As health awareness continues to expand among consumers, so does sales for beverage options that fit the bill. Bottled water maintains a steady growth pace, ranking at the top of beverage sales by volume in the United States, said Gary Hemphill, managing director of research at New York-based Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC), in Beverage Industry’s October 2019 issue.

Total bottled water reached sales of $18.1 billion for the 52 weeks ending May 17, seeing 5.7 percent growth over the year prior, and accounting for 8.4 billion units sold, according to data from Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. (IRI). Still water accounted for 5.2 billion of those units, while seltzer/sparkling water accounted for 1.8 billion units, and jug/bulk still water accounted for 1.3 billion units.

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• 2020
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Still bottled water was among the beverage categories that saw drastic sales swings as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. According to a March 19 report titled “COVID-19 Impact: Consumer Spending Tracker” comprised by IRI and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), PET still water sales were up 32.5 percent for the week ending March 8. This continued for the coming weeks as PET still water sales were up approximately 82 percent for the week ending March 15 and up 36.5 percent in the week ending March 22.

However, as stockpiling regressed the category experience sharp changes with PET still water down 11.5 percent for the week ending March 29 and down 22.8 percent the week ending April 12.

Still and sparkling evenly paced

In Beverage Industry’s October 2019 issue, Chicago-based Euromonitor International’s Passport report also noted the steady growth of the still and carbonated water segments, with sales of $17.1 billion in 2013 and $22.1 billion in 2018, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29.4 percent between 2013-2018, it stated.

Euromonitor’s March 2019 “Bottled Water in the US” report stated, “[B]ottled water has evolved in the U.S., going from a product that used to be enjoyed on limited occasions to one that is consumed throughout the day on a variety of occasions.”

Caleb Bryant, associate director of food and drink at Chicago-based Mintel, added: “The packaged water market is thriving thanks to consumer interest in health, product innovation from water brands and the surge in popularity of sparkling waters.”

Convenience/PET still bottled waters saw $12.9 billion in sales in total U.S. multi-outlets and convenience stores, a 3.6 percent increase for the 52 weeks ending May 17, IRI data states. IRI. From a smaller base, IRI reports seltzer/sparkling/mineral bottled waters grew 12.9 percent and generated dollar sales of $3.5 billion for that same time period.

Private-label water ranked No. 1 in the still bottled water and seltzer/sparkling/mineral bottled water segments, generating dollar sales of $3.3 billion and $613 million, respectively, with year-over-year increases of 9.8 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively, IRI data reports.

With 25.3 percent of market share, the private-label still water category dominates the water category, while market share in the seltzer/sparkling/mineral bottled waters category is more evenly distributed between private label (17.7 percent); Sparkling Ice (16 percent); and La Croix (12.6 percent), it reports.

Mintel’s February 2019 “Still and Sparkling Water US” report affirms that consumers are more interested in no-frills, inexpensive water. “Private label brands represent 30 percent of the entire packaged water market,” it stated. “While inexpensive water dominates the market, higher-end waters are trending. Premium, sustainable and functional waters are all growing both in terms of sales and product development.”

Market research analysts say innovation remains at the forefront of sales for bottled water and enhanced water categories.

Chicago-based SPINS noted in its first State of the Natural Industry report that water consistently ranked in the Top 5 fastest-growing categories over a three-year period. “Produce and shelf-stable water categories show strong performance among total natural products and the total marketplace, with water’s growth fueled largely by enhanced, flavored sparkling and flavored non-carbonated waters,” it stated.

Mintel’s Bryant noted that sparkling water is one of the fastest-growing non-alcoholic beverage categories, with sales that increased 11 percent between 2013 and 2018.”

“Still water sales are also increasing, and the still water market is roughly 4.4 times as large as the sparkling water market,” Bryant explained.

Among the top sparkling water brands is bubly, a brand of PepsiCo, which saw growth of 87.4 percent and sales of $300 million in U.S. multi-outlets for the 52 weeks ending May 17, IRI data reports. Other brands with significant growth include Spindrift, of Newton, Mass.-based Spindrift Beverage Co., which saw nearly 105 percent growth and sales of $47.4 million; Topo Chico, a brand of The Coca-Cola Co., at 39.3 percent and nearly $184 million in sales; Sparkling Ice, a brand of Preston, Wash.-based Talking Rain, at nearly 20 percent growth and $553 million in sales; and Polar Seltzer, from Worcester, Mass.-based Polar Beverages, at 13.8 percent and $206 million in sales, IRI data states.

“Sparkling water is one of the fastest growing categories in the entire beverage industry; sparkling water sales grew an estimated 118 percent from 2013 to 2018,” Mintel’s report stated.

Euromonitor’s Passport report forecasts the still and carbonated/sparkling water segments will continue to see growth, with dollar sales of $24.5 billion by 2023 and a five-year CAGR of 10.6 percent for the 2018-2023 timeframe. BI