The therapeutic benefits of the spring water were first recognized in1789 for easing kidney stones of the Lessert, during the French Revolution.
By 1815, baths and a hotel were established. By 1824, the first spas had been opened in the site to accommodate Victorian health tourists.
The water was bottled in 1826 when the Duke of Savoie gave their permission; it was intended as a medicinal drink. Indeed, until 1960, it was sold only in chemists.
With the construction of a railway to Evian in 1890, distribution of the water began. Evian was exported to the United States as early as 1905.
In 1965, a state of art bottling plant was opened near Evian, and by 1988 annual sales of the water had reached 1 billion litters annually.
The European food company Danone, acquired Evian in 1970. It was Danone that established a significant place for Evian in the United States market when American bottled water industry took off in the 1970s.
The water is noted for its purity and low mineral content. It is cold for a premium price because it is marketed as being ‘bottled exclusively at its protected natural spring source (Cachat Spring), which lies at the very foot of the French Alps, far from any urban or industrial development.’
Evian bottled water