Year: 2020 and 2028
Market size: $217.66 billion and $505.19 billion, respectively
March 22nd is World Water Day. Created by the United Nations, it’s a day dedicated to bringing awareness about the millions of people around the world who don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. It is also dedicated to bringing awareness about other water-related issues affecting humans from poor sanitation to the effects of prolonged drought. Every living being on this planet needs clean water to live. Unfortunately, 785 million people globally lack access to clean water and 2 billion people, 1 in 3, lack access to adequate sanitation.
The World Water Day theme for 2021 is Valuing Water. “In households, schools, and workplaces, water can mean health, hygiene, dignity, and productivity. In cultural, religious, and spiritual places, water can mean a connection with creation, community, and oneself. In natural spaces, water can mean peace, harmony, and preservation.”1 For some, water is a commodity to be sold for a profit. Today’s market size shows the total global revenues for bottled water in 2020 and projected for 2028. Revenues are expected to increase by 132.1%.Portability, convenience, and growing health consciousness among consumers are contributing to growth in the market. Younger generations, especially, prefer bottled water over tap water. As a result, more and more restaurants are offering their patrons bottled water with their meals. As government restrictions meant to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus took hold — stay-at-home orders and the closing of restaurants, especially — demand for bottled water surged among households as many consumers became more aware of health and hygiene practices.
The purified water segment had the highest market share in 2020, 35%. Increasing global population, increasing per capita consumption of water, urbanization, and economic development in addition to decreasing potable water supplies due to a changing climate and contamination will lead to increasing demand for purified water derived from desalination plants. As of 2018, there were nearly 16,000 desalination plants in 177 countries around the world.
Sparkling water, holding the 4th highest market share in 2020, behind spring water and mineral water, is expected to be the fastest-growing segment through 2028. Growth in demand is expected to come mainly from the United States, France, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
The Asia-Pacific region held 42% of the global market for bottled water in 2020, the highest revenue share. Through 2028, this region is also expected to be the fastest-growing market driven mainly by a preference for bottled water due to health concerns about consuming contaminated water. Several governments in the region are investigating desalination as a way to produce fresh water. In 2017, India and Israel partnered to promote India’s desalination technology. This government-led initiative is expected to contribute to growth in the industry at least through 2028. A combination of changing consumption habits, a more organized retail sector, and the introduction of new products, especially flavored waters, are also expected to contribute to industry growth in this region over the next decade.
Most bottled water manufacturers are large corporations, although there are also some smaller and medium-sized businesses in the industry. Some major manufacturers include Nestlé, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company, Danone, Primo Water Corp., FIJI Water Company LLC, Gerolsteiner Brunnen GmbH & Co. KG, Voss Water, Nongfu Spring, and Rhodius Mineralquellen Und Getranke GmbH & Co. KG. Companies such as Nestlé, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company, Danone, and Rhodius Mineralquellen Und Getranke GmbH & Co. KG have diversified product portfolios with bottled water being only one segment of their business.
In the United States in recent years, bottling companies have faced lawsuits and potential restrictions over the bottling of groundwater as drought becomes more of a problem. A bill introduced in Washington State in 2020 would ban all bottling of groundwater in the state. According to Mary Grant, a water policy specialist with the environmental group Food and Water Watch, “the Washington state bill is groundbreaking. As water scarcity is becoming a deeper crisis, you want to protect your water supply so it goes for local purposes. [Bottled water] is not an industry that needs to exist.”2 However, while most of the bottled water in the United States came from groundwater two decades ago, that is not the case today. In 2000, 67% of bottled water sold was spring water, water that comes from underground aquifers. By 2018, purified water constituted nearly that same percentage sold. Purified water is tap water that has undergone extra filtering. The Washington state bill does not address bottling from this type of water source. Few would argue that in some cases bottled water is necessary when a safe water supply is not available. This could be due to a natural disaster, or when a private well or public water system is deemed unsafe or is unavailable. While environmentalists and municipal and state government leaders debate the issue, consumers are adding their voices to the conversation at the cash register. Bottled water sales have been on the rise since 2010 and in 2016, bottled water became the top packaged beverage sold in the United States.31 Source: “Learn: Valuing Water,” UN Water 22 March World Water Day: 2021 Valuing Water available online here.
2 Source: Alex Brown, “Lawmakers Open Groundwater Fight Against Bottled Water Companies,” Pew, February 12, 2020 available online here.
3 Despite no shortage of safe drinking water in most of the United States, and assurances by authorities that the virus was not in drinking water, at the start of the coronavirus pandemic people hoarded bottled water along with toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and cleaning supplies. Bottled water sales soared 57% in March 2020 compared to March 2019.
Sources: “Bottled Water Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report by Product (Purified, Mineral, Spring, Sparkling, Distilled), by Region (North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, CSA, MEA), and Segment Forecasts, 2021 – 2028,” Grand View Reserach Report Summary, January 2021 available online here; “Learn: Valuing Water,” UN Water 22 March World Water Day: 2021 Valuing Water available online here; “The Water Crisis,” Water.org available online here; “World Water Day — March 22, 2021 available online here; Alex Brown, “Lawmakers Open Groundwater Fight Against Bottled Water Companies,” Pew, February 12, 2020 available online here; Ryan Felton, “How Coke and Pepsi Make Millions From Bottling Tap Water as Residents Face Shutoffs,” Consumer Reports, July 10, 2020 available online here; “Bottled Water: Questions and Answers,” Minnesota Department of Health available online here; Andrew Ba Tran and Alvin Chang, “Bottled Water: Where It Comes From and What It Means,” Boston Globe available online here; “Press Release: Bottled Water, The Largest Beverage in the U.S., Continues to Grow,” Beverage Marketers Association, May 29, 2019 available online here.
Image source: congerdesign, “bottle-mineral-water-bottle-of-water-2032980,” Pixabay, February 3, 2017 available online here.