The young Tajik company announced itself on the international stage just a year after its plant opened. In February 2001, Obi Zulol drinking water won the People's Choice category at the prestigious International Water Tasting, held every year in Berkeley Springs (USA) and considered one of the oldest and most respected water competitions in the world.
For a company founded in 2000, this recognition was more than an award: it was international confirmation that water from the mountain depths of Tajikistan could compete with the finest samples from anywhere on earth.
What the International Water Tasting is
The International Water Tasting is a blind water tasting in which a professional jury and the public assess samples from dozens of countries for purity, taste, mineral balance and aftertaste. The People's Choice category is especially valuable: the winner is chosen not only by experts but by ordinary visitors — real consumers trusting their own senses.
The secret of the taste lies in the source
Obi Zulol water is drawn from protected underground horizons of the Shahriston Basin at depths of 180 to 220 metres. These horizons are reliably isolated from surface contamination, and their natural mineral composition took millennia to form.
Even at the plant's design stage, independent laboratories in the Czech Republic and Italy confirmed the exceptionally high quality of the underground water. A multi-stage filtration system and mandatory ozonation before bottling preserve its natural purity and freshness — without losing the very taste that was recognised at the competition in the USA.
What it means today
The gold of 2001 opened a run of international recognition. The water was certified by accredited laboratories in Europe and the USA, after which it was officially recommended for daily consumption, including infant feeding.
Today Obi Zulol is the company's flagship brand and the official supplier for state and intergovernmental events of the Republic of Tajikistan. That first international victory remains the starting point of the company's reputation as the national leader of the beverage market.