The First Choice As forecast throughout most of 2016, bottled water is now the largest beverage category by volume in the US, surpassing carbonated soft drinks (CSDs). Volume increase was 8.6% and dollars increase was 10.0% for 2016. According to Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC), single-serve PET packages had a 67.3% share of 2016 volume; followed by direct delivery/bulk, 10.8%; retail 1–2.5 gallon, 8.7%; vending, 7.2%; domestic sparkling, 4.5%; and imports, 1.5%. BMC also forecasts that total bottled water volume will increase from 2016’s 12.8 billion gallons to more than 16.0 billion gallons by 2020, while the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for CSDs will decrease 1.6% from 2010 to 2020.

There’s Bottled Water, and Then There’s Bottled Water Many health experts and analysts have stated for years that many bottled water brands are simply taken from municipal water systems and subject to extreme filtration that creates “dead water,” which contains no healthy minerals or electrolytes. Many studies of these brands of bottled water have determined that municipal water companies and the use of in-home filtration devices and systems actually do a better job at filtering water. Studies have also shown that the best type of drinking water is alkaline ionized (antioxidant) water because it contains the right pH level, of 9 to 10, which detoxifies the body. A lower pH makes water more acidic and less healthy.

Still Water Category Still Dominates For the 52 weeks ending August 7, 2016, convenience/PET still bottled water had reached $11.02 billion in sales, compared to $9.98 billion for the 52 weeks ending May 17, 2015, a 7.8% increase. Private-label brands continued to dominate this bottled water category, with $2.38 billion in sales, a 9.9% increase from the prior year, and representing a 21.5% share of the market; however, Fiji had the largest dollar sales gain, at 25.9%. Other brands gaining market share were Glacéau Smart Water, +0.5% to a 7.8% share, and Poland Spring, +0/.1% to a 6.1% share, as well as Fiji, +0.5% to a 3.3% share.

Bubbly Fresh The seltzer/sparkling/mineral bottled water segment delivered a 16.3% increase in dollar sales for the 52 weeks ending August 7, 2016, or a total of $2.07 billion. Private-label brands took the top spot from Sparking Ice in terms of market share, at 20.7%; however, LaCroix had the largest dollar sales increase, at 62.1%, and the largest market share increase, at 2.7%. Just half of the top 10 brands gained market share: LaCroix, +2.7% to a 9.6% share; Polar, +0.3% to a 5.2% share; Schweppes, +0.1%, to a 3.0 share; Topo Chico, +0.2% to a 2.8% share; and Canada Dry, +0.1% to a 1.9% share.

Flowing Through Store Aisles According to a January 2017 report from Information Resources Inc. (IRI), energy drinks were #1 in 2016 supermarket non-alcoholic beverage sales with an 8.6% increase. Bottled water was second, with an 8.5% increase in sales. CSP Daily News reported that bottled water sales at convenience stores increased 5.9% during February 2017, improving on January’s 3.5% increase. Sparkling and flavored waters performed even better during February, with a 6.2% increase in volume sales. CSP also reported that a survey of convenience store owners projected that the bottled-water category would lead all beverage categories during 2017, with a 7.0% increase.

A Flood of New Brands Beverage Industry reported that the low- or zero-calorie caffeinated water category, which is part of the enhanced bottled water segment, is likely to increase significantly during 2017, including new products from Hydrive and ávitae USA. BMC forecasts that value-added water (flavored, essence and enhanced) will increase from 484.8 million total gallons during 2015 to 909.9 million gallons by 2020. More than 90% of value-added water is sold off-premise. Women are the primary demographic for enhanced water, 58.2%, with 25–34 the largest age group at 26.6%, and 62.6% for flavored water, with 45–54 the largest age group at 19.5%.

Advertising Strategies Propose bottled water spots during the local weather, promoting the value of hydration on the days when the temperature exceeds an above-average temperature. A matching ad on the weather page of your station’s Website will help to cross-promote. Suggest retailers promote a Once-a-Week Bottled-Water Day during the summer when consumers are asked to drink only bottled water. Offer a discount for a multi-bottle purchase during that day. Help retailers determine if co-op dollars are available to advertise new bottled water products being introduced during 2017.

New Media Strategies Suggest that suppliers/retailers donate bottled water to low-income nursing homes/assisted-living facilities to promote better hydration among elderly residents. Post photos and videos on social media pages. Retailers should consider finding one or more customers to become a social media “influencer,” uploading content on the healthy benefits of bottled water and new product introductions. Create and upload a bottled water survey, asking how often customers/social media visitors drink it, what brands are their favorites, any healthy benefits they’ve experienced, have they been able to convert their children to bottled water drinkers, etc.