Bottled Water - UK - May 2021
Overview
 
Nearly two in five (39%) people show interest in branded supplements that can add minerals to tap water, presenting bottled water brands with an intriguing new opportunity for an added revenue stream as the market faces a growing challenge from the spotlight on sustainability.

The stay-at-home edicts and on-premise closures in 2020 delivered a sharp blow to bottled water sales through the lost purchase occasions. The market is, however, expected to rebound rapidly as the vaccine rollout allows the society to reopen, this curbed somewhat by the shift to more working from home in the long term.

COVID-19 has put a spotlight on the health of the planet and Mintel expects the outbreak to fuel a heightened focus on sustainability in the medium to long term. This presents bottled water with a challenge, the category having become a poster boy for single-use plastic packaging waste over the years, its wider ecological footprint also drawn into question.

The openness from consumers to alternative packaging formats bodes well for NPD in this space to help keep water products on the menu, while interest in bottled water with functional benefits like immune health (40%) and skin health (40%) can be mined by brands to offer reasons to buy into the category. 

Key issues covered in this Report
●	The impact of COVID-19 on the bottled water market.
●	The outlook for the market in the re-emergence from the pandemic and recovery up to 2025.
●	The latest new product development (NPD) trends and future opportunities.
●	Consumers’ usage of bottled water, water filters and sparkling water makers.
●	Consumer attitudes towards bottled water.

COVID-19: Market context
The first COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the UK at the end of January 2020, with a small number of cases in February. Rapidly rising case numbers led to the first national lockdown, starting on 23 March. It wasn't until 15 June that non-essential stores were allowed to reopen, followed by pubs, restaurants, hotels and hairdressers on 4 July and many beauty businesses on 13 July.

By September, it had become clear that the UK was at the start of a second wave, and social distancing measures were intensified. Continued increases in infection numbers led to Wales implementing a two-week national lockdown from 19 October, England announcing a month-long lockdown from 5 November and Scotland introducing a new five-level system of coronavirus restrictions.

Despite these restrictions, however, case numbers continued to increase. All four UK nations tightened restrictions further in January 2021, effectively leading to a full UK-wide lockdown.

On 22 February, Boris Johnson announced the roadmap to an easing of restrictions in England, starting with the reopening of schools on 8 March, with restrictions on outdoor gatherings easing on 29 March and indoor gatherings resuming on 17 May. As of May 2021, the plan to end all restrictions by 21 June was to be reviewed due to fears around the spread of the Indian COVID variant. The Welsh and Scottish governments also gave more details on their plans to ease restrictions, with both nations taking a slightly more cautious approach to the one planned for England.

The UK’s vaccination programme started on 8 December 2020, with the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines licensed for use in the UK. As of 23 May 2021, the government-reported figures show that 23 million people have received both doses of the COVID-19/coronavirus vaccine.

Economic and other assumptions
Mintel’s economic assumptions are based on the Office for Budget Responsibility’s central scenario included in its March 2021 Economic and Fiscal Outlook report. After the fall of 9.9% over the course of 2020, the scenario suggests that UK GDP will grow by 4% in 2021 and 7.3% in 2022. 

GDP isn’t expected to return to pre-COVID-19 levels until Q2 2022, although this is six months earlier than the OBR forecast in November 2020, mainly because of the faster-than-expected rollout of vaccines.

Unemployment is expected to peak at 6.5% in Q4 2021. As with GDP, this is more positive than the OBR’s November forecast, but the OBR does raise the prospect of long-term scarring on employment, especially in the more exposed retail and hospitality sectors.

Products covered in this Report
This Report covers sales of bottled water. This includes:

●	Unflavoured water.
●	Flavoured waters and fortified waters which see mineral water enhanced with natural flavours, herbs, vitamins and/or sweeteners.
●	Still water as well as carbonated water, also known as sparkling water, which is made by dissolving carbon dioxide into the water through a process of carbonation.

Market size data includes sales through the following outlets:

●	Retail: This includes sales through 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 pubs, bars and clubs, leisure centres, hotels, restaurants, cafés, education establishments and workplaces.