Before PERRIER was Called PERRIER
CHAPTER 1
When Frogs and Rosbifs Unite.
Help! It was a British invasion – well, just one Brit, and some 60 years before the actual British Invasion, but still a very important turn of events. Sir John Harmsworth, the brother of successful and very wealthy English newspaper magnates, met Dr. Perrier while studying French near Les Bouillens. In a quick hello, goodbye Harmsworth bought the source, renamed it PERRIER® as homage to the doctor, and began bottling the water in its distinctive green bottles. PERRIER®, the drink, was now destined to be here, there and everywhere.
Sir John Harmsworth
English founder of the modern Source Perrier.
CHAPTER 2
PERRIER® Calling
Keep calm, and PERRIER® on – the water from the south of France captivated Britain. This was a crowning achievement as PERRIER® was a symbol of Franco-British unity with its added value Royal Warrant, By Appointment to His Majesty the King – talk about the royal treatment.
Visual of label
Label showing the Royal Warrant.
Royal court
Here we see the Prince of Wells, Edward VII, and Sir Winston Churchill enjoying a bottle of Perrier.
CHAPTER 3
The Bubbles of the Elite
The competitors just didn’t have the sparkle they were looking for – but PERRIER® did. In 1908 at the Franco-British Exhibition, PERRIER® lived up to its elite image by winning the Grand Prix des Eaux Minérales Vente de l'Année, after selling 5 million bottles in England and its colonies. Yet the so French bubbles were still better known in London, Delhi, and Singapore and were not yet champs...Élysée in Paris – a paradoxical situation that would soon change.
Indian Clubs
In 1906 Sir John Harmsworth was in a car accident that left him paralyzed. Legend has it that during his rehabilitation, he was given weights, indian clubs, which inspired the pear shape of the PERRIER® bottle.
CHAPTER 4
A Water Like No Other
It was time to break the French market like a tasty baguette – full force, but with a sophisticated touch. To do so, the Vergèze bottling plant went all out by reorganizing itself and doubling in size, all while promoting Perrier’s classy image as the champagne of table waters. The carbonated mineral water soon became synonymous with elegance, joy, and celebration in France. All these characteristics were one of a kind for carbonated mineral water, and ultimately what led the little green bottle to break through its homeland’s tough crust.
