Alkaline88 Leads Fourth Quarter Growth for Enhanced Water Brands

The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (NASDAQ and CSE: WTER) (the “Company”), the country’s largest independent alkaline company and the Clean Beverage company, today announced the results of Nielsen data for the 13-week period ending January 1, 2022. Per the report, Alkaline88 was the fastest-growing top-ten value-added water in the country in dollar volume percentage. Across Nielsen’s All Outlets Combined (“xAOC”), Alkaline88 outpaced the rest of the top-ten brands and grew at rates more than double the overall category average. Year-over-year sales growth was 46.4% in xAOC, compared to a category average of 19.3%.

Other highlights from the Nielsen data for Value-Added Water for the 13 weeks ending January 1, 2022 include:

• Deliciously Smooth Alkaline88 is the fastest growing top-ten value-added water brand by dollar volume in the whole country.
• Alkaline88 is the 9^th largest brand in xAOC and the 8^th largest in Grocery.
• Alkaline88 had a 25% increase in market share compared to the same period a year earlier.
• Alkaline88 is the second fastest-growing top-ten brand in unit volume.
• The Alkaline88 1-Gallon is now the 6^th best-selling SKU in the category.
• Alkaline88’s promotional dollar spend was 27% less than the average of the other top-ten non-flavored water brands.

"The Nielsen data for the last quarter clearly indicates that Alkaline88 continues to accelerate sales,” said Ricky Wright, President and CEO of The Alkaline Water Company. “What makes this so impressive is that October, November, and December have historically been our slowest months. We know that we’ve benefitted from the activation of TV commercials featuring Shaquille O’Neal in limited test markets during this time and consumers also began to see our products in 587 Sam’s Clubs throughout the country. Our brand loyalty has been evident in sales in our largest legacy accounts, which continue to grow double digits. Some of the largest growth has been seen in national retail leaders like Wal-Mart, CVS, Kroger, Rite-Aid, and Safeway/Albertsons. We also continue to outperform our competitors in the all-important Natural Food channel.

“We’re able to support 46.6% growth thanks to the strategic supply chain initiatives we’ve undertaken over the past two years. As a result of these, we’ve had almost no supply chain disruption. These initiatives include opening multiple new copackers geographically distributed across the country and redundantly sourcing raw materials here in the United States. With the continued growth in our existing banners and the addition of new retailers in upcoming quarters, we believe we’ll continue to be one of the fastest-growing top-ten brands and the largest independent alkaline water company in the country.”