preview

bottled water case Essay

Decent Essays
Bottled Water Case: Industrial Evolution

1. Describe the bottled water industry as presented in the case
a. Size in sales: In 2001, bottled water was among the world’s most attractive beverage categories, with global sales exceeding 32 billion gallons and annual growth averaging nearly 9 percent between 1996 and 2001.
b. Projected growth: U.S. per capita consumption had grown to nearly 20 gallons a year by 2001 and was expected to grow to 26 gallons a year by 2005
c. Number of Competitors: Both the global and U.S. bottled water markets had become dominated by a few international food and beverage producers like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, and Groupe Danone, but they also included many small regional sellers that were required to
…show more content…
Bottled water consumption and sales have been increasing exponentially since its emergence as a widely-accepted commercial beverage category. The bottled water industry is now growing at 8% to 10% annually – about twice as fast as other beverages. In fact, in 2003 bottled water became the second largest commercial beverage category by volume in the United States, surpassing milk, coffee, beer, and is now second only to carbonated soft drinks.

d. Demographics (what is the industry’s focus customer) Another significant trend is product marketing and packaging. Realizing that consumers cite taste, quality, and purity as the top reasons for drinking bottled water, bottlers market and design bottles to display their purity. Other manufacturers seek to carve out a new level in the bottled water industry introducing high-end products. Another packaging trend in the bottled water industry is multi-packs. As current bottled water consumption grows, more consumers are turning to multi-packs to save time and money.

e. Governmental rule (tightly restricted, loose enough to give industry room to grow/compete.) Bottled water producers in the United States were required to meet the standards of both the EPA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Like all food and beverage products sold in the United States, bottled water was subject to such food safety and labeling requirements as nutritional labeling provisions and general Good
Get Access