Bottled water sector bubbling over

Abstract

Bottled water I f anyone had been told twelve years ago that the South African bottled water sector would be a highly successful industry, they would probably have laughed in disbelief. After all, South Africa is one of few countries where tap water in most places is still good enough to drink. Indeed, a little over a decade ago, the bottled water industry was virtually non-existent. Boy, have things changed. Walk into any retail outlet, service station convenience store or restaurant, and you can probably take your pick from an aisle filled with different brands, from mineral to spring, still or sparkling, flavoured or unflavoured, local or imported, plastic or glass. These range in sizes from 250 ml to the household supersized five-litre container. Spurred on by the global trend towards healthier living, the sector is worth about R1,5-billion today, according to the South African Natural Bottled Water Association (SANBWA) technical manager Charlotte Metcalfe. This translates into a nominal bottle value of R6,90/litre.

Authors

Categories