History

Bottled Water

According to Nestle, the origins of bottled water products can be traced back to the earliest civilizations. Well aware of water’s health benefits, the Romans searched for and developed drinking water sources as they set about establishing their empire. According to legend, after crossing the Pyrenees, Hannibal, the famous general of the Carthaginian army, rested his troops and elephants at Les Bouillens in France, the location of the Perrier drinking water spring.

Spa Movement

The spa movement that began to emerge in Europe in the eighteenth century had its origins in baths dating from Roman times. Science and medicine touted natural mineral water’s beneficial effects for bathing, showering and drinking.

Cold spa waters were bottled for the first time in France in the 1850s. The legal permit to bottle Vittel Grande Source natural mineral water was granted as early as 1855. Perrier followed in 1863, and other European countries a few years later. In 1903, Vittel Grande Source and Hépar natural mineral waters were declared “d’intérêt public” (“of public interest”) by the French authorities.

Water spas and the bottling of natural mineral waters had also become well established in North America at that time. In 1845, Poland Spring water was bottled for sale in three gallon demi-johns. In South America, São Lourenço bottled water appeared in Brazil in 1890.

Consumption Changes

In the early days, consumption of bottled natural mineral water was the privilege of the haute bourgeoisie, captains of industry, politicians, royalty, and so on. It was bottled in glass or stoneware, with porcelain or cork stoppers. By the mid-nineteenth century, however, the development of railways and the emergence of industrial production techniques were gradually transforming the business. Bottling methods changed as consumption spread, and by the mid-twentieth century, global production had climbed to several hundred million bottles.

Vittel revolutionized the market in 1968 by launching the first plastic bottle – aimed at more general public consumption. It supported its launch with an advertising campaign emphazising vitality rather than medical benefits. In the mid-1980s, another revolution moved the market forward with PET (polyethylene terephtalate), a new recyclable plastic material that became the packaging benchmark worldwide. This new, lighter, stronger material improved packaging practicality to meet evolving consumer needs.

Natural Mineral Water

Natural mineral water distinguishes itself from other bottled waters by its underground origin, its unique stable composition of minerals and trace elements, its original purity, and its claimed health benefits. To avoid any alteration, natural mineral water must be bottled at the source and can undergo only a strictly limited number of expressly authorized treatments.

Today, other categories of bottled water exist, including spring water and specially formulated drinking water. They have to meet certain well-defined standards. When necessary, treatment is allowed to reduce, remove or prevent chemical substances or the growth of pathogens.

More and more people around the world are recognizing the health benefits of drinking water and are showing their preference for the taste and convenience of bottled waters. This is reflected in an annual growth rate of 9 percent since 1997, with the global bottled water market totaling 126 billion litres in 2002.