Bottled water has been the major success story within the non-alcoholic drinks market in the last couple of years. After two consecutive years of 7% annual growth – helped by good weather – the value of the market reached £1.9 million. The continued importance consumers place on hydration, with its strong associations with skin health, has continued to drive the appeal of bottled water. This is particularly the case among young consumers leading increasingly on-the-go lifestyles.

The fall-out from the negative media coverage on sugar has been largely good news for the bottled water market, thanks to its favourable comparisons to CSDs (Carbonated Soft Drinks) in this area. However, there remain opportunities for the further development of flavoured water with natural sweeteners such as stevia. There is also scope for operators to explore bottled water containing antioxidants, energy-boosting ingredients, protein and electrolytes given the notable interest these concepts generated among bottled water buyers.

This report covers sales of bottled water including:

• Water for sale in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and glass bottles

• Water offered for sale in other pack types, such as cans and cartons

• Plain water ie unflavoured

• Flavoured waters and fortified waters which see mineral water enhanced with natural flavours, herbs, vitamins and/or sweeteners

• Carbonated water, also known as sparkling water, which is made by dissolving carbon dioxide into the water, through a process of carbonation.

Water for water coolers is also included in the market size

According to the British Soft Drinks Association (BSDA), there are three main types of bottled waters as defined in the Natural Mineral Water, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water Regulations 2007. Only products which meet the specifications within these regulations may use one of these terms:

Natural mineral waters must come from a protected source and by law may not undergo any treatment except filtration to remove sand particles or the addition of carbon dioxide to create a sparkling product. Therefore what goes into the bottle is the same as what comes out of the ground.

Spring waters can come from a single non-polluted ground water source. Unlike natural mineral waters, spring waters may undergo permitted treatments in order to meet the microbiological criteria and to comply with standards based on the Drinking Water Regulations. Unlike natural mineral waters there is no formal recognition process required for spring water, although they must still be registered with the local authority.

Table water refers to bottled water which may come from more than one source and may include the public water supply. Treatment is permitted which results in the water achieving the compositional or microbiological requirements of the regulations. Some companies may also add mineral salts to their waters to replace minerals lost during treatments or to enhance those which already exist.

Data includes sales through the following outlets:

Take-home and impulse: This includes retail outlets where bottled water is purchased for the purpose of in-home consumption or for drinking on the go, comprising supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol forecourts among others.

On-premise: This includes anywhere where bottled water is bought to consume on site, eg leisure centres, hotels, restaurants, cafés, education establishments, workplace and in the on-trade (ie pubs, bars and clubs).

Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland.

Market sizes at constant 2014 prices are devised using Mintel’s food deflator. Value figures throughout this report are at retail selling prices (rsp) unless otherwise stated.