Coca-Cola launched Dasani water in the UK. Five weeks later it recalled 500,000 bottles.

On February 10, 2004, Coca-Cola launched Dasani bottled water in the UK with a major marketing campaign. The brand was already successful in the US, and the company planned to use the UK launch as a springboard for expansion into continental Europe. Dasani was not a natural spring water — it was purified tap water with added minerals, a fact that drew criticism from British consumers who found it absurd to pay for reprocessed tap water.

On March 18, 2004 — just five weeks after launch — Coca-Cola was forced to recall 500,000 bottles of Dasani after tests found bromate contamination at levels above the legal limit. Bromate is a suspected human carcinogen that forms when bromide in the water reacts with ozone during the purification process. The UK Food Standards Agency stated there was 'no immediate risk to public health' but confirmed the levels exceeded legal limits.

The recall was a catastrophe for Coca-Cola's UK water ambitions. The company had planned to expand Dasani to France, Germany, and other European markets, but those plans were cancelled on March 25, 2004. The British media savaged the brand, mocking Coca-Cola for selling reprocessed tap water that turned out to be contaminated. The product never returned to the UK market.

The Dasani UK failure is often cited as a textbook case of how not to launch a bottled water brand. The combination of a weak value proposition (purified tap water sold at a premium), a contamination event, and a hostile media response killed the brand before it had a chance to establish itself.