Bottled Water Price War Is Heating Up
What do you stop buying when you are broke? Bottled water. After a decade of rising consumption, bottled water sales are starting to trickle off — and companies are responding by dropping their prices.
The WSJ says that the price of Pepsi's "Aquafina" has dropped by half in some cases — and is still more expensive than store brands.
"It used to be $6.99 for a 24-pack, then $5.99," said Michael Bellas, chief executive of New York consulting firm Beverage Marketing Corp. "But $2.49? That's the lowest I've seen."
There is speculation that as Pepsi absorbs other bottlers and lowers its costs, the price could drop even lower. The botted-water makers told the WSJ that the low prices are just promotional and are common ahead of Labor Day.
Bottled-Water Price War Heats Up as Demand Falls [WSJ]
(Photo:Charliux)
Post a comment
Comments:
This doesn't affect me at all - I'm a tap water drinker. Yes I know not everyone has good, drinkable tap water but I do and I'm glad for it.
Fiji water is kryptonite. I don't quite understand why I like it so much, but I do. I think it has more to do with the bottle shape than the water, though.
We got a Brita Water Pitcher back in 2006 and have maybe bought a batch of store brand generic water twice for a cookout or party. I haven't done the money crunching to see if the cheap bottle water is less or more expensive than buying the filters but we just got tired of throwing away so many plastic bottles.
Between that and me working from home two days a week now I feel like I am in some way do my little part in saving our lovable blue globe.
@pecan 3.14159265:
I have to agree--I'm anti-bottled water in general, but Fiji is the one brand that actually does seem to taste better to me.
Tap water should be fine for most people. For those that it isn't a decent filter will fix that. I used Brita pitcher at college in Philly and the water stopped making me sick. At home, we've got a nice unit that sits beside the sink and is connected via a valve to the tap which filters great. With the added bonus of adding a much taller tap.
24 packs of poland springs have pretty much been 4 or 5 dollars as long as I can remember this summer, it was a locked in special
@treimel:
Same here, I have no idea what it is, but, Fiji water tastes better to me than other bottled waters, I should do some sort of taste test to make sure it isn't the cool bottle affecting my judgement.
I stick with Nestle PureLife, because for Reverse-Osmosis (highest purification recommended for drinking water), it's the best price I can find. Aquafina is another RO filtered product. If it gets cheap enough, I'll just buy that.
I only buy bottled water if we have a lot of guests and are having a cookout, or if I'm at work and desperately want to drink water. DC tap water tastes disgusting and isn't as safe as it should be.
@treimel: I was going to post this exact thing. I really hate bottled water but Fiji is very tasty. Dasani is probably my least favorite.
@pecan 3.14159265: And you can take comfort in knowing that you have much better access to safe Fijian water than Fijians do!
Fiji is... breath-taking!
...there's a very reasonable chance that your tap water is safer than any bottled water, even if it isn't as tasty. Municipal water goes through a lot of quality controls from a safety standpoint that bottled water simply does not.
My advice is always to use tap water...and if you don't like the taste of your tap water, get a filter or something. Besides, the amount of money people pay for bottled water is staggering...even if you pay $1 a gallon, it's wildly overpriced compared to tap water.
I've certainly noticed this change. The only water I drink is bottled water and have been doing so for about 3 years.
We have a filter in our fridge as well as a filter on our kitchen faucet. Tap water is fine, we refill reusable water bottles. Remember, tap water is more strictly controlled than bottled water. You're probably safer going with filtered tap than water that's been sitting in plastic for who knows how long.
We do buy a few cases for hurricane season though, so the lower prices will help make the emergency stash a little cheaper.
@pecan 3.14159265: Fiji water tastes like my parents' well water. If I'm forced to get bottled water, I lean toward Fiji because it tastes like home. I have filtered tap water at my house that tastes good so I don't get bottles unless I'm on a trip.
Water bottle + tap water = nearly free water.
The only time I buy bottled water is when I'm traveling and have forgotten my reusable bottles. It seems like such a waste of resources as well as money...
