Retail sales surge as more people seek alternatives to sugary, carbonated drinks and more sustainable packaging

Water bottles have never been bigger with American consumers in the literal sense.

Based on data from the Beverage Marketing Corp., the beverage package, which is already the market leader in the beverage category recorded a volume record that was 15.7 million gallons in 2021. The record-breaking figure for bottled water beats the record of 15.3 billion gallons, set by carbonated soft drinks in 2004.

Bottled water has outsold soft drink sales every year since the year 2016. The increase is due to people who are increasingly opting for drinking bottled water as a healthful hydration option over other packaged drinks. Consumers who are moving away from unhealthy packaged drinks are the main driver of the bottled water category.

"A rising trend in consumption per capita shows an unwavering, consistent need for a drink that people consider healthier alternatives to other beverages," Michael Bellas (chairman and CEO of BMC) said in a statement. The attraction of bottled water to American consumers is due to its multiple inherent advantages, such as its connection with convenience, security, healthfulness, and value.

The U.S. bottled Water Consumption In 2021, the rate was 4.7 percent In 2021, the average American consumed 47 gallons worth of water, which is an increase of 3.9 percent over the previous. Furthermore, bottled water's sales in retail dollars jumped 11.2%, reaching $40.2 billion, BMC data show.

Consumers switching to healthier packaged beverages is responsible for 30% of the growth in bottled waters since 2012.

"Bottled water's lack of artificial ingredients and calories is appealing to a lot of consumers," Bellas explained. "Some consumers may have moved away from the regular, full-calorie drinks for diet drinks, but people opted to drink bottles of water instead. Some consumers began to be cautious about artificial sweeteners and shifted away from traditional drinks.

According to The Harris Poll According to Harris Poll, nine of ten Americans (91 percent) would prefer bottled water to be sold wherever else is sold. The opposite could occur if people shift from drinks that contain sugar to bottled water. If bottled water is unavailable 74% of those who purchase it think they'll turn to other packaged drinks instead of tap water, the survey discovered.

"People are opting to consume fewer calories, and the healthy choice of drinking bottled water has the added benefit of helping the environment. Jill Culora is the vice director of communications at IBWA. She has stated that bottles of water are completely recyclable including caps. They also require less plastic than many other packaged beverages.

According to IBWA soda containers need a greater thickness of plastic because of the bottling and carbonation processes. They use 188 percent more PET plastic per ounce than bottled water containers (23.9g against 8.3g for 16.9-ounce containers). The association also noted that drinking bottled water has the least water and energy footprint of all packaged beverages. On average, 1.39 liters of water (including the one liter of water used), as well as 0.21 megajoules of energy, are needed to make one liter of finished bottled water.

"Consumer desire for healthy hydration and bottled water is beneficial for public health," Culora commented. "This is crucial as the nation continues to experience excessive levels of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease."