irms bank on higher power for drinking-water saleshttp://savannahnow.com/node/498547/print1 of 35/18/2008 11:28 PM

Published on SavannahNow.com (http://savannahnow.com)

Firms bank on higher power for drinking-water sales

By Savannah Morning NewsCreated 2008-05-15 23:30MIAMI - The instructions are simple: Read the Prayer ... / Drink the Water ... / Believe in God! / Believe inYourself!Spiritual Water, the faith-inspired venture of two Sunrise, Fla., businessmen, claims to offer its drinkersclearer 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, BibleGum and other 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, anadministrator at the University of Chicago Divinity School and author of "Whitebread Protestants: Food andReligion in American Culture." "You are talking about combining the great American traditions of religionand consumption."Last fall, Elicko Taieb launched Spiritual Water as a way to inspire Protestants and Catholics. The water,purified from a municipal source in Santa Ana, Calif., is not available in stores, but Taieb says independentdistributors sell about 2,000 to 3,000 cases a month."Church is on Sundays, but people need something to help them through the week," says Taieb, 33 andCEO of the company."The whole idea is for people to feel better and to know God is with them," he says.Spiritual Water's message is delivered in a 16.9-ounce plastic bottle that sells for $2.The Formula J' variety carries the image of Jesus in a crown of thorns and the Fatima prayer: Oh My Jesus,forgive us our sins. / Save us from the fires of hell. / Lead all souls into heaven, / especially those in need of the mercy. Amen."You drink it, and you just feel like you are in church," says Cecilia Joseph, a Sunrise real estate agent who

irms bank on higher power for drinking-water saleshttp://savannahnow.com/node/498547/printof 35/18/2008 11:28 PM

liked Spiritual Water so much she became a distributor. "The pictures are so beautiful. You look at themand read the prayer, 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 ApostlesCreed, 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, who spent several years in the pest-control business, had been thinking about a faith-based venturefor more than a decade. He looked at several products through which to deliver his message of spiritualenrichment.Wear-your-faith T-shirts already had exploded in the market, along with jewelry and candles, even candy -all products used for evangelism and/or profit. The New Jersey firm that makes Testamints offers berry,spearmint and peppermint mints wrapped in a verse of scripture. Bible Gum promises consumers they canchew their way to spiritual 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 the gym. Because it's the most important liquid for the body. The ingredients are the image and theprayer, which is for your 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, sleepsoundly, 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 apriest. Founder Brian Germann, a former police officer, says his product is designed to promote goodbehavior. "It's really a reminder for people to be better behaved ... and to think of God," Germann says.The message on the back of the bottle for those not so nicely behaved: Warning to sinners: if you are asinner or evil 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.