Canadian mineral water label Formosa Springs is returning to the market under ownership of former Flow founder and CEO Nicholas Reichenbach.
In a release, Formosa Springs said the business has been “reimagined as a modern wellness and hydration brand”.
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The group told Just Drinks Reichenbach has acquired all brands and assets of Formosa Springs Brewery from a group of private investors.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Reichenbach stepped down as executive chairman and CEO of water business Flow Beverage in August.
The Formosa Springs mineral water brand will launch in Canada through a direct-to-consumer subscription platform in April and retail in May. It will also debut in the US later this year through natural grocery and wellness retail stores.
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By GlobalDataThe waters range will include still, and sparkling mineral variants sold in 750ml glass bottles and 355ml slim cans.
As part of deal, Reichenbach acquires a beverage manufacturing plant in Formosa, Ontario over 44,000 square feet in size.
The facility has glass bottling capacity of more than 100 million units a year, along with co-packing and contract manufacturing capability for non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverage partnerships.
It also has “future aluminum capacity of up to 100 million cans a year”, Formosa Springs said.
Origins of the Formosa Springs site date back to 1870. Founded by German settlers the location started out as a beer brewing operation that also produced water.
In 1981, Reichenbach’s father Joseph Reichenbach founded the Formosa Spring Water Company with the Heisz family.
Water operations ceased at the site when it was bought by Algonquin Breweries in 1988. The business converted the facility to beer-only production and rebranded the business to Formosa Springs Brewery.
Following the acquisition, beers under the Formosa Springs Beer label will continue to be made at the site with the brewery operating as a tenant under a lease agreement, Reichenbach told Just Drinks.
The new Formosa Springs business however will focus “exclusively on premium mineral waters”, he added.
“While we are actively exploring thoughtful expansion into adjacent categories for co-manufacturing partnerships, any future innovations will align with our core ethos of generational wellness and respect for the integrity of the source.”
Commenting on consumption trends, Reichenbach said consumers in North America are increasingly seeking “premium, mineral-rich water with provenance” and are questioning the water category’s reliance on imports.
“Formosa Springs offers a domestic, bottled-at-the-source alternative with world-class mineral quality, produced responsibly from two pristine aquifers in Ontario. That combination of heritage, quality, and local production resonates strongly in today’s environment,” he said.
Asked why he believed the brand can now succeed in Canada and the US, Reichenbach said Formosa Springs is entering the market “from a fundamentally strong position”. He added: “This is not a startup – it is a 155-year-old artesian mineral water source with fully operational, vertically integrated manufacturing already in place.”
