At the start of the pandemic, bottled water was horded as the world shut down. Shelves were cleared of it, carts were full of it, and we all wondered when life would return to normal. Fast-forward two years, and the bottled water industry is consistently growing.

In Beverage Industry’s October 2021 eMagazine, Caleb Bryant, associate director of food and drink reports at Chicago-based Mintel, noted that the bottled water industry faced some ups and downs from 2020-2021. As more people stayed at home, they were drinking water, but missing out on social gatherings. Bryant suspected the “pent-up demand for travel, socialization and experiences” would result in higher bottled water sales in 2021. 

*Includes brands not listed
Source: Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), Chicago. Total U.S. supermarkets, drug stores, gas and convenience stores, mass merchandisers, military commissaries, and select club and dollar retail chains for the 52 weeks ending May 15.

Also in the October 2021 eMagazine, Gavin Ross, team lead and senior analyst for IBISWorld, New York, noted that the bottled water industry would continue to grow.

“Over the coming years, the industry is likely to return to slow and consistent growth as socioeconomic restrictions that were originally implemented to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic are retracted,” Ross said. “As global business restrictions are gradually lifted, sales of bottled and sparkling water from traditional out-of-home channels are expected to benefit.”

According to data obtained by Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. (IRI), the non-flavored convenience/bottled still water category saw an increase of 15.5% for the 52 weeks ending on May 15. The Top 5 brands — Private label, Aquafina, Glaceau, Dasani and Poland Spring — each saw a significant jump in dollar sales during the past year. The No. 1 water in this category was Private label, at $4.2 billion in sales, which was up 18.7% compared with last year. Aquafina saw a significant increase in sales as well, up 17.7% at $1.2 billion in sales. 

*Includes brands not listed
Source: Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), Chicago. Total U.S. supermarkets, drug stores, gas and convenience stores, mass merchandisers, military commissaries, and select club and dollar retail chains for the 52 weeks ending May 15.

Additionally, IRI data shows that the sparkling water category saw a 5.3% increase in sales during the past year, with sales at $3.6 billion. Sparkling Ice was the most sought-after brand in the 52-week time frame ending May 15, making up 23% of the market shares with sales at $836 million. The brand’s sales were up 7.9% compared with last year. Private label and La Croix round out the Top 3 in the sparkling water category, but the two companies only saw an increase in sales of 0.7% and 0.2%, respectively. 

BUBBL’R, an antioxidant sparkling water, witnessed a dollar sales increase of 108.1% for the 52 weeks ending May 15, IRI data shows. Although it only makes up 1.74% of the market shares, BUBBL’R has become increasingly popular with its 10 flavors of sparkling water, all packed with vitamins and natural caffeine. The brand’s sales this past year were just above $63 million. 

“Sparkling water has hit the consumer sweet spot for an alternative to carbonated soft drinks,” said Michael C. Bellas, chairman and CEO of BMC, in Beverage Industry’s October 2021 eMagazine. “It’s feeding off the softness of carbonated soft drinks, but it’s also benefiting from a significant marketing push of the three category leaders: National Beverage, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola.”

IBISWorld’s Ross harmonized this statement, noting that flavored and sparkling waters were increasingly popular due to their healthy appeal, making them “the fastest-growing segments of the bottled water category.” Mintel’s Bryant added that the array of sparkling water flavors is an appeal to consumers, most notably with brands like La Croix and Sparkling Ice that are “known for their extensive flavor lineups.”

Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD), referenced in Beverage Industry’s October 2021 eMagazine, detailed the popularity of sparkling water flavors like watermelon, pink grapefruit and strawberry. Mintel also acknowledged the increasing commonality of flavor blends, such as ginger strawberry. 

“Opportunities remain to both bring new consumers into the sparkling water markets and for existing consumers to increase their sparkling water consumption frequency,” Bryant said.