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What's On Tap?: Market Trends Financial Analysis Myths Dispelled

This document summarizes trends in the bottled water market and compares bottled water to tap water. It notes that bottled water consumption has grown enormously in the US, with Americans now spending $89 billion per year on bottled water, despite tap water being much cheaper at $32 million per year. However, bottled water is often just tap water in a bottle. The document also discusses common myths about bottled water being healthier or safer than tap water and the environmental impacts of producing and disposing of billions of plastic water bottles each year. It concludes that bottled water generates a huge amount of waste while charging exorbitant prices for a product that is often just rebottled tap water.

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Heinrichjohannes
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58 views18 pages

What's On Tap?: Market Trends Financial Analysis Myths Dispelled

This document summarizes trends in the bottled water market and compares bottled water to tap water. It notes that bottled water consumption has grown enormously in the US, with Americans now spending $89 billion per year on bottled water, despite tap water being much cheaper at $32 million per year. However, bottled water is often just tap water in a bottle. The document also discusses common myths about bottled water being healthier or safer than tap water and the environmental impacts of producing and disposing of billions of plastic water bottles each year. It concludes that bottled water generates a huge amount of waste while charging exorbitant prices for a product that is often just rebottled tap water.

Uploaded by

Heinrichjohannes
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 18

Whats on Tap?

Market Trends

Market Growth & Comparative Markets

Financial Analysis
Myths dispelled

Reason (given) to believe


Safety
Quality
Purity

Environmental Impact

Fiji case study


Source problems
Disturbance of Delicate Ecosystems

Alternatives

Conclusions

Market Trends

Changes in U.S.
Consumption Over 5 Years

Financial
Typical Price

Standardized
Price

W.W. Bottled
Water
Consumption

yearly

Tap Water

$1.52/HCF*

$0.000357/L

89 billion L/yr

$32 million

Bottled
Water

$1.00/Liter

$1.00/L

89 billion L/yr

$89 billion

Difference

$88.97
billion

Factor

2800x more

*HCF =
Hundred
Cubic Feet

Why do people drink bottled


water?
Alternative to other beverages
Trendy
Luxurious
Convenience

Worries about tap water


Bottled water is purer.
Bottled water is just safer.

Differently regulated (see regulation slide)


Hype, myth, and propaganda

Perception of difference
Bottled water tastes better.

Placebo effect
Caters to different tastes (preferences)

Bottled water is better than tap water


3 out of 4 cases, it is tap water

Brand

Source

Aquafina

Pepsi bottling plants

Dasani

CocaCola bottling
plants

Yosemite Waters

Los Angeles, CA

Alaskan Falls

Worthington, OH

Everest

Corpus Christi Texas*


*Listed on the bottle
Source: Corpus Christi
Municipal Water Supply

Healthier?
Myth: BW is healthier than tap water
Truth: BW not regulated to check for parasites and certain

other microbes.

See regulations slide (next)

Myth: Water bottles leak carcinogens into water if you reuse

bottles.
Truth: Bottled Water (BW) does have an expiration date.
Extended exposure to heat and light leeches plasticizers and

terephthalates into water.


However, infinite shelf life when stored under optimum conditions
Enough to kill?

Re-using Plastic Bottles


Bottles do not leak carcinogens over short time that are

harmful
Bacteria can grow in the bottles due to trace amounts of
water left behind when sitting for several days
Cleaning and sanitizing bottles after 1-2 days of use
eliminates bacteria makes bottle safe again
Nothing from the bottle is cause of sickness, bacteria that
grows from water left in the bottle.

Safer? - Regulation of water


Tap water EPA Regulated
Purity requirements more limitations than FDA

Bottled water FDA Regulated


Standards of identity
Must ensure truth in advertising = declare your source
Final product must be at least as pure as source

% Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in mineral water


Sparkling water may have no more CO2 dissolved than source
May remove and replace up to limit

Limits on Chemical, Microbial, and Radiological

Contamination
But

No test for Parasites, E. Coli, Cryptosporidium, Giardia


No test for Asbestos
No test for Organics such as Benzenes

Regulation Issues
Comprehensive database at www.ewg.org for

contaminants in public tap water


No database/ information for contaminants in bottled
water.
Claims of purer water
Ohio State study of 57 bottled water samples, 15 had higher

bacteria contents than tap water


Others were more pure than tap water
All were deemed safe to drink

Tastes Better? - Perspective


Penn and Teller (Showtime fame) Fooled customers at a

San Francisco Restaurant with bottles of water filled from


the restaurants tap
Customers thought it tasted better and was more fancy
than tap water
Taste test using New York City water and 5 name brands,
NYC water tied for 3rd with water from Iceland.
Last place Evian (most expensive), First place K-mart
brand water

Limitations of FDA
Regulation
Loophole: regulates only BW for interstate commerce
Reliance on state regulation
The FDA relies on state and local government agencies to approve

water sources for safety and sanitary quality

1 in 5 do not regulate

Unequal protection
Devotion of half of time of one FDA inspector for every 100 EPA water

quality inspectors
Low priority for inspection under General Food Safety Program
Reliance on voluntary declaration of violations

Environmental Impact
Solid Waste
Effective recycling rate = 34.1 %
Recycling

problems

FDA regulations
food surfaces materials = one
time use
Saturation of market for recycled
PET

Total waste mass


998 million tons/yr

Uses mass amounts of

gasoline and oil to ship water


across the country and around
the world.

Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate)

Water Resource
Impact
Water resources
Privatization of water
Water rights
Ethical issue

Especially in third world and water-poor countries

Source Depletion
Damage to delicate ecosystems
Coastal land drilling salt water intrusion damages soil quality
Spring water can drain streams and riverbeds miles away

Question

of water rights

Ground water common source of well water

Carbon Impact
Fiji Case Study: One bottle of Fiji Water
CO2 emissions
Production in China 93g (3x mass PET)
Transport to Figi 4g
Transport of filled bottles to US 153g

Total Impact: 250g CO2/bottle


Energy cost of PET production, filling and transportation

is equivalent to filling each bottle


full of oil.
Price to consumer - $2.50/bottle

Alternatives to Bottled Water


Consumers say bottled water is convenient
Use Nalgene or other reusable bottle and bring with you
Containers must be cleaned regularly to prevent bacterial

growth. May be cleaned hundreds of times.

Public water fountains


Purifying with Brita and other filters if worried about

quality

Conclusions
Billion Dollar Industry
Charging exorbitant prices
Marketing and hype

Using existing technology and equipment


Often already paid for with tax dollars

Generating culture of distrust, disposability and waste


Alternatives: Nalgenes and other washable safe containers

Questions?
When will the growth of bottled water slow down?
With increasing use in developing countries (India,

China), will cost of water continue to rise?


Water quality is heavily regulated in the US, should
municipalities be selling their water for profit versus large
corporations paying fractions of cents to sell for 2800 X
profit?
How long until FDA imposes stringent standards on
bottled water?

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