Bottled Water: Marketing Trick of the Century...Investopedia [View all]

[Stuart G]

http://www.investopedia.com/news/bottled-water-marketing-trick-century/?partner=YahooSA&yptr=yahoo

By Shoshanna Delventhal | March 11, 2017 — 12:22 PM EST
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After decades of strong growth, bottled water has surpassed soda as the largest beverage category in the U.S., according to a recent report by research and consulting firm Beverage Marketing Corporation.

Bottled water consumption hit a high of 39.3 gallons per capita last year. Over the same period, soda sales slipped to 38.5 gallons per capita, compared to 50+ gallons gulped down per capita in the late 1990s. The shift has been driven by a myriad of factors, including widespread concerns about the health of sugar and artificial flavorings and local soda taxes. (See also: Beer, Soda Cos. Get in on Sparking Water Trend.)


Tap Water Alternative as Soda Replacement

“Bottled water effectively reshaped the beverage marketplace,” said Michael C. Bellas, Beverage Marketing’s chairman and chief executive. “When Perrier first entered the country in the 1970s, few would have predicted the heights to which bottled water would eventually climb.” In other words, Bellas was speaking to the long tradition of drinking clean, free tap water. “Where once it would have been unimaginable to see Americans walking down the street carrying plastic bottles of water, or driving around with them in their cars’ cup holders, now that’s the norm.”

“The marking trick of the century” said John Jewell of The Week in 2014, relies on convincing consumers that bottled water is a healthier alternative to soda, when in reality it is an alternative to tap water. As consumers shied away from sugary soft drinks, major beverage businesses were able to play on the habit of buying a beverage by bottling a nearly free commodity in plastic and printing a label on it. Perhaps the greatest irony is that buying bottled water works against the goals of “health and eco-conscious” consumers by contributing to environmental degradation, supporting large corporations and spending 2,000 times what they would have compared to tap water, writes Business Insider.

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I had to post this here, just to let you know that politics is not the only area where people are conned. Where I live , the water is guaranteed clean. Our community gets it from Evanston Illinois, where they get it from Lake Michigan. You had better believe that it is ok to drink. But, as said above, and discussed in the article, some people are willing to pay..2000 times more than if they got it from the tap. That is indeed, "The Con of the Century" ...Very Interesting Article...