 Bottles of Trump Ice inTrump Tower | |
| Type | Bottled water |
|---|---|
| Distributor | Mountain Spring Waters of America |
| Origin | United States |
| Introduced | c. 1995 |
| Discontinued | 2010 |
Trump Ice orTrump Natural Spring Water was abottled water brand owned by American businessmanDonald Trump.
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Trump Ice was initially sold only at Trump-owned casinos and other select markets.[1] In around 2003, its distribution branched out to other national grocery chains and specialty food stores through the United States.
Trump Ice was distributed by Mountain Spring Waters of America in the New York and New Jersey area. The goal of the distributor was to strategically develop the brand in the consumers' market, from 12-ounce (340 g) bottles to 5-US-gallon (19 L; 4.2 imp gal) Trump Ice tanks, to make it comparable with other notable water brands.Kelly Perdew, the winner ofThe Apprentice 2, was privately appointed asexecutivevice president of Trump Ice as part of his contractual extension with The Trump Organization.[2] According toAOL, Trump personally invested $498,000 in Trump Ice.[3]
The brand was discontinued in 2010,[4] but "Trump Natural Spring Water" is still listed as exclusively available at Trump-branded hotels, restaurants and golf clubs on Trump's website.[5] According to Trump's 2016 Financial Disclosure Form, which was filed with theFederal Election Commission, the available cash from the Trump Natural Spring Water's bank account reached $413,339 in 2015.[6]
Trump Ice was featured in thefirst season ofThe Apprentice when the competitors had to try to solicit and to sell the water.[7]
In October 2015, leading up to the2016 Republican presidential primaries, Trump had some Trump Ice delivered to rivalMarco Rubio, whom he had lambasted for "being sweaty" and having "awkwardly reached for a bottle of water" during Rubio's 2013State of the Union rebuttal; along with the bottled water was other Trump merchandise, and a note reading, "Since you're always sweating, we thought you could use some water. Enjoy!".[8]
Marketed as "one of the purest natural spring waters bottled in the world",[5] Trump claimed in a brief interview withNew York magazine that there is zerosodium in Trump Ice.[9] The water is derived fromVermont and bottled inNew York.[10] The bottle design, described by aNew York writer as "fiery",[9] features Trump's face against an initially red[9] and subsequently blue background.[10]
AnEntertainment Weekly columnist repudiated the brand's claim that Trump Ice is "one of the highest quality spring waters in the world with an optimum mineral content" by pointing out its "very low" mineral content, plus the fact that it is bottled in plastic, as opposed to glass.[11] ACNN review of Trump products argued that Trump Ice "is clearly not about the water but rather a vehicle for the Trump image".[10]
In a 2007Access Hollywood interview,Sylvester Stallone, who had also launched his own bottled water line called Sly Water, was asked to take a blind taste test of two types of water: his and that of a competitor. When asked which one he preferred after tasting both, Stallone correctly identified his own water, and added he would not wash his socks using the other water. When told that the other water was Trump Ice, Stallone laughed and apologized to Donald Trump, before quipping thatRockyVII would be a showdown between his and Trump's brands of water.[12]