The Way forward for the Bottled Water Trade

Water is a basic a part of all our lives, however bottled water can signify vital each day merchandise for some or a deal with for others. With many British shoppers opting to drink extra free water to restrict their spending on bottled water, and fewer than a 3rd of People opting to drink premium bottled water, it seems that tighter financial circumstances have pushed shoppers to assume twice about ingesting bottled water. 

With financial issue, in addition to a client development in direction of sustainability, how has the bottled water business fared in 2023? Be part of Mintel as we discover the business, client preferences, and the way forward for the worldwide bottled water business.

Within the UK, consumption of bottled water is evenly break up throughout women and men, who sometimes drink bottled water as typically as each other. Nevertheless, once we dive additional into typical shoppers of bottled water by way of age group, youthful shoppers are much more more likely to drink bottled water than older shoppers. Three-quarters of Brits aged 16-19 drink bottled water, in comparison with lower than a 3rd of shoppers aged 65 and over. This determine has stayed the identical between 2022 and 2023, which means that on a constant degree, youthful shoppers are inclined to drink extra bottled water than older shoppers.

Apparently, throughout all forms of bottled water, consumption declines as demographics become older. This consists of nonetheless and glowing, in addition to flavoured and unflavoured water. No matter flavour and champagne, younger shoppers are extra avid shoppers of bottled water than older shoppers within the UK.

This may be defined, partially, by a notion of security, which can be a key buy issue. 3 times as many younger shoppers than older shoppers assume that bottled water is safer than faucet water. In the meantime, round two-thirds of all shoppers assume that filtered water and bottled water style equally good. Customers place significance in hygiene, and benefit from the style of filtered water. Manufacturers could harness these client priorities by driving curiosity in water-filter merchandise, which can provide shoppers the specified hygiene and style coupled with comfort and sustainability.

Nevertheless, as utilization of reusable water bottles declines with every age group improve, we are able to see that sustainable water consumption continues to be vital to younger shoppers – however maybe sustainable packaging is extra of a priority than sustainable water sourcing.

Evaluating US bottled water consumption to that of the UK, the identical generational divide doesn’t translate. Whereas the UK sees a major generational disparity in bottled water consumption, within the US there’s a vary of lower than 10% between the age teams. There’s a higher generational disparity regarding glowing water than nonetheless water – 18% extra younger individuals drink glowing water than older shoppers, whereas there’s an insignificant distinction of two% as pertains to nonetheless water.
So, the age of shoppers seems to have much less influence on water consumption habits within the US than within the UK – however what does affect shoppers’ selections? For many, the key think about ingesting water has to do with hydration somewhat than security. Evaluating American shoppers who worth hydration as a well being objective and who assume bottled water is the safer ingesting water choice, a 3rd extra shoppers worth hydration than bottled water for security. What’s extra, virtually three-quarters of American shoppers famous that they drink faucet water to save cash, which highlights thrift as a key decision-making think about water habits.

With sustainability representing a worldwide development, particularly inside product packaging, it is going to come as no shock to most {that a} main development within the bottled water business globally is a shift in direction of extra climate-conscious packaging. For a lot of bottled water producers, meaning shifting away from bottles and in direction of cans. That is a part of a development of recent launches in cans somewhat than plastic bottles which has been ongoing for the previous couple of years, and that continued considerably in 2023. 

Within the UK, 60% of shoppers agreed that plastic bottles are the least environmentally pleasant drink packaging, whereas a 3rd agreed that non-plastic packaging is extra sustainable. With round half of British shoppers discovering sustainable packaging to be an vital a part of drinks packaging design, it seems that bottled water producers are shifting away from plastic bottles in a bid to seize a sustainable market. 

To get on board with this development, manufacturers can incentivise and assist shoppers of their efforts to recycle. In 2022, Evian partnered with Sainsbury’s for a two-week ‘Return4Reward’ digital reward scheme. This invited shoppers to convey their Evian bottles and cans to be recycled in one of many chain’s shops in North London to enter a draw to win tickets to the 2023 Wimbledon last. This can be a nice instance of manufacturers bringing collectively client values with a advertising and marketing technique.

With sustainable water prioritised within the UK, what about the remainder of the world? Within the Center East and Africa, bottled water merchandise with added nutritional vitamins and minerals are thriving, with extra recorded new launches than in earlier years. That is additionally distinguished in America, the place virtually half of shoppers get pleasure from bottled water with added dietary advantages to be able to be higher hydrated.

Within the APAC area, sustainable launches have additionally been important in 2023. Though bottles are undoubtedly the first packaging selection for water, canned water launches have tripled since 2019. Sometimes related to flavoured and glowing waters, there’s room for sustainable packaging innovation in Asia.

With sustainability and added vitamin on the coronary heart of recent bottled water product launches in 2023, who’re the foremost gamers?

Lately, sustainability has pushed manufacturers to innovate in direction of much less plastic packaging, so we count on to see a continuation of recent launches showcasing different, and extra conservative, packaging types. That is more likely to embody canned water choices, in addition to plastic bottles with lowered packaging and plastic bottles produced from recycled supplies.

As youthful shoppers are typically the standard bottled water client, largely on account of security and hygiene issues, we might also see manufacturers capitalising on the notion of bottled water as safer than faucet water. This can be exaggerated with an present development in direction of bottled water with added minerals and nutritional vitamins. If bottled water merchandise can provide a clear, nutritious beverage, then they are going to be focusing on client priorities.