User:AngSK/Aqua (mineral water)

AQUA (also known as Danone-AQUA) is a brand of bottled drinking water produced by AQUA group since 1973. Apart from Indonesia, AQUA also sells products in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. As the pioneer of bottled drinking water in Indonesia, AQUA has become a generic brand among bottled water products.

AQUA products originate from mountainous water sources in Indonesia, claimed to be selected through extensive research spanning over 1 year. AQUA also emphasizes on endeavors to sustain water sources by protecting the ecosystem and preserving the purity of its mineral content.

Danone-AQUA or AQUA Group refers to three legal entities engaged in the sector of packaged drinking water; i.e., Tirta Investama LLC, AQUA Golden Mississippi LLC and Tirta Sibayakindo LLC. The group operates 21 factories located across Java, Bali, Sumatra and Sulawesi. All business and production operations of AQUA are coordinated by the central office located in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

History
The establishment of AQUA began when Tirto Utomo resigned from his job as an employee in Pertamina. During his tenure in the oil and gas company, tap water was served as drinking water to guests, leading to an incident of diarrhea. Through this experience, Tirto realized the importance of providing hygienic drinking water. He began studying the process of turning water into drinking water ready for consumption. Tirto then enlisted the help of his younger brother, Slamet Utomo, asking the latter to work as an apprentice at the "Polaris" bottled water factory in Thailand, which had already been in operation for more than 15 years at that time.

Tirto, along with his subordinate, Willy Sidharta, then established a company called Golden Mississippi LLC(initially planned to be called Golden Colorado) on February 23, 1973, to produce the bottled drinking water. The factory itself was built in Pondok Ungu, Bekasi. The company's initial product was named Puritas (short for Pure Artesian Water, featuring a clover leaf logo to symbolize pure water) and was packaged in bottles. Both the names Puritas and Golden Mississippi LLC were deliberately "westernized" to cater to the expatriate target market. In order to simplify the pronunciation of the product name, Eulindra Lim, a designer recruited by Tirto, suggested changing it to AQUA. The name AQUA itself derives from the Latin word for "water", though some sources suggest that it was taken from Tirto's pen name when he was a journalist, or that it was simply taken from his real name, (A)-Kwa Sien Biauw. This product closely resembles the one produced by the company where Tirto's brother interned and was the first bottled drinking water in Indonesia.

Commercial production at Golden Mississippi LLC began on October 1, 1974, with a production capacity of 6 million liters per year. Tirto, at that time, thought that if 10% of Indonesians consumed the water he produced, the production capacity would be sufficient. His first product was the 950 ml AQUA in glass bottle, followed by the 20-liter AQUA gallon, which was also initially made of glass. Due to its glass packaging, AQUA was sold at a price that was considered relatively expensive for the local population, more befitting of the focus of on the expatriate target market. The initial product, i.e., the 950 ml bottle of mineral water, was sold at IDR 75 rupiah, and was more expensive than gasolin, which at that time was IDR 46 rupiah per liter. This made people reluctant to buy the bottled water. Tirto was even considered eccentric by the local population at that time for marketing such an unconventional product. In fact, within three years, the company almost closed down because it was losing money.

In 1973, the company began its search for spring water as the primary raw material for the AQUA mineral water production. Initially, AQUA had sourced its raw material from groundwater (artesian). However, since 1982, the main raw material for AQUA has been mountainous spring water, initially sourced from the mountains of Jonggol, Bogor, which happened to be the area of the USAID research zone. Currently, it is sourced from the foothills of Mount Salak. The popularity of AQUA bottled water grew at this time, as the product, originally targeted at expatriates, began to be consumed by local workers and was marketed through various media. Willy Sidharta, Tirto's colleague, played a role in marketing the product door-to-door. By 1978, Golden Mississippi LLC had already reached its break-even point. Starting with just drinking water in glass bottles, AQUA began to offer various variants, including drinking water in cups (1985) and in plastic bottles (1978). AQUA then started exporting its products to several countries and also established a bottled water factory in Brunei Darussalam. In 1984, the second AQUA factory in Indonesia was established in Pandaan, Pasuruan, as an effort to get closer to the consumers in that area.

