I don’t know if I agree with the core premise of the article – seltzer is on the rise – but I did enjoy speaking with the reporter. He did a nice job reworking the history I shared into his article.

Seltzer: The Next Big Soft Drink?
December 17, 2007
By any other name, seltzer could become the next big thing in soft drinks. It’s carbonated, has no calories, often has no sodium and tastes good, at least to some people. Sounds like a dream product for the cola giants, doesn’t it?
But seltzer has been an also-ran for decades. Adorning the bottom shelves of supermarkets, seltzer is often purchased to mix with alcohol or not at all.
The truth is, many consumers, raised on sugary sodas, looked at seltzer and its twin, club soda, as a sub-standard soft drink belonging to another time.
“It is just water and air. It’s so elemental it just drifts into the background,” said Barry Joseph, a self-styled seltzer historian and founder of GiveMeSeltzer.com. But seltzer may be ready for its close-up. Most of the best-selling soft drinks like Coca-Cola, Pepsi and others have been in decline for years. Meanwhile, bottled water sales have gushed. That’s because of what water doesn’t have: preservatives, high fructose corn syrup and caffeine.
This affords the same opportunity for seltzer. “It works because you don’t have to miss the experience of soda,” said Joseph. “Seltzer cleanses the palette and eases digestion. Water can’t do that—seltzer can.”
Unlike the latest energy drink, seltzer also has a glorious history to draw upon, starting in 1772 when British inventor and philosopher Joseph Priestley published a paper documenting how to impregnate water with carbon dioxide. Priestley also posited that immersion in the new product could stop corpses from decomposing. Later on, the British added seltzer machines to their navy vessels because they thought it cured scurvy.
The name seltzer was borrowed from the town Nieder-Selters, Germany, where natural carbonated spring water was bottled. Prior to its mass production, kings and queens would come to Nieder-Selters to sample the drink in the early 18th century. According to Joseph, this made the “keeper of the spring” position the most sought after in all the land. Applicants were said to have sometimes fought and/or murdered one another for the privilege.
Today, no one is killing anyone to get a seltzer. The mixer category (including ginger ale) accounts for 2.5% of carbonated beverages, per Beverage Digest, Bedford Hills, N.Y. Sprite alone sells more than twice that. Why?
“The concept of no calories and artificial sweetener is appealing, however the taste can be a turnoff,” said one consumer.
This consumer tried the drink because a good friend who was staying with her quit drinking diet cola. “She insisted on drinking seltzer to promote her healthier lifestyle.”
Admittedly, the consumer only tried one store brand. Three-quarters of mixer category sales are dominated by no-name, private label brands. The other quarter is a mix of Canada Dry, Schweppes, Seagram and Vintage. So there is no one premier seltzer brand that focuses on great taste. But taste isn’t seltzer’s only selling point. It’s also pretty cheap and inarguably healthy.
“It is well positioned in regards to health and wellness, but that has not translated into a sales increase,” said Gary Hemphill, managing director of Beverage Marketing, New York. “It has been overshadowed by other segments in terms of marketing dollars and exposure.”
A case however could be made that if seltzer were a brand new product it would thrive. But old associations may limit its appeal. The name, for instance, still reeks of New York’s Lower East Side, where it was embraced (along with deli meats) by a predominantly Jewish population.
In the ’30s, marketers addressed the issue by renaming seltzer club soda, which had more of a WASPy feel. “Club soda has no working class associations,” said Joseph. “Seltzer is a culturally defined word.” Like vaudeville, seltzer did not fare well in the modern age. In the ’60s, the younger Jewish generation “saw it as something for the previous generation. They were embarrassed by it,” Joseph said. But now the pendulum may finally be swinging back.
Still, Beverage Digest editor John Sicher has doubts about potential growth. “People are gravitating heavily towards water, sports drinks and enhanced waters,” he said.
But those so-called functional drinks may be edging out the only truly functional one on the shelf. In addition to being a refreshing drink, seltzer can help lift stains out of fabrics.
You can’t get more functional than that.

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