2015 State of the Beverage Industry: Bottled water continues to rise
Sparkling water segment leads category growth
Americans’ consumption of water has increased by more than 68 million 8-ounce servings in less than a year, according to research conducted by the Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), Harleysville, Pa. The study evaluated 60,000 U.S. adults and their average daily intake of unflavored water — including bottled, tap and filtered water — between the fourth quarter of 2013 and the second quarter of 2014.
This increase is partially attributed to a general consumer trend toward healthier beverages, NMI notes. It also attributes the increasing water consumption rate to efforts such as the Partnership for a Healthier America’s (PHA) Drink Up initiative. In fact, the Drink Up advertising campaign resulted in a 3 percent increase in incremental bottled water sales among consumers who had been exposed to the campaign, according to a study by Nielsen Catalina Solutions, Cincinnati. This equates to nearly $1 million in incremental retail sales of bottled water.