In order to adapt to the increasingly rapid business development, on July 25, 1989, the name Golden Mississippi LLC was changed to AQUA Golden Mississippi LLC. By 1990 AQUA's production capacity had increased fivefold compared to 1985, from 38.23 million liters to 188.7 million liters. Beginning March 1, 1990, AQUA Golden Mississipp LLCi became a public company after releasing 6 million of its shares on the Jakarta Stock Exchange at an offering price of IDR 7,500 rupiah per share. AQUA's production was then enhanced with in-line production at the Mekarsari factory starting in 1995, where water was packaged in a single production line for increased hygiene. On September 28, 1998. 40% of AQUA's shares was officially acquired by the French corporation, Danone Group. However, Tirto's widow, Lisa Tirto Utomo, still held the majority of shares and remained in control of the company. This acquisition was prompted by the emergence of new competitors, in hopes that a collaboration with Danone, one of the biggest bottled water producers in the world, would enhance AQUA's company performance. Later on, Danone would go on to increase their ownership to 74% in March 2002 and 90% in 2002, making them the majority shareholder. The Danone Logo was then attached to the AQUA logo starting in 2000. As of April 1, 2011, AQUA Golden Mississippi Publicly traded LLC reverted to a closed company after undergoing voluntary delisting, where the remaining public shares (5.65%) were bought at IDR 500,000 rupiah per share.

CSR Program
Danone-AQUA's commitment to implementing TJSL (Social and environmental responsibility) is manifested in various CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities encompassing the fields of health, environment, disaster management and special assistance.

Revitalisation of the Culinary Area of Hasan Sadikin Central General Hospital in Bandung
On August 26, 2023, Danone-AQUA signed a partnership with the Bandung City Government and Hasan Sadikin Central General Hospital for the revitalization program of the hospital's culinary area. This initiative includes providing new business locations for the 23 street vendors (PKL) who previously operated along the Prof. Dr Eyckman street in Cipaganti, Bandung.

This initiative is part of Danone-AQUA's commitment to support the Bandung City Government's mission to empower micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM) by providing suitable and safe business locations for street vendors (PKL) while offering cleaner and healthier eating places for the surrounding community.

Slogans

 * Clean, clear, bacteria-free (1986-1991)
 * Healthy water at all times (1991-1999)
 * Real Health (1999-2004)
 * From Protected Sources, Protecting You and Your Family (2002-2004)
 * So Alive with AQUA (2005-2007)
 * Purity for the Future (2007-2009)
 * Goodness of Nature, Goodness of Life (2009-2013, 2017-2020)
 * Goodness of Life (2013-2017)
 * Protected to Protect You (2020-2022)
 * Pure & Protected (2022-2023)
 * 100% Pure (2023-present)

AQUA
Bottled drinking water (AMDK) under the AQUA brand is packaged in a hygienic process in various sizes of plastic bottle; i.e., 330 ml, 450 ml, 600 ml, 750 ml and 1500 ml, as well as the 240 ml plastic cup and the 19-liter gallon.

In 2004, AQUA introduced Aqua Splash of Fruit, the first fruit-flavored mineral water in Indonesia, which was served chilled. It came in two flavors: strawberry and orange-mango. However, the product was short-lived, as after the launch of Mizone, it was discontinued at the end of 2005.

Mizone
Mizone White Isotonic is an isotonic beverage available in four flavors: lychee lemon, cranberry, star fruit and cherry blossom.

Awards
A few examples of the awards received by Danone-AQUA:


 * In 2018, Danone-AQUA achieved certification as a B-Corp for the company's best practices and adherence to the highest standards in social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability.
 * In 2018, six Danone-AQUA factories were awarded the Green PROPER Award by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
 * In November 2019, Danone-AQUA once again received the "Halal Award - Halal Top Brand 2019" in the category of Packaged Drinking Water from the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Assessment Institute of the Indonesian Ulema Council (LPPOM MUI) and the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia.
 * In January 2020, two Danone-AQUA factories once again received two Gold-category PROPER Awards from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK). Eight other factories received the Green PROPER Award.
 * In June 2020, Danone-AQUA once again received the Waste Reduction Performance award from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
 * In April 2022, Danone-AQUA once again received the Top Innovation award in the Top Innovation Choice Award Ceremony 2022.
 * Coinciding with AQUA's 50th anniversary on February 23, 2023, Danone-AQUA successfully achieved The Best Green Program 2023 at the Indonesia Green Awards Ceremony 2023.
 * In June 2023, Danone-AQUA successfully won the TOP CSR Awards 2023.