It’s All About the Mint… Or Is It?

There is a company who will live forever in my family’s Hall of Fame. Or, rather, Hall of Shame. Something happened at last year’s ExpoWest, something gloriously epic that we thought could never be exceeded in its awesomeness. However, to our collective glee, this company outdid itself this year. And for this achievement, we have to thank MetroMint.

Before I get to this new, greater joy, I must first explain last year’s incident. Last year we were working at the booth for Jungle Products, my mother-in-law’s company. I had done some freelance design work for Jungle, and in the process I’d become so passionate about the products that working the booth was as much fun as it was hard work. Adding to the sense of fun was the presence of several family members, including Chris (my bro-in-law), Abby (my sis-in-law), and, of course, my husband Ted.

Chris was able to leave the Jungle booth and walk the show a few times, and each time he returned we’d get briefed on what he’d seen. He kept us updated on which companies had the coolest booths, and where to get a good snack if we were able to break away.

On one of these trips, Chris had paid a visit to the MetroMint booth. We’d seen the white-and-green clad MetroMint people all around the show, so he wanted to find out more about their products, wary of what he thought may have been one of those companies whose entire success was based on an inflated marketing budget.

Chris walked up to a guy at the booth and asked him where they source their water from. He had no idea, so he fetched someone at the back of the booth. Chris asked this guy the same question, and he said the water came from L.A. and had been through the reverse-osmosis process. Chris said, “Is it just filtered L.A. tap water?” To which this man replied, “We think that reverse osmosis water lets the mint stand out… It’s all about the mint.”

Thus, an inside joke was born. Every time was pass MetroMint’s products on a shelf, Ted and I say, “It’s all about the mint.” When we drink herbal mint tea at night, we say, “It’s all about the mint.” And when we brush our teeth with mint toothpaste, we also say, “It’s all about the mint.”

The joke comes from the idea that their water source doesn’t matter. It’s true that reverse osmosis water is clean, so it’s not like it’s bad for you. What I’m saying is, if your company is a marketing powerhouse whose entire schtick is based on your products containing “pure water and fresh mint”, and your water really comes from the L.A. basin, then how do you justify prancing around ExpoWest like a bunch of mod water mavens whose be-dotted bottles are going to save humanity?

So that’s how the joke started. This year’s show was different for me, since I was walking the floor with a press badge rather than staying at an exhibitor booth. Not wanting to taint the memory of last year’s hilarity, I avoided the MetroMint booth as long as I possibly could. But finally, on the last day, curiosity got the best of me, and I found myself planted in front of a shiny white exhibitor space, complete with salespeople dressed in the white and green I so vividly remembered.

There was a tall man handing out cups of samples, so I asked him if he knew where the company sourced their water from. Apparently I was asking a difficult question, because he told me so. He walked to the back of the booth and fetched someone (sound familiar?) who could answer this calculus-level question for me. When I asked this second man where the company sourced their water from, he told me it comes from the Sierra Nevadas. I was unprepared for this answer. So I asked, where exactly in the Sierra Nevadas? And he replied, “The Sierra Nevada Mountains.”

And now I can die happy.

I eventually got a press kit out of them, but not before showing them my badge, a business card, and signing over my first-born son. The press kit contained a business card for a woman who worked in PR, so I resolved to send her an email when I returned home.

In my email, I explained that the people at the show had left me wondering exactly where in the Sierra Nevadas their water was sourced from, and asked if she would kindly provide me with a more specific location so I could include that information in the entry I was writing, thank you very much. Can you guess what she wrote back? Along with attaching the FAQs already listed on MetroMint’s website, this PR lady wrote:

“Thank you for your interest in Metromint. Our water is from the Sierras then
we process it through Reverse Osmosis.”

It was obvious I wasn’t going to get any real information out of anybody at the company. Which made me wonder, why can’t they tell me where they source their water from? I wasn’t asking for anything specific, just an indication that somebody, anybody, who works for MetroMint can give me a general location of where their water comes from. Perplexed, I set out to learn more about these Sierra Nevadas that I’ve camped in, snowboarded on, and taken for granted my entire life.

The Sierra Nevadas are 400 miles long

According to Wikipedia, the Sierra Nevada Mountains are 400 miles (650 kilometers) long, bordered by the California Central Valley in the west and the Great Basin to the east. Its bodies of water include Lake Tahoe, and its mountains include Mount Whitney, which at 14,505 feet (4,421 m) is the highest point in the continental United States. So the Sierras aren’t small. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the water: “Rivers flowing west from the Sierra crest eventually drain into the Pacific Ocean… water from several streams and the Owens River is redirected to the city of Los Angeles (see Los Angeles Aqueduct).”

To say that MetroMint gets its water from the Sierra Nevadas is like saying that our president is from Texas. Since no one at MetroMint has answered my question about their water source, I’m left to wonder if last year’s answer about the water coming from L.A. was indeed more accurate. I guess technically they can say it comes from the Sierras, though that seems incredibly deceptive to me.

Of course, you should feel free to continue to enjoy MetroMint’s water if you like it. I have nothing against the company or their products, I just happen to enjoy a hearty chuckle at their expense now and then. My feeling is that if you want to enjoy some mint water, go buy yourself a little bottle of good organic essential oil of mint, and put a few drops into your glass of water. Not only will you be one-upping MetroMint’s “pesticide free” non-organic mint, but you could potentially improve upon the quality of water you’re drinking.

Finally, I’d like to share with you the Greatest Hits from MetroMint’s FAQs. Enjoy.

What is Metromint?
Metromint is mintwater, nothing but pure water and real mint.

Why mint?
Mintwater is very refreshing.

How do you get the mint in the product?
It’s a trade secret. We use water and real mint.

Mint flavored water?
It’s not a flavor, we use real mint.

And there you have it. Fresh water, real mint… and 100% marketing-driven. At least you know where the company is spending your $1.79 per bottle. Isn’t that refreshing?