Winn-Dixie, Jacksonville Jags Offer 1st NFL Co-branded Water

Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. and the Jacksonville Jaguars have introduced the NFL’s first co-branded bottled water. Bearing the team’s logo on a teal label, the “official bottled water of the Jags” will be the only water sold at EverBank Field and will be carried by all Winn-Dixie and SaveRite stores in northeast Florida and southeast Georgia.

“As the official grocery store of the Jaguars, Winn-Dixie is proud to provide football fans with access to exclusive products and programs that enhance the NFL game day experience,” noted Dan Portnoy, chief marketing and merchandising officer at the Jacksonville-based grocer. According to Portnoy, “[T]his locally produced product [is] an excellent way for Jaguars fans to show their team spirit – both in the stadium and around Jacksonville.”

Bottled in Silver Springs, Fla., the water comes in 24 packs of 16-ounce bottles retailing for $3.99 in stores. At the stadium, it will be sold in 24-ounce bottles for $3 each -- $1 less than the bottled water sold in earlier seasons.

Hailing from the deepest source of drinking water in the Southeast, the Floridan Aquifer, the water is bottled under certified kosher standards. Additionally, the bottles are recyclable and use less plastic than most national brands, making them 50 percent lighter and reducing the amount of plastic in the environment.

“Winn-Dixie’s sponsorship continues to provide us the support we need throughout the season,” said Wayne Weaver, chairman and CEO of the Jacksonville Jaguars. “Winn-Dixie plays a vital role in making each home game a great experience for our team and our fans.”

In further sports marketing news at Winn-Dixie, the company has bowed two promotions. The Tealgate and Winn Sweepstakes is for shoppers who use their Winn-Dixie Customer Reward Card. The week before each home game, 20 winners will be chosen at random to receive a four-pack of tickets and a catered pre-game tailgate party. One of the 20 winners drawn for each game also will get to take part in the “Bag It and Winn” on-field contest during the game, in which the participant will have the chance to win up to $2,000 worth of Winn-Dixie gift cards.

The “Super Cheerleading” program enables Winn-Dixie customers to register girls age 6 to 14 to be a junior cheerleader with the Jaguars’ official ROAR cheerleaders. Six girls will be selected in a random drawing the Wednesday before each home game. Winners will get two tickets to that week’s game, a co-branded Winn-Dixie-Jaguars T-shirt and the chance to be photographed before the game with The ROAR cheerleaders on the field.

The promos follow in the wake of Winn-Dixie’s recent launch of its fifth annual “A-Team” program, which distributes nearly 9,000 Jaguars tickets to deserving middle-school students and teachers in northeast Florida’s Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam and St. Johns counties during the football season.

Winn-Dixie operates 485 retail grocery locations -- including almost 400 with in-store pharmacies -- in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia and Mississippi.