Liquid gold: Inside the billion-dollar business of water

Liquid gold: Inside the billion-dollar business of water

01.31.2025

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Liquid gold: Inside the billion-dollar business of water

The world’s most abundant substance, covering about 70% of the planet’s surface, seems to be flowing just about everywhere else on Earth too, from designer bottled brands to trendy reusable tumblers. Water is big business — and it’s booming.

Nectar in a bottle

With more than 1 million bottles of water sold worldwide every minute, the global bottled water market is valued at nearly $349 billion, and global sales are projected to almost double by 2030.1,2

It’s not surprising that the U.S. bottled water market represents an estimated $47.42 billion of that: Some 87% of Americans say they have a positive opinion of bottled water, firmly positioning it as the nation’s top selling beverage.3,4 As consumers increasingly turn to H2O as the healthy drink choice, water companies are flooding the market, touting benefits ranging from purity to taste.

Drink up

While some luxury water brands like Evian, Fiji, and San Pellegrino emphasize fresh springs and journeys from the Alps, underground volcanic acquifers, and mineral rich composition to compete, other companies are getting creative to untap opportunities.5

Liquid Death, a relatively recent player in packaged water, is taking its place as an industry disruptor. In lieu of talking about mountains and rivers, the brand promotes the notion of a rebellious lifestyle to appeal to counter-culture consumers. The skillful shock and surprise-style marketing, coupled with the brand’s clever packaging of simple water in cans designed to look like adult beverages, helped Liquid Death surge to a $1.4 billion valuation in 2024.6

Some major established water labels are also looking to boost sales through disruption — marketing a vision for the future. With an eye on sustainability, brands like Poland Spring, Primo, Pure Life, and Ice Mountain are shifting from single-use plastic to environmentally-friendly reusable and recyclable aluminum bottles and cans.7

Thirst quenchers

It’s not just the bottled water market that’s growing. Valued at $8.8 billion in 2024, the global reusable water bottle industry continues to gain momentum and is projected to reach $11.5 billion in the next decade.8

Whether people are looking to quench a thirst for environmental consciousness and sustainable solutions, a craving for convenience, or simply a desire to keep up on the latest trends, drinking out of reusable water bottles has become a phenomenon.

Companies like Stanley, Owala, Yeti, and Hydro Flask have tapped in by transforming basic drinkware into stainless steel status symbols and fashion accessories that display lifestyle choices.

While Stanley products have been around since 1913, the company’s growth trajectory changed in 2019: The brand’s gift of a 40 oz. tumbler to a social media influencer set into motion a chain of events that led to Stanley mania and a four-year soar in profits from $70 million to an estimated $750 million in 2023.9

What’s behind the craze? For some it’s simply they believe it’s a quality water bottle. While function is key, the fact that it also looks good adds to the lore. So good, in fact, that celebrities are often spotted toting the cups, and savvy limited-edition collaborations with Barbie, Starbucks, Target, LoveShackFancy, and others have led to product launches selling out within minutes, and 22,000-person waitlists for new releases.10, 11 Even Vogue partnered with the company on a bottle design deemed chic enough for Fashion Week.12

With so many colors and limited editions to choose from, it’s not unusual for some consumers to buy more than one. For those who can’t resist the urge to splurge on a variety of this everyday luxury, the feel-good factor — spending extra cash on something that’s good for both health and the environment — may help satisfy that unquenchable thirst. 

Read more: The cost of a cup of Joe is up 14%

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1 CNN, "The plastic water bottle industry is booming. Here's why that's a huge problem," March 16, 2023.

2 Grand View Research, "Bottled Water Market Size & Trends," November 14, 2024.

3 Grand View Research, "U.S. Bottled Water Market Size & Trends," November 14, 2024.

4 International Bottled Water Association, "Water Drinkers' Love for Bottled Water is Stronger Than Ever, Survey Finds," October 15, 2024.

5 TastingTable, "12 Best Fancy Bottled Water Brands," September 30, 2023.

6 The Wall Street Journal, "How Liquid Death Turned Plain Water Into a $1.4 Billion Beverage Brand," December 12, 2024.

7 The Cool Down, "Deer Park, Poland Spring, other bottled water giants are disrupting the industry with a major shakeup - here's how," December 24, 2024.

8 Future Market Insights, Inc., "Reusable Water Bottle Market," February 2024.

9 Today, "The Stanley cup craze: How a 110-year-old company went mega-viral," January 9, 2024.

10 E! News, "The Stanley x LoveShackFancy Collaboration That Sold Out in Minutes Is Back for Part 2-Don't Miss Out!," November 12, 2024.

11 MarketWatch, "This $40 water bottle reportedly had a 22,000-person waiting list. Here's what all the hype is about," November 21, 2022.

12 Vogue, "Behold the New Stanley Water Bottle-Exclusively Here," June 20, 2024.

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The Currency editors

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