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Perrier ( , also ; ) is a French brand of Bottled water water marketed as coming from its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard department. Perrier was part of the Perrier Vittel Group SA, which became Nestlé Waters France after the acquisition of the company by Nestlé in 1992.
In 1990, Perrier removed the "naturally sparkling" claim from its bottles under pressure from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Since at least 2019, Perrier water is no longer "reinforced with gas from the source" but "with the addition of carbon dioxide". According to the company, this change allows it to considerably reduce its total water consumption and reduce its ecological impact.
In 2024, it was revealed by Radio France and Le Monde that Perrier water, as well as a third of French mineral water brands, was no longer meeting the standards for mineral water due to undergoing prohibited purification techniques.
Perrier was first introduced to Britain during 1863. Local doctor Louis Perrier bought the spring in 1898 and operated a commercial spa there; he also bottled water the water for sale. He later sold the spring to St John Harmsworth, a wealthy British visitor. Harmsworth was the younger brother of the newspaper magnates Lord Northcliffe and Lord Rothermere. He had come to France to learn the language. Dr. Perrier showed him the spring, and he decided to buy it. He sold his share of the family newspapers to raise the money. Harmsworth closed the spa, as spas were becoming unfashionable. He renamed the spring Source Perrier and started bottling the water in distinctive green bottles. The shape was that of the which Harmsworth used for exercise. Harmsworth marketed the product in Britain at a time when Frenchness was seen as chic and aspirational to the middle classes. It was advertised as the Champagne of mineral water. Advertising in newspapers like the Daily Mail established the brand. For a time, 95% of sales were in Britain and the US.
Perrier's reputation for purity suffered a blow in 1990 when a laboratory in North Carolina in the United States found benzene, a carcinogen, in several bottles. Perrier stated that it was an isolated incident of a worker having made a mistake in filtering and that the spring itself was unpolluted. The incident ultimately led to the worldwide withdrawal of the product, some 160 million bottles of Perrier.White, Michael; A Short Course in International Marketing Blunders: Mistakes Made by Companies that Should Have Known Better, 3rd Edition; World Trade Press 2009; chapter 1
Two years later in 1992, Perrier was bought by Nestlé, one of the world's leading food and drink companies. Nestlé had to contend with competition from the Agnelli family for ownership of the business.
In 2004, a crisis erupted when Nestlé announced a restructuring plan for Perrier. The following year, Perrier was ordered to halt restructuring due to a failure to consult adequately with staff.
In April 2024, following reports that products had been contaminated with germs of possible faecal origin, an estimated 2.9 million bottles of Perrier water were destroyed before reaching the market. This was followed by an announcement in June that year that one-litre bottles of Perrier Vert would be pulled from the French market after a majority of wells used to capture the water at the Vergèze manufacturing site had their use terminated, suspended or diverted to other product lines, following a product safety inspection at the manufacturing site on 30 May conducted by government agencies.
In 2013, Perrier celebrated its 150th anniversary by launching a limited edition series of bottles inspired by Andy Warhol.
In 2019, Perrier released Perrier ARTXTRA limited edition packaging featuring artwork of artist duo Dabsmyla to help support the contemporary artist community.
Since 2002, new varieties of Perrier have been introduced in France, for example, Eau de Perrier is less carbonated than the original, and comes in a blue bottle. Perrier Fluo comes in flavours such as ginger-cherry, peppermint, orange-lychee, raspberry, and ginger-lemon.
In 2017, Perrier introduced two new flavours, Perrier Strawberry and Perrier Watermelon, to their existing Lime, L’Orange, Pink Grapefruit, and Green Apple flavour.
The Perrier Young Jazz Awards were set up by Perrier in 1998, though never attained the success and recognition of their longer running comedy equivalent. The awards ran for four years, releasing an album showcasing its winners each year, before being discontinued. The last year the awards ceremony ran was 2001.
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