Last year, worldwide sales volumes of bottled water increased eight per cent to reach 187bn litres, driven mainly by Eastern Europe and Asia, which accounted for about half of all demand, according to beverage analyst Zenith International.
The findings highlight the continued opportunities for companies and bottled water manufacturers worldwide, despite some concerns over the sustainability of bottling the product, compared to sourcing from the tap.
In this current market, Zenith added that it projects global bottled water consumption will grow to 251bn litres by 2011.
Zenith's research director Gary Roethenbaugh said that growing consumer demand for beverages that are perceived to have nutritional and health benefits was ensuring strong growth.
"Consumers are benefiting as bottled water becomes more widely accessible and as its health, wellbeing and hydration attributes become more universally accepted," he stated.
The top four suppliers of the bottled water during 2006 were Nestlé, Danone, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo respectively, with a combined share of 33 per cent of the total market.
Of the individual water brands, Danone's Aqua, Pure Life from Nestle Waters, Aquafina and Electropure from PepsiCo and Nestlé Waters North America's Poland Spring were the top five sellers.
Though absent from the shortlist, two of Coca-Cola's bottled water brands - Dasani and Ciel - made the top ten, Zenith said.
In terms of global demand, Asia and Australasia continued to dominate overall demand for the product during 2006, claiming a 21 per cent share of the worldwide market, according to Zenith.
Double-digit growth in a number of markets for bottled water, including India, Malaysia, China and Pakistan allowed the region to post an 11 per cent increase in consumption over the previous year, the report added.
Eastern Europe was highlighted by the consultancy group as another area that has strong potential for market growth, with a regional heat wave during summer 2006, helping to drive a 14 per cent increase in volumes.
Bottled water intake in Africa grew strongly at 11 per cent, though from a relatively low starting base, Zenith said.
The remainder of the increased demand was attributed to consumers in North America, the Middle East, Latin America and Western Europe, with respective sales growth of nine, seven, five and three per cent Zenith added that Still Water brands were the main seller in the segment, representing 85 per cent of the total consumption volume for the year.