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Consumers are switching to water as they avoid sugary beverages

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Re: Consumers are switching to water as they avoid sugary beverages

#61

Post by [deleted] »

usaphp wrote: post #27
hannob wrote: post #9

Good news. Now they should switch to tap water and it'll also be a win for the environment. (To anticipate answers: Yes, I know, in the US water often contains large amounts of chlorine and doesn't taste that good. And in poorer countries tap water is often undrinkable. But there's no good reason to buy bottled water if your water supply is reasonable, which is true for large parts of europe at least.)

I recently moved to San Diego from New York, the tap water here is unbearable to drink, it tasted horrible, like you are drinking mold, filters don't help that much, still tastes horrible. I won't drink that, never mind giving it to my kids

[deleted]

Re: Consumers are switching to water as they avoid sugary beverages

#62

Post by yazaddaruvala »

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #45

The soda companies will be just fine. They've been preparing for this for decades. Who do you think owns the bottled water companies? Hint: Dasani is owned by the Coca-Cola Company. Aquafina is owned by PepsiCo. They're only at risk if people inexplicably stop drinking regular bottled water and subsist solely upon San Pellegrino or other sparkling varieties.

FWIW: The article did address this. It claims that bottled water sales are low margin. Therefore, not equivalent to soda sales.

Re: Consumers are switching to water as they avoid sugary beverages

#63

Post by mhluongo »

wott wrote: post #39
semi-extrinsic wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apart from signalling that you have too much money and don't give a crap about the environment, why would anyone drinking just water buy bottled water every day instead of a Camelbak or Nalgene or Bobble bottle once a decade, and then drink tap water? Or even a Bkr if you're very fashion conscious? Is US water quality really that bad? Edit: and if you need sparkling water, why not get a Sodastream or equivalent?

I don't understand either, I am not American. Perhaps their water is swimming-pool ready and not human consumption ready as in civilised countries? Everyone has his own priorities.

With a couple high-profile exceptions, it's all human-ready. We all just have different preferences, and complain when we move somewhere where the water doesn't taste like "home".

Re: Consumers are switching to water as they avoid sugary beverages

#64

Post by usaphp »

Naritai wrote: post #48
segmondy wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is really and truly sad that USA can't provide drinkable water.

"Drinkable" and "Tastes like the water tasted where I grew up" are very different things. There is not one flavor of water any more than there is one shade of white. There's no evidence that the water OP refers to is actually not drinkable.

To be exact - It smells like water from a swamp. Hard to satisfy your thirst by drinking that nasty smell

Re: Consumers are switching to water as they avoid sugary beverages

#65

Post by [deleted] »

AlexandrB wrote: post #16
TylerE wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, in many places, it's pretty bad.

> Yeah, in many places, it's pretty bad. Can you please quantify that, because I'm still convinced it's mostly marketing [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drinking_water_quality_in_the_...

[deleted]

Re: Consumers are switching to water as they avoid sugary beverages

#66

Post by maxerickson »

mtgx wrote: post #41
arzt wrote: post #19

How is water lower margin than a sugar drink that has ingredients and is partly water? At my corner bodega they charge $2 for a 20oz Dasani (which is the same price as a comparably sized gatorade).

FYI, Coke's Dasani, and PepsiCo's AquaFina are both just tap water.

They both use reverse osmosis to filter the water, they could be locally bottled and end up tasting quite different than the tap water.

Re: Consumers are switching to water as they avoid sugary beverages

#67

Post by JoeAltmaier »

firebird84 wrote: post #47
hannob wrote: post #9

Good news. Now they should switch to tap water and it'll also be a win for the environment. (To anticipate answers: Yes, I know, in the US water often contains large amounts of chlorine and doesn't taste that good. And in poorer countries tap water is often undrinkable. But there's no good reason to buy bottled water if your water supply is reasonable, which is true for large parts of europe at least.)

In the US if taste is your problem put a filter on it. If you don't live in Flint, MI, this should be good enough.

Mine comes from my well! 110 ft down

Re: Consumers are switching to water as they avoid sugary beverages

#68

Post by ars »

firebird84 wrote: post #47
hannob wrote: post #9

Good news. Now they should switch to tap water and it'll also be a win for the environment. (To anticipate answers: Yes, I know, in the US water often contains large amounts of chlorine and doesn't taste that good. And in poorer countries tap water is often undrinkable. But there's no good reason to buy bottled water if your water supply is reasonable, which is true for large parts of europe at least.)

In the US if taste is your problem put a filter on it. If you don't live in Flint, MI, this should be good enough.

Even in Flint you can buy filters with lead reduction. I recommend the KX Matrikx 06-250-125-975, it costs about half a cent ($.005) a gallon.

Re: Consumers are switching to water as they avoid sugary beverages

#69

Post by mrob »

hannob wrote: post #9

Good news. Now they should switch to tap water and it'll also be a win for the environment. (To anticipate answers: Yes, I know, in the US water often contains large amounts of chlorine and doesn't taste that good. And in poorer countries tap water is often undrinkable. But there's no good reason to buy bottled water if your water supply is reasonable, which is true for large parts of europe at least.)

There's another good reason to buy bottled water: water is heavy. If you're walking or cycling somewhere you might not want to carry water when you can buy some at your destination. If you remove this option you might do more environmental harm than good by encouraging use of motor vehicles.

Re: Consumers are switching to water as they avoid sugary beverages

#70

Post by rconti »

AlexB138 wrote: post #10
semi-extrinsic wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apart from signalling that you have too much money and don't give a crap about the environment, why would anyone drinking just water buy bottled water every day instead of a Camelbak or Nalgene or Bobble bottle once a decade, and then drink tap water? Or even a Bkr if you're very fashion conscious? Is US water quality really that bad? Edit: and if you need sparkling water, why not get a Sodastream or equivalent?

It's quite bad, but consumer water filtration devices are cheap and plentiful. I personally use a water filter at home and work, and carry a decent quality bottle everywhere with me, so I'm not sure why others don't go that route. I have to assume it's just another example of rampant American consumerism.

Is it?

I drink tap water in the SF Bay Area. It's excellent. (Hetch Hetchy). But even in the south bay, it's quite good.

San Diego water is also very drinkable, as is Los Angeles.

Most recently I was in Vegas and Ohio, and in both places, while the water was not as good as it is at my house, it was perfectly fine.

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