Riding the wave of bottled water popularity, oxygenated water is now emerging rapidly from a small base. According to a new report from leading drinks consultancy Zenith International, the oxygenated water market in North America, West Europe and Japan reached 100 million litres last year, up 45% on 2001. Oxygenated water is water that is treated, combined or infused with oxygen.
“As consumers embrace the virtues of hydration, oxygenated water has found an opening amongst the health conscious,” commented Zenith Research and Development Director Gary Roethenbaugh. “Offering a claimed energy boost, its main challenge is to sports drinks. Yet, although it is growing fast, this offshoot of bottled water remains niche – taking less than 1% of total bottled water consumption in all countries except Canada.”
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Relatively expensive to produce, the consumer profile tends towards middle or high income earners that are either gym members or frequent visitors to health food stores. Other outlets include small grocery stores, pharmacies, petrol stations, beauty parlours and nightclubs. Supermarket distribution is largely unexploited to date. Most packaging is PET. A few companies opt for glass to achieve a premium position and arguably to retain oxygen more effectively.
“At present two key factors are holding oxygenated water back,” added Gary Roethenbaugh. “First – product choice and availability is quite limited, particularly in major retail outlets. Secondly – no international soft drinks player has yet embraced the oxygenated water concept. Indeed, there is a degree of cynicism about its real effectiveness. But, on the other hand, both energy drinks and oxygenated water are perceived to work by their regular consumers.”
Zenith concludes that oxygenated water will remain on the fringes of the mainstream bottled water market for some years to come, but believes that consumer support should sustain steady volume gains, enabling volumes to treble by 2007.
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