Bottled water industry has long been considered as one of the rivals of carbonated water industry. There are many types and varieties of bottled water. There is well water, distilled water, mineral water or spring water, packaging of plastic water in plastic or glass water bottles. There is a variety of bottled water that is carbonated as well. Sizes when we talk about bottled water ranges from small bottle that is enough for one serving to large containers and water coolers. There has been much speculation about bottled water industry as a whole. There are many claims by customers as well that bottled water industry is a scam and not really working the way it is expected to do so (Wilk, 2006, p.325). The bottled water industry is also to be said to be involved in creating environmental issues and problems. There are many economists that have shown that even though the bottled water industry is creating huge revenues, this is despite the fact that Britain is running one of the finest water supplies in the world.
But on the other hand, this is one of the more marketable products. Even last year, this was one of the most profitable businesses in UK. There are many bottled water companies who have become success story in this “business” of bottled water industry (Wilk, 2006, p.325). The economic environment in bottled water industry operates in very interesting and intriguing to say the least. The competition level is quite high as there are many local manufacturers who are performing rather well (Spar & Bebenek, 2008, p.100). But if we look at the costing structure of this business, it can be seen that overall per unit cost is always on the lower side.
Bottled Water Industry, Global Economic Perspective
The global bottled water industry is one of the expanding and growing businesses in Britain. Even if we look at global statistics, they are a sign of encouragement, as it there are estimates that bottled water industry will reach the revenue of about $ 70 billion in 2017. The most important factor that can be seen for the eventual success of bottled water industry is that there is ever growing demand for it due to the increased population (Wilk, 2006, p.325). Another very important factor from the economic and business point of view is that consumers these days are more sceptical about their health. Whenever they go for certain brand of bottled water, they are showing some sort of belief in that brand. Other factors that will drive the demand are lifestyle trends, growing number of airlines businesses that are operating in a country (Ferrier, 2001, p.119).
Even if one looks at some of the developing markets, like Asia and Middle East, there seems to be barrage of bottled water brands making an entry over there. This is possible due to the fact that there is ...