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North Carolina - The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina (EBIC), put its new product to the test. The EBCI entered into the bottled water business about eighteen months ago.

The Tribe competed in the International Water Tasting competition, for the title of "best bottled water" against 35 other companies. The competition is held each year in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.

Greg Duff, marketing specialist for the Cherokee Bottled Water business, said, "We think we have good tasting water", adding, "it's kind of exciting."

The EBCI's bottled tap water is distributed to 100 retail locations, most of which are in western North Carolina. The tribe's water is also finding is way onto store selves in parts of Georgia and South Carolina.

J.D. Turner, produce manager for the Reservation IGA Foodliner, said, customers seem to like the packaging. The EBIC's bottled water has the tribal seal and a picture of a Cherokee man on the label.

"We sell quite a bit of it. The tourists seem to like it." Turner said, "The locals already have the Cherokee water, they don't need to buy it."

According to Duff about 2,0000 cases of bottled water is distributed each month. The water currently is available in half-liter and liter sizes. At this time the water is sent to South Carolina for bottling. The 12,000-member tribe, however, is discussing plans to build a bottling plant on the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian's Qualla Reservation.