This year’s State of the Industry report on bottled water market analyzes that, despite slowed volume growth, the category remains robust, showing that water is still important to consumers.
For the second consecutive year, The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), Alexandria, Va., and New York-based Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC) announced that bottled water is the No. 1 beverage in the United States, by volume.
Capping a decades-long streak of vigorous growth, bottled water achieved a major milestone in 2016, when it surpassed carbonated soft drinks (CSDs) to become the largest beverage category by volume in the United States, according to New York-based Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC). Total bottled water volume grew from 11.8 billion gallons in 2015 to 12.8 billion gallons in 2016, an increase of nearly 9 percent, which marked the third year of accelerated growth, the market research firm says.
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.
For decades, consumers have strived to live by the unofficial rule of drinking eight glasses of water a day. Although this mantra is well-known throughout the United States, many consumers don’t drink as much water as they should. However, that has begun to change in recent months.