soft drinks: Health drinks

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Health drinks

Earlier this month, the global drinks giant Coca-Cola dropped out of an annual list of the world's top 10 brands for the very first time; having come third in 2010, the company found itself in 16th place, and the fall, analysts said, was in part fuelled by the fact that consumers are increasingly choosing "healthier drinks" over traditional fizzy pop.The shift in our drinking habits over the past two decades has been remarkable: the global rate of bottled water consumption quadrupled between 1990 and 2005, and today the industry is worth some £2bn in the UK alone. Over the last few years we have seen an explosion in enhanced waters – not only flavoured waters (Volvic's Touch of Fruit, Britvic's Drench, This Water, Pret a Manger's Pure), but also waters with added vitamins and minerals (Vitaminwater), electrolytes (SmartWater), not to mention waters that promise to aid energy levels, concentration, sleep, sex and relaxation (Neuro drinks). The predicted growth of the market can be judged by Coca-Cola's 2004 buyup of Energy Brands Inc (which makes Vitaminwater), which was the largest purchase in Coca-Cola's 115-year history.