Water sales are swelling

Fizz and flavours performing well

Highland Spring

SHOPPERS are looking for retailers to help them lead a healthier lifestyle. That’s the view of Highland Spring – sponsor of the 2018 Scottish Grocer Award for Health Promoting Retailer of the Year – and the bottled water brand reckons the stores that pay close attention to the category can benefit from some encouraging value sales growth.

Carol Saunders, head of customer marketing at Highland Spring Group, said bottled water’s lack of calories, sugar, preservatives or additives mean its the ideal drink for the health-conscious consumer.

“The increasing consumer and media focus on health as well as the imposition of the sugar tax, continues to be a major driver of product choice and is a significant consideration for consumers when choosing between drinks,” she said.

Saunders suggested that to really cash in on increasing demand for low and no-calorie refreshment, retailers consider the opportunities provided by sparkling and flavoured water.

“There is an additional opportunity for sparkling water, which offers a sugar-free soft drink option for consumers. Plain sparkling water is showing growth ahead of total plain,” she said.

“Flavoured water has been on the increase too as shoppers move away from heavy sugar content and is set to increase further due to the introduction of the sugar tax. In the past year, sales of still and sparkling flavour have increased by 11.1% and 11.9%.”