Expansion of travel retail driving packaged water consumption in India: Canadean Research

A new Canadean report predicts that packaged water will overtake global carbonates consumption, reaching over 233 billion litres in 2015, while carbonates are expected to grow at a slower pace to around 227 billion litres. Back in 2010 the global population consumed only 170 billion litres of packaged water, compared to 215 billion litres of carbonates. Fiona Baillie, analyst at Canadean, says: “The speed at which packaged water is growing is evident. Asia and West Europe already have packaged water consumption levels above those of carbonates and this year East Europe is set to join them.”
Canadean’s research also shows that it will be emerging countries that drive this trend in the future, while western countries with traditionally high packaged water consumption will be slipping down the growth rankings. Germany, Italy, France and Spain are forecast to see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of merely 1% between 2015 and 2020, compared to 21% in India, 12% in China and 8% in Brazil. However, the US is predicted to keep its second place ranking in terms of volume, as consumers continue to shift to packaged water consumption due to health concerns.
According to the report, China and India are predicted to account for around 50% of the world’s additional packaged water consumption in 2020, consuming a total of around 45 billion litres more than in 2015. “With nearly one-third of the world’s population residing in these countries the impact is significant. Packaged water is often necessary in areas susceptible to flooding or other natural occurrences, as these often lead to water contamination and the spread of diseases,” says Baillie.
Due to higher temperatures and poor piped water infrastructure, ‘on the go’ hydration is becoming a key part of daily life in Asia, with many consumers taking bottles of water with them on their everyday business and travels. “India has seen a strong growth in 100cl bottles in rural markets, as locals perceive them as having good value per serving and being easy to transport.” The expansion of retail in bus terminals and train stations is the key to India’s strong ‘on the go’ consumption. “It assimilates packaged water, namely 100cl bottles, into the process of travelling and establishes it as the norm for all types of consumers,” adds Baillie.