The Hated Bottled Water Brand No One Will Even Panic Buy Before A Snowstorm

In preparation for the massive snowstorm that hit much of the country in the past few days, many people made runs to their local grocery stores to stock up on basic essentials like canned food and bottled water. But during that shopping blitz, some social media users noticed that though every other water brand sold out, one remained nearly untouched. Based off its reputation, I bet a few of you know exactly which one it is.

According to photos posted to Reddit, Dasani, the bottled water everyone loves to hate, seems to have never left many store shelves. (Aquafina is the apparent market favorite.) While I'm no bottled water sommelier, I've always felt like Dasani tasted more or less like tap water, so I'm not particularly surprised — though I am somewhat shocked that the sentiment seems fairly unanimous, considering this type of photo was published in multiple subreddits at different grocery stores. Some users wrote that even Dasani bottles eventually ran out due to desperation, but you know it must be bad when some of the last units won't budge prior to a potential disaster.

This reputation Dasani has had seems to stem from a few things. Coca-Cola, the parent product of the brand, describes the water as being "purified and enhanced with a proprietary blend of minerals to give it the clean, fresh taste you want from water." Note that Coca-Cola doesn't say where it sources the water itself — it's not touted as spring water, nor is Coca-Cola describing its source as being remarkable in any way. It's just, well, "purified." To be fair, the brand isn't claiming the water is necessarily remarkable, just that it's clean. (Bottled water can be a little confusing, but we have a guide explaining each category.)

An entire country won't even sell Dasani, as the U.K banned sales of it outright, starting in 2004. That fiasco reads almost like a comedy of errors, as the brand's launch there was riddled with problems. First, U.K. customers weren't particularly interested in a purified water product, since their then-current water supply was fine for most people. Subsequent poor press and media representation only made the brand seem more unappealing. Finally, the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the British public food safety and health regulation body, found that Dasani contained what it considered an unsuitable level of bromate, which is considered a potential carcinogen (but is more likely to cause stomach issues in larger quantities). That spelled the death knell for it overseas, and it hasn't been sold there ever since. Apparently, Dasani's reputation over here at home just isn't all that great either, based off the chatter I see on the internet. Normally beggars can't be choosers, but when Dasani's involved, apparently some people would rather go without.