We drink more and more water

According to Euromonitor International, sales of bottled water acquires more than half of the volume of all Soft Drinks in Eastern Europe, and the demand constantly grows. With consumption per capita of 69 liters in 2021, there still is a large potential for growth and a projected increase of 15 liters per capita by 2026.

“Such positive performance lies within strengthening consumers‘ understanding of the importance of hydration and at the same time their increased will to escape sugar-containing drinks. That gives the stage to flavored bottled water – the product perceived as somewhat in between sweet drinks and unflavored water. The category receives strong interest from consumers and renews with new sophisticated product developments by manufacturers,” Julija Poliščuk, Senior analyst at Euromonitor International, stated.

In her opinion, added value – is another contributor to bottled water's strong dynamics, apart from healthy image and flavors.  This tendency is seen across all Eastern European countries with consumers looking to improve their health with basic everyday products.  That enables functional bottled water – yet a small fraction of the market, to register strong growth.

“For lots of Eastern European countries, bottled water remains and will continue to be essential, as tap water in the range of countries leaves much to be desired,” the expert added.

(WBJ)