Panama Blue facts for kids
Panama Blue is a special kind of spring water that comes from the rainforests of Panama. It's made by a company called Panama Springs S.A. This water is known as Panama's top fancy bottled water brand. Two famous people, boxer Roberto Durán and model/athlete Carolina Dementiev, help represent the brand.
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Where the Water Comes From
Panama Blue water is bottled right where it comes out of the ground! This special place is in the mountains of Cerro Azul. It's surrounded by the amazing Chagres National Park, which is a big rainforest in Panama. The spring is about 800 meters (that's about half a mile) above sea level. People say this water is super pure because of the special soil, volcanic rocks, and the whole ecosystem around the spring.
How Rain Helps
The mountains in Panama get a lot of rain every year, sometimes up to 3000 millimeters (that's about 10 feet!). This rainwater collects in a natural underground storage area called an aquifer. As the water sits there, it picks up helpful minerals from the rocks and soil.
How Pure is the Water?
The factory where Panama Blue is bottled uses a special "clean room" system. This system keeps the water safe from the air. The company says that the water doesn't touch the air until you open the bottle for the very first time! They also say Panama Blue is 100% natural, meaning it has no chemicals or medicines in it. The company's website says the water is tested regularly in Germany to make sure it's clean. The Panama Springs S.A. factory is the only one in Panama and all of Latin America that has two important quality certificates: ISO 14001 and ISO 9001.
Bottle Design
Panama Blue won a gold medal in 2008 for its cool bottle design at an awards show in Wiesbaden, Germany. The pretty flower on the bottle is called Pico de Loro, which means "Parrot's Beak." This flower grows naturally near where the water comes from. The word "Panama" in the logo shows where the water is from. The word "Blue" is a nod to the Cerro Azul area, which means "Blue Hills."
The Myth of the Springs
Today, the Chagres National Park covers an old road called the Camino Real. This was a path the Spanish explorers used long ago to carry gold from Panama City to a port city called Portobelo. For fun marketing, the company uses a story about Christopher Columbus exploring the Panama Blue springs, even though it's just a myth!
About the Company
Who Owns Panama Springs?
Official records show that Ulrich Schwark, a former banker from Germany, owns Panama Springs S.A. He is one of the biggest German employers in Panama. Panama Springs S.A. is part of a larger company called the Two Oceans Group.
Selling Water Overseas
Panama Springs S.A. was the first water company from Panama to sell its water in the United States. Right now, Panama Blue is mostly sold in Panama. To get more people overseas to know about their water, Panama Springs S.A. helped sponsor a big tourism fair in Berlin, Germany, in 2014.
What's Next for the Company?
The company has been around for ten years and is planning to grow even more. They want to start selling their water in more countries. Panama Springs S.A. is also working on building a bigger factory to bottle their water.
