The 11 bottles in Spiritual Water’s collectionbear prayers and impressively detailed imagesof Jesus Christ, St. Michael and the Virgin Mary.

CASHING IN ON CONSUMER DEMAND, companies arebanking on a higher power to energize sales of their biblicallyinspired bottled thirst quenchers. HOLY WATER give us oursins. / Save us from the fires of hell. / Lead all souls intoheaven, / especially those in need of the mercy. Amen.

By Audra D.S. Burch Miami Herald

MIAMITHE INSTRUCTIONS are simple: Read the Prayer … / Drink the Water … / Believe in God! / Believe in Yourself!Spiritual Water, the faith-inspired venture of two Sunrise, Fla., businessmen, offers its drinkers clearer focus,positive thinking and connection to a higher power.The 11 bottles in the company’s collection bear prayers and impressively detailed images of Jesus Christ, St.Michael and the Virgin Mary. Spiritual Water joins a broad slice of feel-good products – Testamint, Bible Gum andother bottled holy waters – emerging at the intersection of religion and commerce, entrepreneurship and pop culture.“There is a great history of people using religious images to sell products,” says Daniel Sack, an administrator atthe University of Chicago Divinity School and author of “Whitebread Protestants: Food and Religion in AmericanCulture.” “You are talking about combining the great American traditions of religion and consumption.”Elicko Taieb launched Spiritual Water last fall as a way to inspire Protestants and Catholics. The water, purifiedfrom a municipal source in Santa Ana, Calif., is not available in stores, but Taieb says independent distributors sellsomewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 cases a month. “Church is on Sundays, but people need something to helpthem through the week,” says Taieb, 33 and the company’s chief executive. “The whole idea is for people to feelbetter and to know God is with them.” Spiritual Water’s message is delivered in a 16.9-ounce plastic bottle that sellsfor $2. The Formula J’ variety carries the image of Jesus in a crown of thorns and the Fatima prayer: Oh My Jesus,for-“You drink it, and you just feel like you are in church,” says Cecilia Joseph, a Sunrise real estate agent who likedSpiritual Water so much she became a distributor. “The pictures are so beautiful. You look at them and read theprayer, and it just feels good.”Alongside the standard nutritional facts – zero calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates, protein – the bottles areprinted with prayers in English and Spanish. Product varieties include Power Water with the Apostles Creed,Strength Water featuring the Serenity prayer, and Essential Water with the Guardian Angel prayer (Angel of God,my guardian dear … ).“There is a story behind every bottle. It gives people something positive to talk about,” says Eitan Peer, 36,executive vice president, who formerly worked in the wholesale perfume industry.Taieb spent several years in the pest-control business and had been thinking about a faith-based venture formore than a decade. He looked at several products through which to deliver his message of spiritual enrichment.

Publication:

The Virginian-Pilot;

Date:

May 10, 2008;

Section:

Daily Break;

Page Number:

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Wear-your-faith T-shirts already had exploded in the market, along with jewelry and candles, even candy – allproducts used for evangelism and/or profit. The New Jersey firm that makes Testamints offers berry, spearmint andpeppermint mints wrapped in a verse of scripture. Bible Gum promises consumers they can chew their way tospiritual enlightenment. Each box comes with a scripture verse.But water, central to religious experiences, had not fully tapped the growing faith-inspired market.Across the spiritual spectrum, water is used for baptisms and blessings, ordinations and ritual cleansing.“Water just made sense,” Taieb says. “Everybody always has bottled water with them – in the car, at home, in thegym – because it’s the most important liquid for the body. The ingredients are the image and the prayer, which is foryour body and soul. It’s water from God. It purifies your soul and helps you to think positive.”Spiritual Water joins at least a handful of companies in its niche as part of the $11 billion U.S. bottled-watermarket that often convinces consumers they will feel better, look better, run faster, jump higher, sleep more soundly,push harder, even lose a pound or two.California-based Holy Drinking Water offers a $1.49 half liter that has been blessed in a warehouse by a priest.Founder Brian Germann, a former police officer, says his product is designed to promote good behavior. “It’s really areminder for people to be better behaved … and to think of God,” he says.The message on the back of the bottle for those not so nicely behaved: “Warning to sinners: if you are a sinner orevil in nature, this product may cause burning, intense heat, sweating, skin irritation, rashes, itchiness, vomiting,bloodshot and watery eyes, pale skin color and oral irritations.”Since January 2007, the company has sold about 15,000 bottles, mostly over the Internet, Germann says.The holy water business has not been free of criticism.“Frankly, water has a really deep symbolism in the Christian tradition,” says Sack, the University of Chicagoadministrator. “Some people may be concerned about the idea of selling bottled holy water for a profit.”Taieb says his water is sold with the best intentions.“We are trying to connect people with God, not take advantage of people,” he says, adding that 10 percent of hiscompany’s profits will go to charity. “Water is just the vehicle for a positive message.”people to feel better and to know God is with them.”Elicko Taieb, chief executive, Spiritual Water

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