Nestle & Danone To Drop Behind As Coke & Pepsi Look To Dominate The US Packaged Water Market?

A new report by leading beverage industry consultants Canadean, summarized at http://just-drinks.com/features-detail.asp?art=340, shows that US consumption of packaged water leapt by nearly 20% to 9.2bn litres in 1999. As the sector continues to grow, so does speculation over which companies will dominate it.

According to Michael Bellas, chairman of the Beverage Marketing Corporation, the PET sector is “consolidating at warp speed with the top five companies gaining 14 share points in the last two years.” But who will emerge as the top national players?

Canadean believes that the real winners will come from the cola giants as both Pepsi and Coke have the advantage of their brands being made from purified water — more cheaply and readily available than the spring water used by their competitors.

This, combined with their premium prices and massive distribution networks, should see them well placed to take full advantage of the water boom.

Canadean states: “Nestle and Danone play a leading role in the US market. Yet neither company has managed to build a truly dominant position in the packaged segment. As the US packaged water market continues to grow it is the cola giants which are beginning to take the spotlight.”