Is bottled water a ridiculous product we’re paying for?

Is bottled water really healthy for you or is it just a ridiculous product that wastes our money? Here is the truth about bottled water and why its sales are booming in Australia.

The majority of Aussies starts moving away from juices and soft drinks and consume more water. Nowadays, the consumption of bottled water has dramatically increased with the boost of the health revolution. Yet, many people wonder if bottled water is really healthy or just a ridiculous product we’re paying for.

The popularity of bottled water

People in Australia are purchasing bottled water in record numbers.

According to Roy Mogan, about 27% of the Australian population drank bottled water in any given week in 2015. The most popular brand so far is Mount Franklin, which is produced by Coca-Cola Amatil and consumed by 40% of bottled water drinkers. The second famous brand is Coles Natural Spring Water consumed by 14% and Pump Pure Water drunk by 12.8% of Australian citizens.

The whole bottled water industry is a fast-growing market that is worth $736 million, IBISWorld states in their market research. More than that, revenue in the Bottled Water segment in Australia equals $1,042 million in 2018 and is expected to increase by 3.1% until 2021, according to Statista.com.

What water you are buying

Typically, bottled water is more expensive than fuel for your car. If you compare it to the regular tap water, the bottled one will be 180,000% more expensive. So what you are actually paying money for? There are two types of bottled water products: spring and purified.

  • Spring water is taken from the underground sources through a borehole. All the market leaders we’ve mentioned above fall into this category.
  • Purified water usually comes from rainwater or mains water.

It’s only up to you to decide what best suits your needs and budget.

How much water you should drink

The report from Australian website news.com.au demonstrates that we should drink about 4% of our body weight in water on a daily basis. For an average Aussie, this is approximately 3.15 litres. We usually get about 20% of water from food, so we should aim to drink 2-2.5 litres of pure water each day (more during exercise and in hot weather). If you are on a diet and want to know how much water should I drink to lose weight, you may consult with your dietician.

Anyway, water doesn’t contain any calories and it is recommended by the Dietitians Association of Australia as the best option. Just choose quality water and follow the recommendations not to make any harm to your body.

What makes bottled water so expensive

The cost of bottled water consists of several main elements: bottling, marketing, packaging, and transportation. One of the largest pieces of the cost pie is marketing. There are mountains of TV ads and marketing campaigns aimed at common people who believe that only bottled water is really “natural” and “pure”.

Is bottled water really healthy?

In some countries of the world where the quality of tap water is not good enough, it may be reasonable to buy bottled water for drinking. However, in northern and eastern Australia the main water supply has one of the strictest regulations in the world.

Therefore, it is absolutely safe to drink tap water. Ironically, the regulations for tap water are even stricter than those set by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) for other beverages, which makes drinking tap water even safer than consuming bottled water.

So, poor tap water quality only in certain regions results in increased reliance of this territory on bottled water. It is expected that population growth will contribute to increasing bottled water use for home consumption, which means its sales will continue booming.

Market trends and quality advertising make a huge impact on consumers. Just consider all the pros and cons mentioned above and decide what is better for you. Consult the dietician if you are willing to lse some weight and get professional recommendations on how much water you need to dring during the day. Keep yourself healthy and take care of your body!

Irene Kot
Irene Kothttps://irenekot.com/
Irene Kot is a blogger, a happy wife and loving mother. She shares lifehacks, tips, reviews and ideas with the readers in her lifestyle blog.
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