For many years, salesmen traveled around the United States and peddled various sorts of quack medicine — ointments that smelled great but did nothing, liquid supplements that were less than worthless, and other medicines that were more sugar pill than anything else. In the twenty-first century, the growing trend seems to be selling things that are already available and making them seem new and amazing.
Take, for example, bags of pre-sliced apples. Apples are perfectly ready as they are when you buy them in the store. If you really need a sliced apple, there are multiple ways to get your store bought apple sliced — many of which do not involve spending any more money than you already have. Yet there is a tremendous business of selling pre-sliced apples — not to mention the many fruits that one can find in plastic jars full of gross sugar syrup.
What bothers me the most, however, is the business of selling water in bottles. Take a quick look at this chart and notice how, in every way, tap water is superior to bottled water. When you factor in the incredible surcharge you pay for bottled water, this statement from the same report is most bothersome. “…an estimated 25 percent or more of bottled water is really just tap water in a bottle — sometimes further treated, sometimes not. “
Let us now turn our attention to the newest scam artists on the market: the Nourish company, purveyors of Nourish Baby & Toddler Water. How does the Nourish company describe itself on its Twitter page? “Spill-proof bottled water for toddlers and formula ready bottled water for babies.”
In short, the scam that has been pushed on adults is now being foisted on their unknowing babies and toddlers. How much does this scam run? Why, it’s $39.00 for a 12-pack of Nourish Baby or Toddler. A quick look at a few stores tells me that an empty BPA free sippy cup runs about five or six dollars. The good part of getting it that way is that filling it with tap water will run you about a penny for filling your sippy cup thirteen times or so.
Beware the Nourish Baby Water scam. You don’t need to pay an exorbitant amount of money for something that comes out of your tap for next to nothing.
Fascinating article, Gordon!
So Nourish water doesn’t add anything extra or unique — like electrolytes and such — to the water? It’s just regular water in a special packaging?
That’s right, David. Plain ol’ water in an special package.
[redacted] While the water is one of the main components of the Nourish product, it’s obvious that you have no concept of the total concept of its offering. Having access to a prepackaged, secure water source, in a specially designed bottle that an infant or a toddler will take without a fuss, and that a mother (or a father for that matter) can carry with them while out and about, makes Nourish UNIQUE a product that is also a major convenience.
If you were a working/active mother with small children, you might be qualified to write a review of a product of this nature, however, as someone who is only looking at a “product” from a single point of view that hasn’t included the most important element, you are obviously not the right person to be listened to when considering whether Nourish is a worthwhile product or not.
[Comment edited by David W. Boles to remove personal insult.]
I discussed this product at great length with 10 different active mothers, all of whom have small children. They all seemed flabbergasted that the product exist. One even said, “Try preparing for outings in advance, and you won’t have to scramble for bottled water.”
In about five months time I will be a working / active father with a small child. I can follow up then and see if my feelings have changed.
Hi! Me again. Now I am replying as the parent of an eleven month old baby. Still a scam. My wife and I are both active and have a small child — baby, even. We have found that it is equally sensible to take water with us — in his sippy cup, mind you — and there is no need to spend the extra money on the so-called convenience.
Well,I am not a parent.
But when I saw this water on another site I assumed that it was electrolyte water or had something extra added to it.
This product seems quite misleading in a way.
Also usually when you are out most stores will give you a cup of water for free.
In the summer when it was extremely hot out, I was always stopping at the starbucks downtown as I was overheated and beet red from the weather and they were always nice enough to give me ice water and never asked for a tip even!
The name of this product should make it more clear what it really is. Even the bottle looks very similar to some of the electrolyte products.
last thing I would want is a parent to think that they were feeding their kids when they are really giving them plain water.
my cousins have kids and thankfully they are literate too, but I could see many people making that mistake.
Can you at least reuse the bottles? if so then it might be worth buying a couple if you can wash and reuse them.
Presumably you can reuse the bottles. However as I have posited before, it is equally sensible to buy an empty bottle and fill it with water. You are quite right that the name is misleading.