquafina	PepsiCo, Inc.	Brand division

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Aquafina on Amazon

History of Aquafina

Founded: 1994
Founders: PepsiCo (internal development)

PepsiCo launched Aquafina in July 1994, with its first distribution in Wichita, Kansas. The launch came after at least four earlier failed attempts by PepsiCo to enter the bottled water market, including the 1987 introduction of Ice Mountain, which did not achieve national scale. The mid-1990s represented a turning point: U.S. bottled water retail sales were growing at roughly 10 percent annually as consumers moved away from carbonated soft drinks.

Aquafina used a seven-step purification process called HydRO-7, which combined reverse osmosis, ozone sterilization, and ultraviolet light filtration applied to local municipal water supplies. The process produced a flavor-neutral product with consistent taste regardless of source location. PepsiCo leaned into this consistency as a marketing advantage over spring water brands.

National rollout across the United States followed through the late 1990s, riding PepsiCo's existing distribution infrastructure into grocery, convenience, vending, and foodservice channels. By 1998, Aquafina was the best-selling single-serve bottled water in the United States by retail volume, a position it held into the early 2000s.

In 2007, PepsiCo acknowledged publicly that Aquafina's water source is public municipal water, not a natural spring or underground aquifer. This disclosure came after advocacy groups pressed major bottled water brands on sourcing transparency. Rival Dasani made a similar disclosure the same year. The news generated brief negative press but did not materially affect sales.

Aquafina expanded internationally throughout the 2000s. By 2010, the brand operated in markets across the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and parts of Latin America. Licensing arrangements allowed regional beverage bottlers to produce Aquafina under PepsiCo oversight, using the same purification standards applied in North America.

In 2020, PepsiCo introduced Aquafina in aluminum cans for U.S. foodservice accounts, responding to operator requests for a more sustainable single-serve format than PET plastic bottles. The canned format remained a secondary product line rather than a replacement for plastic.

PepsiCo undertook a visual identity refresh for Aquafina in 2024. PepsiCo Design + Innovation led the redesign, which simplified the label and updated the bottle silhouette. The project received a Red Dot Agency of the Year award in 2024.

As of June 2026, Aquafina is sold in more than 30 countries and remains one of PepsiCo's largest non-carbonated beverage brands by volume.

About PepsiCo, Inc.

What does PepsiCo own?
PepsiCo owns a portfolio of more than 23 billion-dollar brands across beverages, snack foods, and cereals. Key brands include Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana, Aquafina, SodaStream, Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Fritos, Tostitos, Ruffles, Quaker Oats, Cap'n Crunch, and Poppi. The company also owns international snack brands including Walkers (UK), Sabritas and Gamesa (Mexico), and Smith's (Australia).

Is PepsiCo publicly traded?
Yes, PepsiCo is publicly traded on NASDAQ under ticker PEP. The company has been listed since 1965 and is one of the largest companies in the S&P 500. Major institutional shareholders include Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street. PepsiCo is a Dividend Aristocrat, having increased its annual dividend for 54 consecutive years.

Who founded PepsiCo?
PepsiCo was formed in 1965 through the merger of Pepsi-Cola Company, founded by Caleb Bradham in 1898, and Frito-Lay, Inc., formed by Herman Lay in 1932. Bradham was a pharmacist in New Bern, North Carolina, who created Pepsi-Cola. Lay was a potato chip distributor in Nashville, Tennessee, who built a national snack food company.

Where is PepsiCo headquartered?
PepsiCo is headquartered in Purchase, New York, USA. The company's corporate campus in Westchester County, north of New York City, houses its executive offices and many of its North American business units. PepsiCo operates manufacturing facilities and offices across more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

How many brands does PepsiCo own?
PepsiCo owns more than 23 brands that each generate over $1 billion in annual retail sales. The total brand count is significantly higher when including regional and smaller brands. The portfolio spans beverages (Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Tropicana), snack foods (Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Fritos), and cereals (Quaker, Cap'n Crunch, Life).

Who owns PepsiCo?
PepsiCo is a publicly traded company with a dispersed shareholder base. No single shareholder holds a controlling stake. The largest institutional shareholders are Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street. Ramon Laguarta serves as Chairman and CEO, having succeeded Indra Nooyi in 2018.

