Although widely controlled and regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, bottled water is a big business with various degrees of quality. Consumers should pay close attention to bottle water labels and be aware of deceptive marketing practices to purchase the best water available.

Over half of all Americans (54%) drink bottled which as of 1997 was a $4 billion wholesale industry that continues to grow at a rate of 8-10% per year. In fact, growth of the bottled water industry is continuing to outperform other beverages including fruit drinks (1.4% annual growth), beer (.8% annual growth) and soft drinks (.5% annual growth). Sales of bottled water have nearly tripled in the last decade and according to a recent inventory, there were 700 brands of bottled water being produced from 430 bottling facilities in the United States (Marketing a perception of purity (1).

Sales usually means profits and according to industry stock analysts, profit margins for some bottlers range in the neighborhood of 25-30% and every $1.50 bottle of water sold brings in about $.50 in profit (Enormous Growth in Sales of Bottled Water (2).

In fact, the former CEO of Perrier Cor

poration was so impressed with the profits from bottled water sales that he stated:

Maner, Martin. "Women and Eighteenth-Century Literature." 14 Apr. 1999. Wright State University. 9 Aug. 1999 .

Lastname, Firstname. Title of a Sample Book. City: Publisher, year.

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