Ozara, SXSW 2022 – Austin, Texas

I scratched my head when I saw this modest promotion during SXSW 2022. For a regional bottled water company called Ozarka. But why promote them at South By? It’s not a national brand, and anyone local is familiar with them. I’m not a marketing expert. Is it to build additional brand awareness?

Their website mentioned three sources of spring water — all from Texas. But why are they called Ozarka? That would imply an Arkansas and Missouri connection — have you heard of the Netflix show Ozark? Research revealed they started in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, in 1905, which explains their name.

With more digging, I discovered Ozarka is part of by BlueTriton, a giant beverage company that owns numerous other bottled water brands. Once owned by Nestlé, they are now a private company. Thus, what appears to be a local brand is part of a large conglomerate. Who knew?

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