After reflecting on the history of bottled water, the next question is, “How did it become a $15 billion dollar industry and surpass soda and soft drinks as the number one beverage?”
In short, years ago, the consumable drinks industry took notice of the dwindling infrastructure of our water systems. Through their marketing efforts, they capitalized on the rich history of bottled water and brought it to us all. Clean and safe water was now available for everyone.
They also capitalized on the health-conscious trend in numerous ways. Big drink companies (like Coke, Pepsi, and Nestle) understood that their traditional “Kingpin of Earnings” aka soda products had shortcomings in this new found health trend. So they adjusted and diversified. If you are gonna drink something, they want to make sure it’s one of their products. These companies acquired as many resources as possible to control the market and then turned on the advertising faucet – big time. Naturally, they sprinkled in enough truth to make their story believable and palatable. This equation created the $15 billion annual sales of bottled water in the USA.
Up to 70% of the human body is water. Water is a staple of life. We have always known this.
The Engineer’s Creed in disposing of waste (“the solution to pollution is dilution”) helps us better understand the importance of clean water. Most engineers would agree that much of our delivery systems and pipes are antiquated. That is a scary truth that provides a background of legitimate news stories about the safety of our water. Over the years, those stories have fed into the marketing pitch. Tap water bad. Bottled water good.