@dragonfire81: Check one thing.
Unscrew the aerator from your faucet and look at what's in it. You may be surprised at what you find; pebbles, slime, bits of mystery.
It compelled me to get a counter-top filter.
@YouDidWhatNow?: That may be true, but DC water lead levels have only met EPA standards in the last four years or so. And it really, really does taste disgusting. There's a slimy taste to it. I had considered a Brita filter for my office, but I already have one at home and I really don't feel like buying more filters. It's just more money that I have to spend, and I don't think it's going to make the water here taste any less slimy.
It just doesn't always seem worth it because I work in DC, I don't live there. So I only have to deal with the slime water for 8-9 hours a day. I have to get a new Nalgene-type bottle and fill it up at home in the morning because the water at the office tastes so slimy to me.
@YouDidWhatNow?: I wouldn't say "any" bottled water. I would agree on many bottled waters, though. Read my post above.
It's more important to know the method of filtration. Reverse Osmosis filtered water is not the most pure water, but it is the "just right" combination. UV filtered water for the medical industry is actually too pure, and would leech the plastic for chemicals.
@YouDidWhatNow?: You know that water travels pretty far through lots of old rusted pipes before it ever gets to your house. AND then it's gotta go through whatever crazy pipes your house may have.
So it may be perfectly fine at the plant but between there and your house how great will it be?
I still drink it but i use filtering in the hopes that it gets rid of some stuff. Though I rarely drink water.
@jurisenpai: I used to refill water bottles with tap until I let a bottle sit overnight and saw all the sediment that had settled to the bottom of the bottle. Ech.
@pecan 3.14159265: Reading this Mother Jones expose might make you reconsider the love for Fiji water. It sure did for me.
Original Story: [www.motherjones.com]
Fiji Water Response: [blog.fijigreen.com]
Follow-up Story: [www.motherjones.com]
@aparsons: As I said earlier, reading this Mother Jones expose might make you reconsider the love for Fiji water. It sure did for me.
Original Story: [www.motherjones.com]
Fiji Water Response: [blog.fijigreen.com]
Follow-up Story: [www.motherjones.com]
@Hanshiro: I've survived!
A counter-top filter is a good alternative, though, to just straight tap water. I keep meaning to get one.
We looked into getting a water cooler and having water delivered, but I finally decided that I could get used to the tap water where we live since it was a whole lot cheaper.
We do buy a case of bottle water about every 2 weeks. But that's for mixing with baby formula. It's easier to have the water out at room temperature, so that once the bottle's mixed, we can use it quickly without needing to heat it up or anything.
A good alternative is getting the 20 litre reusable bottles delivered. It's a better deal both economically and environmentally. Sure, it's not imported from fiji, but it does have a substantial amount of extra filtering over the water that comes out of the tap. That being said a case of bottled water does have it's uses. If you're going (car) camping it's super easy to throw one in the trunk, they also come in handy for BBQ's and other outdoor parties as well.
@outlulz: Filters.
But really, people, I'm sure the sediment, etc., isn't going to kill you. I'm sure the air you breath is 100 times worse.
@dragonfire81: Amen to that! I normally use my camelbak water bottle but this weekend I fund myself shelling out not once but twice for bottles of Fiji water. I love the way it tastes and I feel "oh so cool" when I am drinking out of one.
Thanks for putting up all three--I actually find Fiji Water's response the most convincing position.
@treimel: I'm the opposite. I looove bottled water (Deer Park especially) but Fiji almost tastes... slimy to me. The texture of the water is different. It's good water, but there is a definite texture difference.
Sorry Water Companies... this is the beginning of the end. Lowest price I've seen so far is $1 for a case of 12! 500ml bottles (and that's Canadian $. It's the perfect combination of overcapacity in the industry, recession, and the anti-bottled water movement gaining momentum. Demand is dropping fast and there's just too much supply.
I bet in the next 12 months, a most of companies and brands will go under and get bought out etc, and only the huge companies and those who sell value-added water products will remain.
