Quick bites
- Bottled water is growing in popularity among consumers
- Scepticism around soft drinks and alcohol is fuelling popularity
- It faces competition other hydration-focused drinks, such as electrolyte drinks
- Much of the growth of bottled water is due to consumers switching from tap water
You don’t get much simpler than bottled water. Yet if you think that means it can’t excite consumers, you’re wrong.
Despite its simplicity, the bottled water market is thriving, thanks to increasing consumer backlash against its competitors – soft drinks, alcohol, and drinks not considered ‘natural’.
Why do consumers want bottled water?
The reason that consumers want bottled water is deceptively simple – health.
“Bottled water has evolved from a basic essential to the answer to consumers’ evolving priorities. At the heart of its growth is consumers’ health drive, which has fast become one of the major contributors to sales,” explains Rachael Hann, Danone UK&I Beverages.
Market insights firm Mintel agrees, suggesting that bottled water is seeing strong popularity from consumers due to concerns around sugar, ultra-processed foods (UPFs), and even alcoholic drinks.
This is reflected in an increased growth rate in the bottled water market. Between 2019 and 2024, the market grew at a CAGR of 3.2%, according to Euromonitor. However, between 2025 to 2030, this rate of growth is projected to double (Grand View Research).
Even now, bottled water is reaching a greater number of consumers. According to Kantar, its market penetration is already at around two thirds.
In 2025, more than three quarters of UK consumers were using bottled water, in comparison to just 70% in 2022, data from Mintel suggests.
Also read → What ingredients ease dehydration? It’s not just water
Does bottled water face competition?
The real competition faced by bottled water is not soft drinks or juices; it’s other products that are marketed as the solution to hydration needs, such as electrolyte drinks.
The sports drinks market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.9% from 2024 to 2030, according to Grand View Research.
Electrolyte drinks have indeed seen a boom as consumer interest in hydration has increased. Some have even been using them as hydration support while using GLP-1 drugs.
However, Mintel suggests that the simplicity of bottled water could be its salvation.
According to its data, the majority of those aged 16-24 are tired of frequently shifting health trends. Water, on the other hand, is seen as a constant.
Even compared with other water-based choices, such as sparkling and flavoured water, plain still water comes out on top.
“It is plain still water that dominates, accounting for 72% of category sales and therefore driving the fastest growth. It is a clear indication that consumers are prioritising health, simplicity and functionality – a trend we firmly believe is here to stay,” says Danone’s Hann.
Nearly half of volume growth in the area is from consumers switching over from tap water, showing the importance of convenience to many consumers.