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The year was 1895 when entrepreneur Vitaliano Paez set his sights on a remote hill outside Monterrey, Mexico.
For months, the locals had spoken about a legendary spring tucked high in the Cerro del Topo Chico mountains.
As he ascended the volcano, Paez wondered if the myths were true—could this water source possess mystical healing powers?
When he hiked the hill and first saw the crystalline cascade spilling from a cave mouth, Paez knew he had found something special.
The sound of the rushing spring was intoxicating.
He filled his flask and tasted the water—sweet, salty, tart, and tingling!
Never had tasted water like it!
At that moment, Paez envisioned how to share this mineral water with the world.
He purchased the land and founded a bottling plant right beside the spring.
Soon, millions of glass bottles would be filled.
His little molehill mountain would make history.
For over a century, the heritage and charm of Topo Chico mineral water has reflected that very same volcanic stream.
Topo Chico mineral water originates from an ancient spring in Monterrey’s Cerro del Topo Chico mountains.
According to legend, the Aztecs believed these mountains held healing powers.
Vitaliano Paez began bottling the spring water in 1895 and was inspired by this mythological legend.
He named his mineral water Topo Chico and designed an Aztec chieftain logo that has become synonymous with the brand to this day.
While the spring of Topo Chico had been known for centuries, it wasn’t until 1895 that Vitaliano Paez built a bottling plant to commercialize the mineral water.
The brand’s rapid growth attracted Coca-Cola Company’s attention in the 1920s—a long lasting partnership would form to help both brands in Mexico—Coca-Cola gained its first Mexican bottling partner and distribution network, while Topo Chico gained a corporate friend that would help it grow internationally.
Topo Chico’s iconic glass bottle, with its distinctive curved shape and red cap, has remained unchanged.
While many aspects of the brand have evolved over the last century, the vintage bottle design continues to elicit nostalgia with fans—known for its elegant script logo and classic proportions.
It just makes every sip so much better!
Topo Chico mineral water draws its name from Cerro del Topo Chico, a small inactive volcano in Monterrey, Mexico.
The volcano’s shape reminded early settlers of a mole’s hill (“topo chico,” meaning “little molehill” in Spanish).
The volcano’s ancient volcanic activity enriched the spring at its base with a distinctive mineral profile that makes Topo Chico, unlike any other mineral water brand.
When Prohibition began in 1920, Americans flocked to Mexican border towns like Juarez and Tijuana to get their booze fix.
These American drunkards discovered Topo Chico mineral water and found its mineral content could help with hangovers.
By the mid-1920s, it was called the “drinker’s water” and had gained such a reputation that smuggling cases of Topo Chico back from Mexico became a common practice among border crossings.
Outside of Mexico, Topo Chico gained a cult following in Texas during the 1960s and 70s.
Its carbonation and mineral profile made it a great cocktail mixer.
Especially in trendsetting bars in Austin.
Topo Chico eventually spread to other bars across the USA as a useful mixer in drinks like margaritas and Palomas.
By the 2000s, it was a national premium mixer.
By 2017, Topo Chico had grown from a beloved Mexican mineral water into a cult favorite across the Americas.
The Coca-Cola Cola Company saw an opportunity and acquired Topo Chico for $220 million!
Coca-Cola helped Topo Chico’s reach globally through its distribution network, while Coca-Cola maintained the brand’s authentic Mexican heritage and original glass bottle packaging.
Most recently, in 2021, Topo Chico launched a hard seltzer line that capitalized on its century-old reputation as “drinker’s water.”
All of its hard seltzers use real Topo Chico mineral water but with a mix of tequila or vodka—coming in flavors like Tangy Lemon Lime and Strawberry Guava.
With the booming US hard seltzer market in recent years, Hard Topo Chico has grown to the top of this growing market segment.
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