S.Pellegrino facts for kids
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A 100cl bottle of San Pellegrino
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| Country | Italy |
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| Produced by | Sanpellegrino S.p.A/Nestlé S.A. |
| Introduced | 1899 |
| Source | San Pellegrino Terme, Bergamo, Italy |
| Type | Sparkling Tonic |
| pH | 7.6 (at source); 5.7 (as sold) |
| Calcium (Ca) | 164 |
| Chloride (Cl) | 49.4 |
| Bicarbonate (HCO3) | 243 |
| Fluoride (F) | 0.5 |
| Lithium (Li) | 0.2 |
| Magnesium (Mg) | 49.5 |
| Nitrate (NO3) | 2.9 |
| Potassium (K) | 2.2 |
| Silica (SiO2) | 7.1 |
| Sodium (Na) | 31.2 |
| Strontium (Sr) | 2.7 |
| Sulfate (SO4) | 402 |
| TDS | 854 |
| All concentrations in milligrams per liter (mg/L); pH without units | |
S.Pellegrino (pronounced sam-peh-leh-GREE-noh) is a famous Italian brand of natural mineral water. It's owned by the company Sanpellegrino S.p.A. This company has been part of the Swiss company Nestlé since 1997.
The main place where S.Pellegrino water is produced is in San Pellegrino Terme, a town in Italy. This sparkling water is sold in many countries around the world. You can find it in Europe, the Americas, Oceania, the Middle East, and parts of Asia like Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Contents
About the Company
The Sanpellegrino company started way back in 1899. Its main office is in Milan, Italy.
In 1997, a big change happened. Sanpellegrino S.p.A. was bought by Perrier Vittel SA. This company is a part of Nestlé. Nestlé also owns other well-known bottled water brands like Perrier and Vittel.
How S.Pellegrino is Made
The Sanpellegrino Company has ten places where it makes its products in Italy. Over 1,850 people work for the company. They also make other popular water brands like Vera, Levissima, and Acqua Panna.
The San Pellegrino plant produces about 50,000 bottles of water every hour. This adds up to about one million bottles a day! This includes sparkling water, soft drinks, and cocktails. These bottles are then sent to many countries all over the world.
In 2005, about 500 million bottles of S.Pellegrino were sold globally. By 2017, this number had grown to an amazing one billion bottles!
Different Kinds of S.Pellegrino
S.Pellegrino offers several types of drinks:
- Sparkling Natural Mineral Water: This is the classic bubbly water.
- Sparkling Real Fruit Juice Drink: These drinks mix sparkling water with real fruit juice. Flavors include Orange, Lemon, Lemon & Mint, Blood Orange, Grapefruit, Clementine, Pomegranate & Orange, and Prickly Pear & Orange.
- Essenza Flavoured Sparkling Mineral Water: These are sparkling mineral waters with a hint of natural flavor. Examples are Lemon & Lemon Zest, Blood Orange & Black Raspberry, Dark Morello Cherry & Pomegranate, Peach & Orange Melon, Pink Grapefruit and Citrus Blend, and Tangerine & Wild Strawberry.
Where the Water Comes From
S.Pellegrino mineral water comes from a special place in San Pellegrino Terme. The water starts deep underground, about 400 meters (1,300 feet) below the surface. Here, it picks up minerals from limestone and volcanic rocks.
The springs are at the bottom of a dolomite mountain. This helps create a natural basin where the mineral water collects. The water then travels even deeper, over 700 meters (2,300 feet), flowing underground to a distant aquifer (an underground layer of rock that holds water).
The S.Pellegrino spring itself isn't naturally bubbly. The bubbles, or carbonation, are added during the production process. The fruit-flavored soft drinks don't use the same mineral water. Instead, they use filtered local water to make sure the taste is always the same.
History of S.Pellegrino
S.Pellegrino mineral water has a very long history, going back over 620 years! In 1395, the town borders of San Pellegrino were set. This was the start of its water industry.
Even the famous artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci is said to have visited the town in 1509. He wanted to try and study the town's special water. He even wrote about water later on.
Doctors in Northern Italy in the 1200s used to tell their patients to visit the Val Brembana spring for treatment. People believed the water had healing powers. Because of this, many visitors came to the area. By the early 1900s, San Pellegrino Terme became a popular mineral spa holiday spot. It had a casino, thermal baths, and a hotel.
In 1794, a medical paper mentioned S.Pellegrino water as a way to treat kidney stone disease. Later, in 1839, it was suggested for people with kidney problems and urinary tract infections.
Over the years, the bottling process became more modern. At first, it was done by hand, mostly by women. But by 1930, machines were introduced, and production grew a lot.
In 1932, the Aranciata orangeade drink was launched. It used S.Pellegrino water and added concentrated orange juice. Today, Sanpellegrino S.p.A. makes many other fizzy drinks. These include Limonata (lemonade), Sanbittèr (bitters), Pompelmo (grapefruit), Aranciata Rossa (blood orange), and Chinò (chinotto).
The company has continued to grow and improve its production. In 2012, a new high-speed bottling line was added. This helped meet the growing demand for their products around the world.
Bottle Design
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The S.Pellegrino bottles still look very similar to how they did when the company first started. They use designs that remind people of where the water comes from. The bottles come in two main types: glass and PET (a type of plastic).
The shape of the glass bottles has been the same since 1899. This shape is called "Vichy." Back then, San Pellegrino Terme was known as "the Italian Vichy." The bottle has a tall, slender shape. The red star on the bottle was a sign of high-quality Italian products exported in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
On the neck of the bottle, you can see a picture of the Casino building. Below it is the year the brand and company were founded. The label has a white and blue pattern that looks like the "Belle Epoque" style, which was popular around that time.
The PET plastic bottles have the same shape as the glass ones. They started making these in the late 1990s. The goal was to keep the same fizz and bubbles as the glass bottles. At first, only small 50-centiliter bottles were made. But since 2006, they also make 33, 75, and 100-centiliter plastic bottles.
S.Pellegrino has also created special bottle designs for partnerships and international events. For example, in 2010, 2011, and 2013, they had a project called "S.Pellegrino Meets Italian Talents." This project involved working with famous Italians who represent Italy around the world, like Missoni (a fashion house), Bulgari (a luxury brand), and a tribute to the opera singer Luciano Pavarotti.
Special Editions and Events
- 2009: S.Pellegrino celebrated its 110th anniversary. To mark the occasion, they released a special bottle with a silver label.
- 2009–2012: Special clear S.Pellegrino bottles and white Acqua Panna bottles were made for "The World's 50 Best Restaurants" event.
See also
In Spanish: San Pellegrino (agua) para niños
