Dozens of brands of "fortified water" are appearing in the US, attracting consumers with various combinations of herbs, vitamins and minerals.
There is caffeinated water, water with plant hormones for menopausal women, water with fluoride for children -- even water that is supposed to behave like a liquid version of Viagra.
Some of the biggest beverage companies have watched the success of fortified waters from smaller, regional companies and are now jumping into the market themselves.
In June, Pepsico released Aquafina Essentials, a four-product line of fortified waters that include ingredients like calcium, iron and folic acid. Gatorade recently introduced a low-calorie vitamin concoction called Propel Fitness Water. Next year, Coca-Cola plans to start selling Dasani Nutriwater in several flavors enhanced with vitamins and minerals.
The Sweden-based Nordic Drinks is marketing Nexcite, a caffeinated water with damiana, ginseng and guarana that is supposed to act like an aphrodisiac.
But some nutritionists and health groups, including the American Dietetic Association, warn that many fortified waters also carry a heavy caloric punch, which won't help weightwatchers.
"How many people do you know with vitamin deficiencies or mineral deficiencies?" said Lawrence E. Armstrong, a physiology professor at the University of Connecticut at Storrs.
"If you have a vitamin deficiency you'll know. People don't have scurvy in our country."
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said second-quarter revenue is expected to surpass the first quarter, which rose 30 percent year-on-year to NT$118.92 billion (US$3.71 billion). Revenue this quarter is likely to grow, as US clients have front-loaded orders ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Taiwanese goods, Delta chairman Ping Cheng (鄭平) said at an earnings conference in Taipei, referring to the 90-day pause in tariff implementation Trump announced on April 9. While situations in the third and fourth quarters remain unclear, “We will not halt our long-term deployments and do not plan to
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The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
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