UK water consumption tops 50 litres per person
UK consumption of all water drinks rose 8.2% in 2015 to 3,299 million litres, with a retail value in excess of £2,500 million, according to new reports from Zenith International.
Volumes have more than doubled over the past 15 years and consumption per person now stands at 51.7 litres a year, with plain water at 44.1 litres and water plus at 7.6 litres.
“This is a tremendous achievement by the industry, making sales 100 times higher than in 1980,” comments Zenith chairman Richard Hall. “Yet the average in Europe and America is above 100 litres per person, so there is every prospect of continuing strong growth.”
In 2015, plain water sales in retail pack sizes jumped by 9.1% to 2,517 million litres. Water cooler sales advanced 5% to 296 million litres. Flavoured, functional and juicy water plus drinks increased 5.7% to 486 million litres.
Other report findings include:
- Still water drinks were responsible for 83% of 2015 volume and sparkling water drinks 17%
- Plain bottled water accounted for 85% of total consumption; flavoured and functional waters 13%; and juicy waters 2%
- The top five plain water brands by volume were Evian, Highland Spring, Buxton, Volvic and Nestlé Pure Life
- The top five water plus brands by volume were Volvic Touch of Fruit, Calypso Clear, Trederwen Essence, Drench Juicy and Volvic Juiced.
Zenith forecasts that by 2020, the plain water market will reach in excess of 4,000 million litres and the total water drinks market will stand at almost 4,800 million litres.
