Bottled water, squashes & cordials: Brits guided by plastic

Brits are a thirsty bunch. This report marks bottled water’s ninth year of consecutive growth: as a nation we knocked back an extra 133 million litres over the past 12 months alone. But in today’s plastic-conscious society, tastes are changing. Packaging is now top of the agenda when it comes to shopper choices.

“There has been a call to action and you can easily see how it has changed the category in the last 12 months,” says Joe Benn, co-founder of canned water brand Ugly Drinks. “Plastic is a key driver of buying right now.”

Take Highland Spring, for instance, which launched the first 100% recycled plastic bottle into grocery earlier this year (see Top Launch). It’s pulled in an extra £19.8m, replacing Buxton as the UK’s third-favourite bottled water. That’s the largest gain of any brand in this category and the sixth-largest gain of any soft drink in this report. The brand’s channel marketing manager, Nichola Grant, credits it to a wide-ranging ‘Brave By Nature’ ad campaign, the hot summer and “a really positive” response to the eco-bottle.

CCEP’s Smartwater, whose bottles are 30% plant-based (they contain plastic produced with sugar cane residue rather than petroleum) made headway too. This year, CCEP has broadened its range with new packs such as an 850ml sports cap bottle aimed at the on-the-go market and 600ml multipacks.

Water’s challenger brands are also experimenting with alternative formats and materials. “There are now half a dozen or so water brands in cans that didn’t exist 24 months ago, and we’re seeing brands go into materials like Tetra Pak,” says Ugly’s Benn.

If plastic is the biggest influence in this market, health comes a close second. This is particularly true in flavoured water. The 2017 health-centric launches Robinsons Refresh’d and Rubicon Spring have this year come of age, leading to the biggest gains (in percentage terms) in the top 10 for their owners. “Consumers are still looking for taste, but are seeking a healthier alternative from the full-sugar carbonates or juice drinks,” says Nielsen client manager Will King.

Amid all this change, perhaps the biggest surprise is squash. Last year sales were plummeting - now the top five squash brands have added a combined £18.3m, thanks largely to premium NPD, says Britvic GB commercial director for at home Phil Sanders, who claims 2017 launch Robinsons Cordials has attracted “a new adult customer base”.

An average price rise of 0.9% across the segment “may not seem like much”, says Nielsen’s King. “But in a sector that has been declining in price for many years, driven by an increasingly important private label, this is a huge step for squash.”

TOP LAUNCH

100% Recyclable Bottle, Highland Spring

Highland Spring beat Evian (which this year said it would make all its bottles from 100% recycled plastic by 2025) to the punch with this launch in June. The fast-growing brand’s 500ml grey-tinged rPET ‘eco-bottle’ was trialled in selected Scottish Tescos and in London branches of Sainsbury’s in June, during which time it asked for shopper feedback, and a national rollout is now planned for 2019. A perfectly timed, commercially and environmentally savvy play.