Who Owns Poland Spring?

Poland Spring traces its commercial origins to 1845, when Hiram Ricker began bottling and selling spring water from his family's property in Poland, Maine. The springs on the Ricker family land had been known locally since the late eighteenth century. Reports from the period describe travelers and residents visiting the springs believing the water had therapeutic properties. Hiram Ricker, who ran the Poland Spring House resort, began packaging the water for commercial sale to guests and distant customers.

The Ricker family expanded the operation through the second half of the nineteenth century. The Poland Spring House grew into a major resort destination, and the bottled water business expanded alongside it. By the early 1900s, Poland Spring water was being shipped to customers across the northeastern United States. The brand built its reputation on the association with Maine's natural springs and the perceived purity of the source.

The business remained under Ricker family control for several generations. In the mid-twentieth century, the resort and bottling operations faced declining fortunes as consumer habits shifted and the resort industry changed. The brand's ownership transitioned several times during this period.

In 1980, the Perrier Group of America acquired Poland Spring. Perrier, a French mineral water company expanding in the United States, saw Poland Spring as a domestic brand that could complement its imported sparkling water. Under Perrier's ownership, Poland Spring's distribution expanded beyond its traditional northeastern base.

Nestle acquired the Perrier Group of America in 1992, bringing Poland Spring under the control of the Swiss food and beverage conglomerate. Nestle rebranded its North American water operations as Nestle Waters North America and invested heavily in expanding Poland Spring's production capacity and distribution network. During the Nestle era, Poland Spring became one of the highest-volume spring water brands in the United States. The brand was marketed as a premium domestic spring water sourced exclusively from Maine springs.

Under Nestle, Poland Spring expanded its product line beyond traditional still water. The brand introduced sparkling water variants and expanded into multiple package formats, including single-serve bottles, gallon jugs, and multi-gallon dispensing containers. Nestle also integrated Poland Spring into its ReadyRefresh home and office delivery service.

In 2021, Nestle sold its North American water brands to One Rock Capital Partners and Metropoulos and Co. for approximately $4.3 billion. The newly formed BlueTriton Brands took over operations of Poland Spring and the other former Nestle water brands. This sale ended Nestle's nearly three-decade ownership of the brand.

In 2024, BlueTriton Brands agreed to merge with Primo Water Corporation, a publicly traded company specializing in water dispensing and refill services. The merger created Primo Brands Corporation, which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker PRMB. The combination brought together BlueTriton's spring water portfolio with Primo Water's direct delivery, exchange, and refill platform.

As of 2026, Primo Brands reported strong financial performance, with CEO Eric Foss citing robust growth in retail channels led by regional spring water and premium brands. Poland Spring remains a core brand in the portfolio, classified as one of the company's two billion-dollar brands.