What is PepsiCo's financial performance?
For FY2025 (ended December 27, 2025), PepsiCo reported net revenue of $93.9 billion, up 2% from $91.9 billion in FY2024. Net income was $8.3 billion, and core EPS was $8.14. Free cash flow was $8.2 billion. The company announced its 54th consecutive annual dividend increase. For FY2026, PepsiCo projects organic revenue growth of 2% to 4% and core constant currency EPS growth of 4% to 6%.

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, Inc. website

View full company profile for PepsiCo, Inc.

Where Is Aquafina Made / Based?

Headquarters: Purchase, New York, USA
Manufacturing / Operations: United States, Canada, Turkey, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia

Aquafina Categories & Tags

Bottled Water Purified Water Beverage Pepsico American Brand Global Brand

Aquafina Sustainability & Ethics

Aquafina does not hold independent sustainability certifications. The brand is not listed on the Leaping Bunny or PETA Beauty Without Bunnies databases, as those are not applicable to a bottled water product. No organic certification applies to purified water.

PepsiCo has committed to designing 100 percent of its packaging to be recyclable, compostable, biodegradable, or reusable by 2025, though the company acknowledged in its 2023 ESG Summary that it did not fully meet this target on schedule. Aquafina's primary packaging is PET plastic, which is technically recyclable but has low actual recycling rates in most U.S. markets.

PepsiCo met two of its 2025 water stewardship targets ahead of schedule, including a 25 percent improvement in water-use efficiency in high-water-risk areas, according to the company's 2023 ESG report. Aquafina production facilities are included in these figures.

In 2020, PepsiCo introduced Aquafina in aluminum cans for foodservice, citing reduced carbon footprint per unit compared to single-use PET bottles. Aluminum has substantially higher recycling rates than PET plastic in the United States.

PepsiCo's broader science-based climate targets, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), include a 40 percent absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to a 2015 baseline. Aquafina production sites are covered under these targets.

Aquafina Recalls & Controversies

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., alleging "false and deceptive marketing" of Aquafina bottled water. The complaint alleges that PepsiCo markets Aquafina as "pure water, perfect taste" and states on packaging that the bottle does not contain bisphenol-A (BPA), despite independent laboratory tests that reportedly detected BPA in Aquafina samples. PepsiCo disputed the allegations. The case was pending as of June 2026.

LA County Plastic Pollution Lawsuit (2024): In October 2024, Los Angeles County filed suit against PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company, alleging they deceived the public about the recyclability of plastic beverage packaging. The lawsuit specifically cited Aquafina PET bottles as part of the alleged deception. The case was ongoing as of June 2026.

Municipal Water Source Disclosure (2007): Advocacy groups challenged PepsiCo in 2007 over Aquafina's labeling, arguing that "pure water" language was misleading when the source was treated municipal tap water, not a natural spring. PepsiCo agreed to add the phrase "Public Water Source" to Aquafina labels. No regulatory penalty was imposed; the change was made voluntarily following sustained media coverage.

Aquafina Ownership: Pros & Cons

Advantages

+Access to PepsiCo's national and international distribution network across grocery, convenience, foodservice, and vending
+Consistent brand recognition built over three decades in the U.S. market
+Low production cost model using municipal water and standardized purification
+Cross-promotional opportunities alongside PepsiCo's snack and beverage portfolio
+PepsiCo's R&D and regulatory teams provide product safety infrastructure

Considerations

-Two active lawsuits as of June 2026 alleging deceptive marketing and plastic pollution
-Low actual recycling rates for PET plastic bottles undercut environmental messaging
-Private label bottled water takes substantial share from branded products at lower cost
-Consumer disclosure requirements on municipal water sourcing remain a recurring controversy
-Limited differentiation in a category where functional and premium alternatives are growing faster

Frequently Asked Questions About Aquafina

Sources & Further Reading

Competitors to Aquafina

These competing brands operate in the same categories and provide similar products or services. Compare key attributes to understand market positioning and competitive landscape.

Brand	Parent Company	Country	Founded	Market Position	Primary Market	Gender Target
Coca-Cola	Coca Cola Company	USA	1886	Mass market	Global	All-ages
Core Hydration	Keurig Dr Pepper	USA	2015	Premium	United states	All Genders
Dasani	Coca Cola Company	USA	1999	Mass market	Global	All Genders
Poland Spring	Bluetriton Brands	USA	1845	Mass market	United states	All Genders
PepsiSister Brand	Pepsico	USA	1898	Mass market	Global	All-ages
A&W Root Beer	Keurig Dr Pepper	USA	1919	Mass market	United states	All-ages