Bottled water held back by cooler market shift

UK bottled water sales edged up slightly higher in 2010 despite a slump in the bottle cooler market, according to a new Zenith report.

Bottled water sales grew 0.7 per cent overall to 2,055 million litres but growth was held back by an 8.3 per cent decline in sales of bottle coolers, used in offices, which lost business to plumbed-in water coolers.

Ignoring bottles over 10 litres therefore paints a more positive picture of the bottled water market – putting growth at 2.4 per cent.

Zenith said the market was pulled in different directions last year. The weak economy and continued environmental concerns put downward pressure on sales but warm weather provided a boost.

Zenith predicts that total bottled water sales will rise by 14 per cent between now and 2015.