Water in PET bottles continues US dominance, but soft drinks rebound

Austin, Texas — People drank more bottled water than ever in the United States last year, and more water than ever was consumed from single-serve PET containers.

Research from the New York-based consulting firm Beverage Market Corp. shows bottled water became the largest beverage category ever for the country in 2021, surpassing carbonated soft drink's all-time high of 15.3 billion gallons in 2004.

"There's no reason to think that will not happen again this year because bottled water continues to grow," said Gary Hemphill, managing director at BMC, Feb. 15 at The Packaging Conference in Austin.

Bottled water accounted for 24.6 percent of the U.S. beverage market last year, Hemphill said, according to preliminary results. That's up from 23.6 percent in 2020 and 18.7 percent in 2015.

Carbonated soft drinks (CSD) represented 18.7 percent of the total U.S. beverage market volume in 2021, up from 18.4 percent in 2020, but still down from the 20.3 percent total posted in 2015.

This uptick also can be expressed as a 2.2 percent volume increase within just the CSD category, a reversal from a 3.7 percent decrease in CSD volume in 2020 as COVID-19 curtailed movement and out-of-home experiences.

"One of the interesting things that happened last year is that carbonated soft drinks actually grew," Hemphill said. "It's kind of a big event if you are selling carbonated soft drinks or if you are drinking them. It's nice that the category has rebounded a little bit."

Last year's CSD rebound reversed a 16-year trend of consumption decreases in that category, Hemphill said.

Hemphill said that despite the increase, the uptick could be short-lived.

"I think the big question going forward is if this rebound is sustainable. We'll see about that," he said.

Even though CSD companies have endured eroding demand, the market has been able to counteract the volume declines with price increases. "On a dollar basis, the category is doing very well, lest you feel for the category," Hemphill said.

Milk, another beverage that commonly is packaged in plastic, had an 8.1 percent share last year, down from 8.4 percent in 2020 and 9.3 percent in 2015, BMC reported.

PET single-serve water bottles represented 71 percent of the total bottled water market in 2021, up from 70.5 percent in 2020 and 68.4 percent in 2015. Bottles ranging in size from 1 to 2.5 gallons were 7.8 percent of the 2021 market, down from 8.1 percent in 2020 and 9.3 percent in 2015.

Home and office delivery, another category that uses plastic bottles, was at 9.3 percent of the total last year, equal to 2020's totals, but down from 11.6 percent in 2015, BMC reported.

Overall, plastic, metal and glass represents more than 90 percent of the beverage packaging used, BMC reports.

"Over the last five years, plastic has seen the most growth due mostly to the success of the bottled water category while cans increased in 2021," according to Hemphill's presentation.

Plastic held 45.8 percent of the packaging market share for all beverages in 2021, down slightly from 45.9 percent in 2020, but up from 41.4 percent in 2015. Metal cans were at 37 percent last year, up from 36.2 percent in 2020 and 36.9 percent in 2015. Glass, meanwhile, checked in at 11.4 percent in 2021, 11.7 percent in 2020 and 14.3 percent in 2015.

Paper was 4.3 percent last year, 4.5 percent in 2020 and 5.3 percent in 2015. And all other packaging was 1.5 percent in 2021, 1.6 percent in 2020 and 2.2 percent in 2015, BMC said.

Bottled water consumption has been growing for years and was up again by 4.5 percent in 2021. That followed a 4.1 percent increase in 2020 and a 3.7 percent increase in 2019. Increases in previous years included 4.9 percent in 2018; 6.1 percent in 2017; 7.9 percent in 2016; and 7.6 percent in 2015, Hemphill reported.

While bottled water continues to lead in beverage sales, the category also rose in price in 2021 by 6.4 percent, BMC reported. That compares with an overall average increase of 7.8 percent for all beverage categories. Sports beverages were tops, with a 12.7 percent increase in 2021, followed by carbonated soft drinks at 9.4 percent. Sparkling and seltzer water was up 6.1 percent, and enhanced water was up 4.7 percent.

"Beverages experienced unprecedented retail price increases in 2021 with some segments still seeing accelerations. Higher prices are likely to continue well into 2022," according to Hemphill's presentation.