This Luxury Water Brand Is Partly Owned By A Chinese Company

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When people think of luxury water, many folks imagine a liquid drawn from the pristine Scandinavian wilderness, or from glaciers in untouched European mountain ranges. Those picturesque origins certainly contribute to why different water bottles taste different, and while that may be the case for Voss, its current ownership is a different story. The brand may have originated in Norway, but the people currently running the show are actually based in China — just like some of your favorite deli brands.

In 2016, China's Reignwood Group purchased a majority share of Voss (via the Wall Street Journal). On top of its investment in Voss, it also acquired a 25% stake in Vita Coco in 2014, and was responsible for bringing Red Bull to the Chinese market in 1995. It should be mentioned that a report from state-owned German TV network Deutsche Welle says Voss is now fully owned by the Reignwood Group, but public records of the transaction are difficult to find and therefore corroborate.

Voss built its name on being artesian water from Norway, which lends to its luxury image. Artesian water is essentially groundwater that springs up naturally from aquifers due to underground pressure, which supposedly filters it and makes it exceptionally pure. Its iconic glass bottle — replicated these days in recyclable PET bottles — helps it stand out from other brands. The story and branding behind Voss has made it so that it can demand a higher price tag than normal, with a 24-pack of 16.9-ounce bottles going for just over $30 on Amazon.

Is it actually worth paying so much for bottled water, though? It might not be if you want to feel guaranteed you're drinking pure artesian water. In 2010, Norway's TV 2 released a documentary that alleged Voss was nothing more than high-quality tap water (per Seite3, accessed via archive.org). Voss disputed these claims (per VG Nett, accessed via archive.org).

It might also not be worth it if you think you're paying for Norwegian water to begin with. Voss USA's water quality report shows the water can come from U.S. sources. Depending on where you're buying, it could also come from the Hubei province of China, according to Voss China. It should be noted that not all Voss bottles say "artesian water from Norway" anymore, so the company technically isn't misleading anyone.

If all you care about is whether or not the water is purer than what's from your kitchen tap, then Voss may be worth it. Voss' water has a total dissolved solids (TDS) score of 26 from the Norway source and 34-36 from the U.S. sources. TDS is a measure of minerals and other substances dissolved in water, with lower numbers indicating purer water; the World Health Organization rates water with a TDS lower than 300 as "excellent". For comparison, a 2021 report from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection found that the city's average TDS was 101. That said, Voss did rank 17th out of 21 in Mashed's bottled water rankings, so you might just prefer other options, anyway.