The FRESH Deception

"What would you like to drink with your meal?" "Plain mineral water, please...".  Within a period of two weeks I have been offered, in three different restaurants - two in France and one in Denmark, a mineral water that I hitherto knew nothing about: FRESH. A superbly designed bottle.  A taste that is neutral. A price that is exorbitant: between 5€ and 10€ depending on the circumstance (a bottle of Vittel costs between 3€ and 5 €).  Remembering the Colette "Water Bar" where you could taste 96 different types of water, I thought I would find here one of the 3000 bottled waters that one finds the world over.  What was my surprise last week to find a small leaflet on the table of the restaurant, praising the "taste sensation" ("pure water that respects the aroma of wine and flavour of food"), and the beneficial effects on health and environment of FRESH!  On the reverse, one sentence: "FRESH is local water, plain or sparkling, produced on-site in the restaurant"...

 I carry out my investigation, which eventually leads me to the website www.nordaqfresh.com: FRESH turns out to be a filtration process for tap water!

So I was being served filtered carbonated tap water for double the price of a brand mineral water.

We have here all the makings of a consumer / customer mystification: I am being sold, at a premium price, filtered tap water - leaving the restaurateur the option to enlighten me (or not) about the properties of this water.  But in two out of the 3 restaurants in question, I was given no information at all!  So I naively ordered and consumed water whose price found justification in the design of the bottle and the idea that I held of its "exotic" source.

In the third case the restaurateur was honest enough to enlighten me: I know now that because of my desire to protect the environment and keep healthy, he substantially increases his profits.  This is confirmed on the FRESH website: a testimony from a restaurateur highlights the "improved margin in our water sector"!

This is an example of a caricature of an initiative, taking the consumer for a sucker.  He pays dearly for, at worst, a beautiful bottle and a "rare" water, at best, for his environmental scruples.

This said, I would still not disapprove the merits of this initiative: filtered table water is an excellent initiative... on condition that it is clearly indicated and the price is appropriate!