One of the first things Jane Wine did when she moved into a west suburban condominium 10 years ago was arrange to have bottled water delivered on a regular basis.
The dispenser holding the big, five-gallon bottles stood next to the sink, and when she wanted a glass of water or was ready to make coffee or tea, she turned the spigot instead of the faucet.
”I don`t smoke and I don`t drink much and that was my little treat for myself,” she said. ”I like water and I drink a lot. The (tap) water doesn`t taste good to me. I drink a quart just in the morning, between the time I get up and when I go to work.”
She didn`t know it 10 years ago, but she was definitely on the cutting edge of one of today`s big trends-the big splash of bottled waters.
Sales of bottled water increased 300 percent between 1976 and 1986, making it the fastest growing beverage in the United States. Wine is the second. One out of every six heads of household is now buying bottled water to drink on a regular basis, according to a survey conducted in November by the International Bottled Water Association. Five years ago, it was one out of 15. And it`s not just the flow of non-carbonated waters that`s turned from a drizzle to a gush.
The growing American love affair with bottled water also includes the bubbly, the waters that sparkle in the glass and fizz in the mouth.
Alternative to tap water
Americans are increasingly choosing bottled, non-carbonated drinking water as an alternative to water out of the tap. And they`re choosing the sparkling, carbonated mineral waters as an alternative beverage to alcoholic beverages and soda pop.
”Give me a Perrier with a twist,” is a common refrain heard in restaurants, and grocery buyers are stocking their shelves with bottles bearing such esoteric names as Peters Val, Poland Spring, San Pellegrino and Ramlosa.
Bottled waters are even being sold at ballparks, along with the more traditional hot dogs and beer.
”A few years ago, you couldn`t get this kind of water, but now there`s a tremendous demand from the consumer,” said Christ Kamberos, owner and chief executive officer of Treasure Island. ”Part of it is the health
consciousness, people are more sophisticated about what`s good for them. I don`t know if that`s true across the board, but I`d say it`s true of the consumer who is directing her (food) money toward quality.”
Although California, that boringly eternal cutting-edge state, leads the way with its consumption of bottled waters, Illinois is no slouch. We are fifth nationwide, after California, New York, Texas and Florida. Illinoisans drank almost 60 million gallons in 1987, up from 26.5 million gallons in 1983. (To give Californians their liquid due, they belted down an astounding 486 million gallons in 1987.)
What`s the reason for this growing fascination of bellying up to the bar and asking for a San Pellegrino on the rocks, or pouring a glass of Hinckley & Schmitt at home rather than holding the glass under the kitchen faucet?
The answer is many-pronged, ranging from outright fear over what might be coming out of our water taps to the current interest in fitness and health.
”One reason is because of what`s happening to the public water supply, the chlorination and the concern of contamination (as the water travels through pipes),” said William Deal of the International Bottled Water Association, talking about the growth of bottled drinking water.
”With the carbonated waters (sparkling), people are seeking alternatives to soft drinks and alcohol. We`re getting away from sugar, caffeine and alcohol.”
One office worker in Du Page County commented that an orange sediment was in the bottom of the toilets every Monday. ”It was after the water had been sitting there all weekend, and it wasn`t very reassuring. So now we have bottled water.”
Hot summers a factor
Hot summers was a factor mentioned by Dwight N. ”Chat” Chattaway, senior vice president for sales for the Chicago-based Hinckley & Schmitt.
”The hotter we get, the more obvious it is that the tap water doesn`t taste good. If you take water and drink it warm, as opposed to cold, you can get a pretty bad taste,” he said. ”One of the reasons the bottled water craze started on the West Coast is because of the weather. The pipes never get cold, you can let the water run for a long time and it doesn`t get cold.
”Here, the pipes get cold. But when we have a summer like last year, we taste the water.”
The health and fitness factor extends beyond the concern over what`s in the water coming out of a faucet. It`s part of a whole lifestyle.
Those who put a premium on exercise are likely to guzzle a sparkling water or some Evian (non-sparkling) after their workout rather than a sugary soft drink or alcoholic beverage; coupled with that is the trend away from long, alcoholic-filled restaurant meals.
”I think that five years ago, if an alcoholic beverage was not going to be part of dinner, you wouldn`t go out. Now we see more people feeling comfortable about eating out and not drinking,” said Nancy Sage of Sage`s restaurants. The Sage-owned restaurants were among the first to start a designated driver program in 1984, in which the driver was entitled to free, non-alcoholic beverages during the evening.
Nancy Wonderly, manager of the East Bank Club restaurant, reports the same trend.
”People are health conscious, but they still want to socialize with a drink, and they want something other than soda pop. Sparkling water is dressy and it tastes good. We serve LaCroix, San Pellegrino and Evian. Don`t get me wrong, we still have our cola drinkers but there`s definitely a trend away from drinks with sodium and sugar.”
Global irony
There`s a certain global full-circle irony in connecting water-awareness with health-consciousness.
”Taking the waters” at a spa has long been an accepted European practice. The waters were believed to have healing qualities. American spas, on the other hand, emphasize exercise and pampering rather than healing one`s ills through special waters: but spa-goers are urged to drink at least 25 glasses of water a day to keep the body healthy while undergoing the intense spa exercise regime.
All this water awareness means that Americans drank an average of 5.6 gallons of bottled water in 1987, up from one gallon 10 years ago. The water association`s projection is for more than 11 gallons per capita by 1996.
Trends come and go, as witness the martini which has come and gone and returned. Water will always be with us, one way or another; how much of it will come off the shelf and how much out of the tap is still an unknown factor. But for right now, water has become a hot item and the choices abound. The Ancient Mariner should have been so lucky. –
