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West Europe bottled water growth 2007

West European bottled water consumption slipped back by 0.3% to 46.2 billion litres in 2007, according to the new 2008 West Europe Bottled Water report from drinks consultancy Zenith International.

Still waters continued to gain ground on sparkling waters, following a long-term trend. The penetration of still water is highest in Greece, Spain, Portugal, the UK and Ireland with market shares of at least 85%. In contrast, sparkling water is more popular than still water in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden.

Other key findings of Zenith’s 2008 West Europe Bottled Water report include insights that:

• 11 of the 16 countries reported growth, with Greece and Ireland achieving increases above 9%
• The top five countries (Italy, Germany, France, Spain and the UK) held a combined volume share of 87%
• Average consumption stood at 115.1 litres per person, slightly below 116.2 litres seen during the heatwave year of 2003.

Nestlé and Danone were the two leading companies, followed by Castel, San Benedetto and Hansa Heemann.

The rise in health awareness and the move away from carbonated soft drinks, coupled with widespread price discounting, are likely to continue driving volume growth to the detriment of value growth in the coming years. Product innovation that capitalises on the appeal of all-natural products should also help spur consumption.

Zenith forecasts that total bottled water consumption will resume growth to rise by a further 11% and reach 51 billion litres by 2012.

Related external links:

• East Europe bottled water market passes €5bn
• UK smoothie sales top £300m
• Global milk drinks continue to rise