The companies said they will sell Altair Water through the full gamut of beverage distribution outlets, including grocery and convenience stores. The product should go on sale within the next two months in a range of sizes from 12 ounces to 1.5 liter bottles and, like other Starbase-1 merchandise, will be available online.
Despite the product's packaging, the water is actually not "bottled in the mountains of planet Altair VI," but is actually Canadian water purified through a reverse osmosis process.
The product could provide much-needed refreshment to not only thirsty Vulcans but the companies involved in the deal. Recent Wall Street trading has been unkind to shares of both Canadian Cool Clear Wtaa and Starbase-1, with Starbase-1 shares in particular falling more than 80 percent over the past 12 months.
Canadian Cool has relied increasingly on licensing for growth in the crowded water market. Before the Star Trek license, the Vancouver-based company was also known for its Schlotzsky's, Renoir and Olympic Athlete water brands. It is also the distributor of the Nanton brand of sparkling water.
Based in Henderson, NV, Starbase-1 markets coffee, souvenir food and gift merchandise branded with various Star Trek themes -- Vulcan Decaffeinated, Sisko Espresso Roast and so on -- through direct sales and retail outlets.
Prior to the announcement, most Star Trek fans believed that Altair Water could not be reproduced using purely terrestrial ingredients. The beverage achieved its most prominent role in Star Trek lore in the third theatrical film when McCoy began to prefer it to his ordinary selection of more highly fortified drinks.
As Altair water was one of Spock's favorites, this indicated to careful viewers that the doctor was possessed by his old Vulcan friend, who was believed dead at the time.
Starbase-1 markets its Star Trek products under a licensing agreement with Viacom Consumer Products, a subsidiary of Viacom.
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