The battle ground for the Indonesian packaged water market has moved beyond oxygenated water to alkaline water. Proponents of alkaline water claim water with a higher pH level can neutralise body acid, help with dieting, detoxification, skin dehydration and is a good source of antioxidant.
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| Total 8+ commercial |
According to the Total 8+ commercial, regardless of what food you consumed, once you have eaten oily food and high acidic food, all you need to do is to neutralise the acid in the body with a bottle of Total 8+ water made with Japanese technology.
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| Eat anything and neutralise with Total 8+ |
The advertisement ends with the female pushing the ordinary packaged water aside and encourage the audience to start replacing their water with alkaline water.
To strengthen the health credential of Total 8+, the company PT Tirtamas Lestari even has an “Ask the Expert” session featuring a health expert who will be talking about the benefits of drinking alkaline water.
The marketing message of Total 8+ is very clear, the alkaline water neutralises the body acid to bring balance to your body. Consumers can continue with their guilt-free eating as long as they end their food eating frenzy with a bottle of Total 8+.
Now, there is a new packaged water by PT TST Indonesia with an even higher pH level – 9! The packaged water also contains low total dissolved solid (TDS).
Alkaline water does appeal to office workers and health-conscious people who treat the high pH water as a solution for their health problem. To improve the health credential, Gold’s Gym Indonesia has been made a partner of Total 8+. Vending machines dispensing Total 8+ as well as Pocari Sweawt are available inside the gym. Would brands move up the ante with a pH 10 water? Probably as similar packaged water with pH 10 is already available abroad.
In neighbouring Malaysia, the alkaline water fad is still confined to alkaline water machine and has not yet made its way to the packaged water segment.
Update as of 14 October 2015
New Pristine ionised mineral water with a pH of 8+ by PT Super Wahana Tehno, a 50-50 joint venture between Sinar Mas and Japan’s Nihon Trim. The ad features the Japanese actress Ayaka Komatsu as the brand ambassador. Ayaka was known as Sailor Venus in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon.
