Aldi's PurAqua Flavored Water Is A Total Sparkling Ice Copycat

Discount grocery chain Aldi is known for selling quite a few dupes of name-brand products at only a fraction of the cost. Some of these copycat products taste so close to the brand name products that many Aldi shoppers have admittedly found themselves preferring them to the real thing. While plenty of snacks have been praised for their similarities, there is one Aldi drink that's being compared to the Sparkling Ice brand of fruity beverages.

Aldi's website advertises six different flavors of PurAqua Sparkling Frost Water: Pink grapefruit, orange mango, lemonade, cherry limeade, pineapple coconut, and black raspberry. Some Aldi shoppers have also reported finding a peach nectarine-flavored drink, too. These happen to be the same flavors as the Sparkling Ice brand, and the two beverages are pretty similar in a few different ways.

Both sparkling flavored waters are sweetened with sucralose, and feature a bubbly water base with natural fruit flavors. Additionally, both drinks are packaged in 17-ounce slim plastic bottles. One major difference between the two, however, is the price.

As is often the case with the grocery chain's dupes, the Aldi-branded product comes with a slightly cheaper price tag. While the cost does vary by Aldi store, a single bottle of the drink is typically between 49 to 69 cents. Comparatively, Sparkling Ice generally costs a dollar and some change — sometimes even more, depending on where the bottle is bought. In general, though, that makes Aldi's dupe about half the price of the name-brand beverage.

Even the calorie count is similar between the two drinks. The Sparkling Ice website notes that its drinks are five calories per bottle. Aldi's copycat version also states that one 17-ounce bottle is a full serving and that the entire drink only has five calories.

The comparison has been noted by plenty of social media users. While some thought the PurAqua products tasted identical to the name brand, others disagreed — with some suggesting that Aldi's version tasted even better.

Sparkling Frost beverages have received some praise on social media. A Reddit commenter said of the cherry lime flavor: "It's one of the best drinks I've had!" Another user noted that the black raspberry variety appears to be so popular that it's frequently out of stock in stores.

Others agreed that while the drinks were similar, they still had a preference between the two. "I am addicted to the cherry lime," wrote one Reddit user. "It is better than the name brand." 

Some didn't like the taste of the drinks at all, however. An Instagram user disagreed with the claims of similarity in a comment, writing: "Tastes nothing like Sparkling Ice! Couldn't even finish these, they were that bad!" Still, others continued to praise the drinks and compare the two.

If you're looking to save a few dollars on a bubbly, fruity beverage, Aldi's Sparkling Frost drinks are a close comparison to the Sparkling Ice flavors. Fortunately, if you are a fan of the Aldi variety, the cheaper products can be found on the store's shelves year-round.