What's the deal with flavoured water?
In recent years, our supermarkets have been flooded with waters flavoured with everything from apple to passion flower, as major producers and upstarts seek to capitalise on a diminished appetite for high-calorie soft drinks and increasing boredom with regular bottled waters.
These "waters" are universally marketed as the healthy alternative to soft drinks and boast of zingy flavours, "vitalising" effects and "hints of pure natural juices". While they are unquestionably a better option than traditional soft drinks, they might not be quite as wholesome as the manufacturers would have us believe.
Recent reports in Britain have found that some brands of flavoured water contain the equivalent of eight teaspoonfuls of sugar, and even those that are not loaded with calories are high in acidity and rely on artificial sweeteners, additives and preservatives to give them their flavour.
A study by a group of British dentists into the corrosive effects of flavoured sparkling water drinks was published in March and found that they "should be considered as potentially erosive, and preventive advice on their consumption should recognise them as potentially acidic drinks rather than water with flavouring". This is not the kind of conclusion that makes for comfortable reading in the offices of Coca-Cola or Pepsi. Both companies are relying on the popularity of flavoured waters among adults and children to keep their businesses strong as rising obesity levels force people to turn away from their core products.
Both companies have been falling over themselves in recent years to develop new brands or take over existing ones, and when it comes to water, money would appear to be no object.
Earlier this summer Coca-Cola spent more than $2 billion (€1.45 billion) on a three-year-old US water company called Glacéau Vitamin Water, which is, incidentally, part-owned by rapper 50 Cent - he pocketed $50 million (€36 million) as part of the deal.
In an Irish context the money isn't flowing quite so freely, but business is still good. Flavoured waters account for 14 per cent of the Irish bottled water market, worth €150 million annually, and are growing at more than 50 per cent year on year.
We are still some way adrift of the top European consumers - Swedes drink an average of 14.3 litres of the stuff each year, while in Britain people knock back 9.2 litres. In Ireland, however, consumption stands at just 4.7 litres.
Many of these waters have sugar (naturally-occurring or otherwise), additives and a whole lot of empty calories, although you'd hardly know it from the packaging or the positioning of the bottles in our supermarkets. The flavoured water exudes wholesomeness and sits comfortably alongside the non-flavoured varieties.
Only a close study of the ingredient list reveals the truth.
Nutritionist Paula Mee believes people may be buying flavoured water under the mistaken belief that they are buying something that is on a par with ordinary water, even though many of these products would perhaps be better classified as sugary foods.
It is recommended that we drink between 1.5 and two lites of water each day - but if this water were consumed via flavoured waters, the drinker would be consuming up to 40g or 10 teaspoons of extra sugar daily (or even more with the really sugary options). "It can certainly clock up the calories," Mee says. "People do need to be careful and it is far better to drink ordinary water flavoured with a bit of fruit or some natural juice." She says that although the market is exploding, "people should treat the flavoured waters as they would a sugary drink". In small doses flavoured waters will do no harm "but there is a definite danger that products such as these, which are quite plainly being sold as water, will be over-consumed," says Mee. She believes that legislation needs to be tightened to ensure the distinction between water and its flavoured cousin is made clearer. "It is not water, yet it is being positioned on the shelves alongside the ordinary waters and being labelled as water."
Frank Hayes is the head of marketing with the Kerry Group, whose Kerry Spring brand is the market leader in Ireland - it has approximately one-third of the flavoured water market. He points out that while there is sugar in its products, it is naturally-occurring and comes from fruit concentrates.
"We are all trying to get our children interested in products that are more natural and don't have any added sugar," Hayes says. "Yes there is sugar in our flavoured water, but in very small amounts when compared to the traditional soft drinks." Hayes also says that while low levels of the artificial sweetener aspartame are used in some of its products, multiple scientific studies, including reports from the World Health Organisation and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland have consistently given the sweetener the green light.
As well as adding a hint of lemon or a splash of apple to their products, water makers have also recognised that they can add a few bob on as well. Many flavoured waters cost well over 25 per cent more than non-flavoured options. While Ballygowan's non-flavoured water is currently on sale for just 70 cent a litre in Superquinn, its flavoured variety costs €1.19. A two-litre bottle of Kerry Spring sparkling water, meanwhile, can be bought for €1.45, while a similarly sized bottle of lemon- and lime-flavoured water is €1.79.
It is not about the extra profit margin, but variety and the health benefits, says Hayes. "We are looking for a bit of variety in what we drink, and that is where flavoured waters come in. I very much hold the view that this product is a healthy alternative and one that fits in with a healthy, balanced approach to diet."
