Grocery Retail and CPG Industry Veteran Will Drive Shaquille O’Neal Marketing Collaboration

The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (NASDAQ and CSE: WTER) (the “Company”), the country’s largest independent alkaline water company, is pleased to announce that Tom Hutchison has joined the Company as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Tom will be leading the Company in developing and implementing marketing strategies, including exciting new marketing campaigns and product collaborations with Shaquille O’Neal. Alkaline88^® is pleased to welcome Tom to the leadership team.

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Alkaline88's new 2-Liter Shaq Paq (6-pack) is the company's first marketing collaboration with Shaquille O'Neal. (Photo: Business Wire)

“The management team and our Board are delighted to find such a strong leader like Tom Hutchison to join our team,” stated Ricky Wright, President and CEO of The Alkaline Water Company. “Tom will be leading our company’s first-ever comprehensive, omnichannel marketing campaign with the legendary Shaquille O’Neal. Combining Tom’s experience with Shaq’s unparalleled marketing prestige and business acumen is another huge step in building Alkaline88^® into a household brand.

“Right now is an exciting time in our company’s growth trajectory and handing the marketing reins over to someone as talented as Tom is very reassuring. He is joining Alkaline88^® at a perfect time to create and leverage advertising assets with Shaquille, and to guide our first product collaborations with Shaq to market. Tom will do a fantastic job marketing these products, including the new ‘Shaq Paq’, a 2-liter six-pack, with our clients and consumers across the country.”

"I am absolutely thrilled to join the Alkaline88^® team,” stated Mr. Hutchison. “As a marketer, it's a dream to be able to work for a company with a true purpose and products that have such positive impacts on people's lives. Having a renowned talent and businessman like Shaq onboard with us will accelerate and deepen that impact. The team and board have built a fantastic foundation, and I'm blessed to be a part of the continued success and evolution of the company.”

About Tom Hutchison:

Tom Hutchison is a highly experienced marketing executive with a rare combination of deep experience in both the art and the science of marketing, which he complements with expertise in technology, data, and analytical skills. A veteran of the retail and CPG industries, he most recently served as the Vice President of Marketing and Customer Engagement at Sprouts Farmers Market, a Fortune 500 rapidly growing grocery retailer. Prior to that, within the grocery retail industry, he served in roles that delivered high-performing long-term and immediate growth strategies for mid-size ($3B) retail and wholesale. Before the grocery industry, Tom led global shopper and retail customer insights and analytics for Brown-Forman, the adult beverage company that owns Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve, Herradura, Sonoma-Cutrer, and other brands.

Tom’s passion is in continual evolution and growth towards excellence, and his career focus is on developing customer and marketing strategy, combining the art of creativity with the science of advancing data availability, systems, and neuroscience towards truly superior results.

Supporting his business and technical acumen, Tom has a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Purdue University, an MBA from the same, and post-graduate in Nuclear Engineering with the US Department of Energy and US Department of Defense. He served as an active-duty Officer in the US Navy from 2000 to 2005 and a reservist until 2017.

Alkaline88^® is known for its superior hydration with a perfect 8.8pH balance. The brand was developed to deliver a Deliciously Smooth™ taste that encourages consumers to drink more and fully hydrate. The Company is dedicated to purity, quality, value, and taste. The water’s ingredient deck is simple, easy to understand, and free of buffers. Alkaline88 ionized water contains just two ingredients that customers trust — purified water and Pink Himalayan Rock Salt.

The Alkaline Water Company is The Clean Beverage Company™ making a difference in the water you drink and the world we share.

The Alkaline88^® flagship brand of premium alkaline water is now available in 75,000 stores across all trades in the U.S. For more information, visit www.thealkalinewaterco.com.

About The Alkaline Water Company:

Founded in 2012, The Alkaline Water Company (NASDAQ and CSE: WTER) is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Its flagship product, Alkaline88®, is a leading premier alkaline water brand available in bulk and single-serve sizes along with eco-friendly aluminum packaging options. With its innovative, state-of-the- art proprietary electrolysis process, Alkaline88® delivers perfect 8.8 pH balanced alkaline drinking water with trace minerals and electrolytes and boasts our trademarked label ‘Clean Beverage.’ Quickly being recognized as a growing lifestyle brand, Alkaline88® launched A88 Infused™ in 2019 to meet consumer demand for flavor-infused products. A88 Infused™ flavored water is available in six unique all-natural flavors, with new flavors coming soon. In 2021, The Alkaline Water Company was pleased to welcome Shaquille O’Neal to its board of advisors and to serve as the celebrity brand ambassador for the Alklaine88® and A88 Infused™ brands.

To purchase Alkaline88^® and A88 Flavor Infused products online, visit us at www.alkaline88.com.

To learn more about The Alkaline Water Company, please visit www.thealkalinewaterco.com or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains “forward-looking statements.” Statements in this news release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the following: the statements relating to new marketing campaigns and product collaborations with Shaquille O’Neal; that right now is an exciting time in the Company’s growth trajectory; that it is a perfect time to create and leverage advertising assets with Shaquille and to guide the Company’s first product collaborations with Shaq to market; that Tom will do a fantastic job marketing these products, including the new ‘Shaq Paq’, a 2-liter six-pack, with the Company’s clients and consumers across the country; and that having a renowned talent and businessman like Shaq onboard with the Company will accelerate and deepen positive impacts on people’s lives.

The material assumptions supporting these forward-looking statements include, among others, that the demand for the Company’s products will continue to significantly grow; that the past production capacity of the Company’s co-packing facilities can be maintained or increased; that there will be increased production capacity through implementation of new production facilities, new co-packers and new technology; that there will be an increase in number of products available for sale to retailers and consumers; that there will be an expansion in geographical areas by national retailers carrying the Company’s products; that there will be an expansion into new national and regional grocery retailers; that there will be an expansion into new e-commerce, home delivery, convenience, and healthy food channels; that there will not be interruptions on production of the Company’s products; that there will not be a recall of products due to unintended contamination or other adverse events relating to the Company’s products; and that the Company will be able to obtain additional capital to meet the Company’s growing demand and satisfy the capital expenditure requirements needed to increase production and support sales activity. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, governmental regulations being implemented regarding the production and sale of alkaline water or any other products; additional competitors selling alkaline water and enhanced water products in bulk containers reducing the Company’s sales; the fact that the Company does not own or operate any of its production facilities and that co-packers may not renew current agreements and/or not satisfy increased production quotas; the fact that the Company has a limited number of suppliers of its unique bulk bottles; the potential for supply-chain interruption due to factors beyond the Company’s control; the fact that there may be a recall of products due to unintended contamination; the inherent uncertainties associated with operating as an early stage company; changes in customer demand and the fact that consumers may not embrace enhanced water products as expected or at all; the extent to which the Company is successful in gaining new long-term relationships with new retailers and retaining existing relationships with retailers; the Company’s ability to raise the additional funding that it will need to continue to pursue its business, planned capital expansion and sales activity; and competition in the industry in which the Company operates and market conditions. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States and Canada. Although the Company believes that any beliefs, plans, expectations, and intentions contained in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions will prove to be accurate. Readers should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in the reports and other documents the Company files with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov, and on the SEDAR, available at www.sedar.com.

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