In 2011, total bottled water sales in the U.S. hit 9.1 billion gallons--29.2 gallons of bottled water per person, according to sales figures from Beverage Marketing Corp. The 2011 numbers are the highest total volume of bottled water ever sold in the U.S., and also the highest per-person volume. Translated to the handy half-liter size Americans find so appealing, that comes to 222 bottles of water for each person in the country--four bottles of water for every man, woman and child, every week.
Charles Fishman’s book, Big Thirst, is now available in paperback with a whole new chapter. Indeed, bottled water sales aren’t just growing--it’s fair to say they’re booming. Volume increased by 4.1% in 2011--five times as fast as the 0.9% growth in the sales of beverages overall, according to Beverage Marketing. Bottled water sales, in fact, are growing twice as fast as the economy itself.
