Bad outlook for water good for bottling industry

Whilst the future of our water supply may be bleak in light of increasing consumption, the outlook for the bottled water industry is very positive. This is according to Dr Anthony Turton, who delivered the keynote address at the South African National Bottled Water Association's 'Bottled Water Business' Conference yesterday, 27 July 2010, as part of Africa's Big Seven Food and Beverage Trade Show (AB7) at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand.

According to Turton, a director of Touchstone Resources and a trained scientist specialising in water resource management, there are indications that 2012/2013 will be a bad year for this scarce resource - but this bodes well for bottled water suppliers and distributors.

Due to the decreased amount of available drinking water, consumers can begin to question the quality of their water. "A major opportunity arises in this case, as public perception of deteriorating quality drives demand for bottled water," said Turton.

He was also quick to stress the idea that water should be treated as a flux, constantly being recycled, as opposed to being managed as a stock. "Once water is viewed as a flux, we will see a shift towards consumers making the lifestyle choice of being custodians of the future, custodians of this precious resource."