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Cited by 42Water Governance and InfrastructureAmerican History and CultureGlobal Public Health Policies and Epidemiology

How Is a Bottled Water Market Created?

Brei, Vinicius Andrade·2018·WIREs Water
DOI 10.1002/wat2.1220
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Abstract

From the 1940s until 2015, while the French population grew 60%, the bottled water per capita consumption grew 2350%, from 6 L to about 140 L per person, per year. These figures rank France as one of the biggest bottled water markets in the world. Contrary to other top water markets, most of France's population has access to good quality tap water, which is trusted and consumed by most of its citizens. I explain this paradox, analyzing the creation and development of the French bottled water market. Based on data on the history of mineral water, marketing, and consumer behavior, I describe the origins and development of this market, highlighting the most important historical events and laws that created the economic and political conditions that shaped its structure and regulation. I analyze the influence of food and beverage groups like Nestlé, Danone, and Group Castel/Alma (Neptune), demonstrating how these companies radically reshaped the market structure through aggressive strategies of merger and acquisitions of smaller companies and their brands. I also examine how their marketing strategies and actions transformed the cultural meaning of water, gradually shifting from a banal, life‐essential good into a commodity that connects to a range of different cultural images, lifestyles, and changing consumers’ tastes and behavior. I also situate bottled water markets into the wider debate of water politics and policy. WIREs Water 2018, 5:e1220. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1220 This article is categorized under: Human Water > Value of Water Human Water > Water as Imagined and Represented

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  • Brei argues that while health is strongly embedded in the development of the French bottled water market, infrastructure and technical innovations from the Industrial Revolution improved the possibilities for commercial exploration of mineral waters.

    “Brei [15] argues that while the concept of health is strongly embedded in the development of the French bottled water market, infrastructure and technical innovations brought about by the Industrial Revolution, such as drilling for new sources and faster bottling processes, improved the possibilities for commercial exploration of mineral waters.”

    From Bottled Water: An Evidence-Based Overview of Economic Viability, Environmental Impact, and Social Equity (2023) · cites this paper as [15]

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Authors
Brei, V. A.
Affiliations
School of Management Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul) ‐ UFRGS Brazil
ORCID
Brei, Vinicius Andrade
Venue
WIREs Water
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2017-05-02
Volume
5
Issue
1
ISSN
2049-1948 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1002/wat2.1220
OpenAlex
W2612478959
Cited by
42
References
25
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 3
FWCI
14.63
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Water (publishedVersion)
Funders
Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) (201259/2004-4)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Water Governance and Infrastructure
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › American History and Culture
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology
Keywords
bottled water market, mineral water, market creation, market regulation, food and beverage industry, Nestlé, Danone, mergers and acquisitions, brand acquisition, marketing strategy, consumer behavior, water politics, tap water

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