Bottled water flies off shelves as fizzy drinks go flat

[Jesus Malverde]

Amid retailers’ displays of ever-more exotic soft drinks — ranging from coconut water to lime and cardamom or pomegranate and blueberry — there is one beverage that is increasingly flying off the shelves.

It is water. Sales of plain bottled water are this year set to soar above carbonated drinks for the first time, according to Canadean, the market research group. That would make water the world’s best-selling soft drink.

The thirst for water has sparked intense competition for market share among the biggest producers — France’s Danone, Switzerland’s Nestlé, and Coca-Cola and PepsiCo of the US.

Sales of packaged water have grown globally at an annual average of 6 per cent since 2008, easily outstripping carbonated drinks’ 1.3 per cent, according to Canadean.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/74032ec6-f495-11e4-8a42-00144feab7de.html#axzz3Zup2Db4j

[Recursion]

1. From India, that is fascinating

Thank you.

[leftofcool]

2. Sounds like the people of India get it!

[GreatGazoo]

3. Sales of Coke in decline for a decade now

I think part of this is that most people can't afford to get sick. They are avoiding the high profile junk foods and HFCS. One recent study showed that cancer cells can metabolize fructose directly, eg. Cancer loves soda pop.

"These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation," Dr. Anthony Heaney of UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and colleagues wrote.

"They have major significance for cancer patients given dietary refined fructose consumption, and indicate that efforts to reduce refined fructose intake or inhibit fructose-mediated actions may disrupt cancer growth."

Americans take in large amounts of fructose, mainly in high fructose corn syrup, a mix of fructose and glucose that is used in soft drinks, bread and a range of other foods.

Politicians, regulators, health experts and the industry have debated whether high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients have been helping make Americans fatter and less healthy.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/02/cancer-fructose-idAFN0210830520100802

[longship]

4. Bottled water is an utter rip off.

For Christ sake, potable water comes out of your kitchen tap! And there is no difference between tap water and bottled, except that Nestle does not profit from tap water.

People who buy bottled water are stupid. I go to the grocery store and see idiots with baskets full of bottled water and I just shake my head.

Ignorance in the USA is appalling.

Apparently link is registration only.

[Lochloosa]

5. Totally Agree.

[Blue_Adept]

6. Oh, there's a difference

in many areas. There are so many places where if you just smell what's coming out of the tap in some towns, you'd never drink the stuff.

I'm all tap water in my house and town, but go a few towns over to Sudbury MA, and it's disturbing just the smell of it. No idea why. But if I lived there, there's no way I'd drink tap.

A lot of people also do bottled water for all sorts of events, so try not to judge too much about the WHY of people buying bottled water. It may not fit your narrative that they're all just ignorant idiots.

[LisaL]

7. Exactly. There is a swampy smell coming from mine.

[exboyfil]

9. We had great water out of our taps until

flooding five years ago. Then it became nasty, and I had to switch to bottled water and started drinking more soda. It is now back like before. I have sworn off purchased drinks this year (probably spent about $4/day for them before), and conservatively I am saving over a $1,000 this year by the change. It is also healthier. I get my caffeine fix by mixing Instant Tea during the day (pennies vs. $1.50) I like Instant Tea without sweetener (kind of weird I know).

[d_r]

8. its a story about India nt