- Contents
- *Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
What you need to know
Sales of bottled water are forecast to increase moderately between 2015 and 2020, from $13.9 billion to $18 billion, based mostly on the need for everyday hydration and the perception that adequate hydration is beneficial for overall health, but also on a growing number of consumers switching from sugary drinks such as soda and juice to more healthful alternatives. The convenience/PET segment dominates sales, but sparkling and enhanced water brands are likely to benefit most from this shift, especially if they can target the needs of high-volume buyers such as Millennials, households with children, and Hispanics.
Definition
Recent similarly focused reports are Bottled Water and Cold Beverage Mixes – US, March 2014 (which included Cold Drink Mixes); Bottled Water – US, March 2013; as well as the May 2012; November 2009; and December 2008 and 2007 reports of the same title.
The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) defines bottled water as water sealed in a sanitary container to be sold for human consumption. This water may be artificially purified or tapped from a natural spring, and may be still or sparkling (carbonated), flavored or unflavored. For this report, Mintel defines bottled water as water intended for human consumption that is sealed in a sanitary, food-grade container. Bottled waters are segmented as follows:
The bottled water category includes the following products:
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Convenience/PET still bottled water – may be plain, flavored, or enhanced with vitamins, minerals or other supplements
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Sparkling bottled water – may be plain, flavored, or enhanced; includes sweetened flavored sparkling waters such as Sparkling Ice (as the bottled water category continues to evolve and product crossover and segment blurring continues at a rapid pace, similar to the total beverage category, distinctions between flavored and enhanced water product segments remain challenging)
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Jug/bulk still bottled water – plain water sold in multiserve containers; excludes jug/bulk containers that are filled by the consumer.
Excluded from this report are:
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Beverage/cold drink mixes – powdered, drops, concentrates, other formats (covered in Beverage Mixes – US, March 2015)
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CSDs, juices/juice drinks, RTD tea/coffee drinks, milk, energy drinks, other specific beverage categories, etc
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In addition to water sold from bulk dispensers or coolers, sales through vending machines, foodservice, and delivery services are also excluded.
Value figures throughout this report are at retail selling prices (rsp) excluding sales tax unless otherwise stated.
Sales data
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Market Size and Forecast, Segment Performance, and Retail Channels: Total retail sales based on Information Resources Inc., InfoScan Reviews; US Census Bureau, Economic Census; BevNet; CSPnet/Mintel; forecast developed by Mintel.
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Leading Companies and Brand Share: based on MULO sales data from Information Resources, Inc. InfoScan Reviews. MULO is defined as Multi Outlet, representative of the following channels: Total US Grocery, Mass, Total US Drug, Total Walmart, Dollar, Military, and Club. Note that the values shown in this section differ from the Market Size/Forecast and Segment Performance sections of this report. Companies’ and brands’ sales data encompasses only sales through MULO channels, while Market Size/Forecast and Segment sales cover the entire retail market.
Consumer survey data
For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through Lightspeed GMI to explore consumer consumption of/attitudes and behaviors toward bottled water. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in December 2014 among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.
Mintel selects survey respondents by gender, age, household income, and region so that they are proportionally representative of the US adult population using the internet. Mintel also slightly over-samples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or Black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in our survey results and to allow for more precise parameter estimates from our reported findings. Please note that Mintel surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in the survey results.
Mintel has also analyzed data from Experian Marketing Services (EMS), using the Simmons National Consumer Study (NCS) and the Simmons National Hispanic Consumer Study (NHCS).
The Experian Marketing Services, Simmons NCS/NHCS was carried out during August 2013-September 2014 and the results are based on the sample of 26,053 adults aged 18+, with results weighted to represent the US adult population.
While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.
Abbreviations
The following abbreviations are used in this report:
| CEO | Chief Executive Officer |
| CPI | Consumer Price Index |
| CSD | Carbonated Sugary Drink |
| EMS | Experian Marketing Services |
| GMO | Genetically Modified Organism |
| GNPD | Global New Products Database |
| IBWA | International Bottled Water Association |
| MULO | Multi Outlet, representative of the following channels: Total US Grocery, Mass, Total US Drug, Total Walmart, Dollar, Military, and Club |
| : | : |
| : | : |
Generations are discussed within this report; they are defined as:
| World War II/Swing generations | Members of the WWII Generation were born in 1932 or before and are aged 83 or older in 2015. Members of the Swing Generation were born from 1933 and 1945 and are aged 70-82 in 2015. |
| Baby Boomers | The generation born between 1946 and 1964. In 2015, Baby Boomers are between the ages of 51 and 69. |
| Generation X | The generation born between 1965 and 1976. In 2015, Gen Xers are between the ages of 39 and 50. |
| Millennials* | Born between 1977 and 1994, Millennials are aged 21-38 in 2015. |
| iGeneration | Born between 1995 and 2007, members of iGen are aged 8-20 in 2015. |
| Emerging generation | The newest generation began in 2008 as the annual number of births declined sharply with the recession. In 2015, members of this as-yet-unnamed generation are younger than age eight. |
* also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers.
In order to provide an inflation-adjusted price value for markets, Mintel uses the CPI to deflate current prices. The CPI is defined as follows:
| CPI | The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services.
The CPI and its components are typically used to adjust other economic series for price changes and to translate these series into inflation-free dollars. Examples of series adjusted by the CPI include retail sales, hourly and weekly earnings, and components of the national income and product accounts. In addition, and in Mintel reports, the CPI is used as a deflator of the value of the consumer’s dollar to find its purchasing power. The purchasing power of the consumer’s dollar measures the change in the value to the consumer of goods and services that a dollar will buy at different dates. The CPI is generally the best measure for adjusting payments to consumers when the intent is to allow consumers to purchase, at today’s prices, a market basket of goods and services equivalent to one that they could purchase in an earlier period. It is also the best measure to use to translate retail sales into real or inflation-free dollars. Based on Bureau of Labor Statistics definition. |
