Global sales of premium bottled water advanced 3.9% to 10.3 billion litres in 2014, according to a new study by food and drink consultancy Zenith International, taking its overall retail value to more than $15 billion.

Zenith senior consultant Karen Wells says, “85% of sales were in the mature markets of North America and West Europe. In many of these countries, premium brands outperformed other packaged waters, demonstrating that consumers appreciate the attributes of provenance and style, as well as quality and convenience.”

Other notable regions include Asia Pacific, where premium water has been boosted by rising levels of disposable income, allowing consumers to trade up from mainstream products.

Zenith estimates that the global market for premium water will have exceeded 10.6 billion litres in 2015 and will increase to more than 12.5 billion litres by 2020.