San Mateo

San Mateo is a bottled-water brand from Peru. It is part of the beverage portfolio of Backus and Johnston Brewery, the large Peruvian brewing company that also produces and distributes beer, soft drinks, and other bottled-water products. The brand is associated with packaged drinking water sold for everyday consumption in Peru rather than with a separate independent water company. The available reference material identifies San Mateo as one of Backus's bottled-water brands alongside Cristalina Backus. The brand is sold in several PET-bottle formats, including 600 millilitres, 1.5 litres, 2.5 litres, and 7 litres. This range covers individual, household, and larger-volume consumption occasions. The references do not establish a founding year, a named founder, a specific source location, a formal brand slogan, or a detailed product formulation, so those details are left unspecified. San Mateo's corporate context is tied to the history of Backus and Johnston. Backus was established in Lima in 1879 by Jacob Backus and John Howard Johnston and later developed into one of Peru's dominant beverage producers. The company expanded through acquisitions and consolidation in the Peruvian brewing sector, including its 1994 acquisition of a controlling interest in the National Beer Company and the 2000 integration of the Southern Peru brewery. From 2005 to 2016, Backus formed part of the SABMiller group; following the wider combination of SABMiller with AB InBev, Backus became part of the AB InBev group. These corporate developments provide the ownership setting for San Mateo, but the available sources do not describe a distinct launch event or a separate corporate history for the water brand. The brand's documented scope is limited to bottled water. There is no reliable source in the supplied material confirming flavored-water extensions, sparkling variants, export markets, retail partnerships, advertising campaigns, sustainability programs, or current market-share figures. San Mateo should therefore be understood as a Peruvian packaged-water offering within Backus's broader beverage portfolio. Its principal point of differentiation in the available record is its range of PET sizes and its distribution through a major national beverage company, rather than a documented premium proposition or specialized water category.

San Mateo is documented as a Peruvian bottled-water brand owned by Backus and Johnston Brewery. The available account places the brand within Backus's broader beverage portfolio, which includes beer, soft drinks, and bottled water. It does not provide a separate founding date or a detailed chronology for San Mateo itself. Backus and Johnston's corporate history began in 1879, when Jacob Backus and John Howard Johnston founded a brewery in Lima. In 1889, the founders incorporated the business in London to obtain investment capital, and the company continued operating as a British corporation until its assets and incorporation were transferred to Peru in 1954. The company later expanded its position in the national beverage market. In 1994, it acquired control of the National Beer Company, owner of the Pilsen Callao brand. In 1996, several breweries were combined under the Unión de Cervecerías Peruanas Backus y Johnston name. The Southern Peru brewery joined the group in 2000, adding further production capacity and brands. Between 2005 and 2016, Backus and Johnston was part of SABMiller. After the consolidation of SABMiller into AB InBev, Backus became part of the AB InBev group. San Mateo is therefore best understood as a local bottled-water brand operating inside a large international beverage-company structure. The source material identifies it alongside Cristalina Backus as one of Backus's bottled-water labels. The documented San Mateo range uses PET packaging in 600-millilitre, 1.5-litre, 2.5-litre, and 7-litre sizes. These formats suggest coverage of both single-serve and household needs, although the supplied material does not describe the brand's pricing, advertising, water source, filtration process, or precise retail footprint. No reliable information is provided about a launch campaign, rebranding, ownership transfer specific to San Mateo, or product discontinuation. The brand is treated here as active because the reference identifies it as a Backus bottled-water product, but current availability beyond the cited account is not independently established.

1. 2016SABMiller period ended

   The reference identifies 2016 as the end of Backus's period within SABMiller; the company subsequently became part of the AB InBev group.

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2. 2005Backus entered the SABMiller period

   Backus and Johnston became part of the SABMiller group, placing San Mateo within a multinational beverage-company structure.

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3. 2000Southern Peru brewery joined the group

   The Brewery Company of Southern Peru joined Backus, strengthening the group's national production and brand portfolio.

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4. 1996Peruvian brewery consolidation

   Four breweries, including Backus and Johnston, merged into Unión de Cervecerías Peruanas Backus y Johnston.

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5. 1994Backus acquired control of the National Beer Company

   Backus expanded its position in Peru's beverage market by acquiring a controlling interest in the company associated with Pilsen Callao.

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6. 1879Backus and Johnston founded

   Jacob Backus and John Howard Johnston established the brewery that later became the corporate owner of San Mateo.

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An everyday bottled-water brand in Peru, positioned through accessible packaged-water formats and Backus's established beverage-distribution network.

• San Mateo bottled waterBottled water

  San Mateo is Backus's Peruvian bottled-water label. The documented range is packaged in PET bottles and includes 600 ml, 1.5 litre, 2.5 litre, and 7 litre formats. The available reference does not specify whether the range includes still or sparkling variants, but presents San Mateo as a packaged-water brand for the Peruvian market. Its formats span personal consumption through larger household volumes.

1. Backus and Johnston Brewery