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Water’s vital statistics: industry data

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STILL AND SPARKLING WATER
Sales of still water continue to out-strip sparkling water. From around 30% of total bottled water volume in 1998, sparkling water's share has since more than halved, with still water now accounting for 87%. Factors including declining water cooler volumes over the past few years and poor weather in 2007 and 2008, have affected still water sales overall, enabling sparkling water to stabilise its share of the market at around 13%.

TYPES OF BOTTLED WATER
The latest (2009) figures from Zenith International show a breakdown by type of packaged bottled water as follows:

  • Natural Mineral Water accounts for 61% of the UK market
  • Spring Water accounts for 27%
  • Bottled drinking waters (ie. so-called ‘table’ waters) account for 10%
  • Purified water <2% of the total market.

    We are grateful to Zenith International & ACNielsen except where otherwise indicated for data provision..
    Year  Volume of bottled
    water consumed in UK
    (including water coolers)
    Year  Volume of bottled
    water consumed in UK
    (including water coolers)
    Year  Volume of bottled
    water consumed in UK
    (including water coolers)
    1976   20 million litres
    1980   30 million litres
    1990   420 million litres
    1991   480 million litres
    1992   520 million litres
    1993   580 million litres
    1994   700 million litres
    1995   800 million litres
    1996   795 million litres
    1997   900 million litres
    1998   990 million litres
    1999   1.2 billion litres
    2000   1.42 billion litres
    2001   1.59 billion litres
    2002   1.76 billion litres
    2003   2.07 billion litres
    2004   2.08 billion litres
    2005   2.2 billion litres
    2006   2.27 billion litres
    2007   2.18 billion litres
    2008   2.06 billion litres
    2009   2.09 billion litres
    Source: Zenith International

    Some facts about bottled water

  • In the UK we drink seven times as much tea as bottled water, although the gap between the two beverages is closing (2007).
  • We drink almost 3 times as much beer as bottled water but the gap is narrowing (2008).
  • UK bottled water production stood at 1,658 million litres in 2008 and increased to 1,682 million litres, in 2009.
  • UK bottled water exports amounted to 56 million litres in 2009 – a slight decrease compared with the previous year.
  • In 2009, 1,626 million litres of UK-produced bottled water were consumed in this country.
  • In 2009 British produced bottled waters showed a growth ahead of imported waters by at least 5 per cent.

    Source: Zenith International