Quitting my bottled water habit has saved me almost $800 in the last 15 months. I love my Britta
@pecan 3.14159265: Another one who finds Fiji strangely alluring. Not enough to buy it, thank God, but I'm happy when hotels give it to me.
@azsumrg1rl: I didn't know that about Fiji water, thanks. I still like it though, I just don't drink it because it's expensive.
@Skankingmike: A friend of mine who worked for the EPA recommended always running the water for a bit before you filled your drinking vessel. Alas, I do not always get around to this, though I could probably be really green and capture the extra as grey water.
Another side benefit is that it is cheaper to stock up on emergency supplies. I was at Costco the other day and 500ml bottles were cheaper than the equivalent gallon jugs.
And regardless fo your feelings on the whole "survivalist" movement, everybody should have water at home. Around here (DC area), mains have been bursting on a regular basis because of age. Better to have a supply at home in case a main breaks near me, than have to go out later.
@floraposte: Ewww. Unfortunately, I don't think the water fountains here can be rescued from this. I don't take the water from the break room sink because people put their dishes in there and when they're washing them, they start running the water and sometimes the sponge they're using touches the spout and that just makes me squeamish so I stick to bottled water because I know there are gross people who put their lips to a water fountain spout.
Rust really doesn't hurt you, though. I did quite a lot of technical writing when Atalanta was privatizing its water, and I gotta tell you, it put mre off bottled water; American water is just incredibly safe, even with the "last mile" problem you indicate. (You know it's not tested just at "he plant," right?)
The issue you mention (rust, in particular) go under non-health concerns like "turbidity." Hey, if it bothers you, it bothers you, but most complaints about water quality are (unsurprisingly) about things you can see and taste. What may be surprising, is that the majority of truly dangerous problems (cryptosporidum, viruses, many bacteria) do not actually manifest themselves that way.
@pattiesmart: It may not kill you, but why drink something that disgusts you? It's like saying, "that slightly molded bread isn't going to kill you, I'm sure the puffy can is 100 times worse." Point being that I don't want to drink water with sediment in it.
@chaoss13:
In Texas it seems that every single grocery store around has a RO water dispenser that will fill your own container with treated water for about 35 cents per gallon.
@azsumrg1rl: The good part:
Nowhere in Fiji Water's glossy marketing materials will you find reference to the typhoid outbreaks that plague Fijians because of the island's faulty water supplies; the corporate entities that Fiji Water has-despite the owners' talk of financial transparency-set up in tax havens like the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg; or the fact that its signature bottle is made from Chinese plastic in a diesel-fueled plant and hauled thousands of miles to its ecoconscious consumers. And, of course, you won't find mention of the military junta for which Fiji Water is a major source of global recognition and legitimacy. (Gilmour has described the square bottles as "little ambassadors" for the poverty-stricken nation.)
Also, the good water is bottled but the island residents only get water that is marginally-to-non-potable. I had no idea, not that the brand is meaningful to me at all.
@chaoss13:
If you want water about as pure as possible, you should see the crazy nanopure deionizing systems used in analytical chemistry labs. After distilling the water, it's pumped through a series of resin filters to remove all traces of organic compounds and metallic ions, before travelling through a .2 micron final filter. After all of this you get nice, pure 18.2 megaohm water at the rate of somewhere around 2 liters per minute.
In my lab, we have a water cooler/heater, but instead of getting the water delivered, we have a rotation where we take turns bringing our 5-gallon tanks to the RO place down the street (there are tons of these in Texas for some reason). It ends up costing 35 cents per gallon. The really nice thing about having a dedicated heater/cooler is that you can get hot water for making tea/instant ramen without having to mess with a microwave.
I like my water like my beer...on tap.
@azsumrg1rl: Thanks for the Fiji links. I didn't actually know about the PR profile, let alone the corporate issues.
There's a dollar store near my job that sells 1.5 liter bottles of poland spring and deer park for...$1.00! CVS and Rite-Aid want 1.60-1.99 for it. Blasphemy!