This article takes a look at the 15 highest-quality bottled water brands in the US. If you wish to skip our detailed analysis of the bottled water industry, you may go to 5 Highest Quality Bottled Water Brands in The US.
Bottled water usage is high where there is a lack of trust in the public water supply services. This can mean two things: one, the quality of water being provided by public water supplies is not high-quality or may even be contaminated, and two: the consumers do not trust the quality of public water supply and prefer bottled water instead. As a small example: a report by WebMD highlights US tap water to have acidic water ranging from 4.3 to 5.3 on the pH scale instead of healthy drinking water which is supposed to be marked at 7 on the pH scale.
On the consumer side, there seems to be a rise in health concerns for the contents of bottled water itself, including the source, carbonation, total dissolved solids, and pH levels. This phenomenon has been highlighted in our article on the Best Water Damage Restoration Services in Each of 30 Biggest Cities in the US.
The popularity of bottled water has taken this market to a value of USD 26.12 billion according to a report by Coherent Market Insights. Extending beyond its current size, the same report has estimated that the bottled water market in the US is likely to grow at a rate of 8.42% from the years 2023-2030 and reach USD 33.221 billion.
This popular demand of bottled water is being met by a large variety of companies and is largely segmented. Private Labels currently take up around 25% of the total market according to one report by one report by the Beverage Industry. The same report indicates that the leading brands in the bottled-water market in the US are Aquafina, Dasani, and Glaceau Smartwater, capturing around 8.5, 8.2 and 6.7% of the total bottled market industry, respectively. Diving deeper into understanding these industry leaders, we see that they are run by familiar faces of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) making Aquafina, and The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) making Dasani and Smartwater both.
These industry leaders have utilized some key ways to reduce cost and move towards sustainability as a source of market differentiation. The most obvious example of this was The Coca Cola Company (NYSE: KO)'s move towards making Dasani's packaging from 100% recycled PET in 2022. Even prior to that PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP) after much deliberation launched aluminum cans as packaging for Aquafina in 2020. On the other hand, The Coca Cola Company (NYSE: KO)'s strategy with Smartwater for differentiation in the market has been through advertisement and endorsements. The most recent example of this is acclaimed actor Zendaya's endorsement of Smartwater announced in August 2023.
By this point, it should be understood that bottled water has a sizable and growing market and quality has begun to become a major deciding factor for consumers. The question then is: why does the content of bottled water matter so much? It is because not all bottled water is made equal. While there are differences in taste that may be important to consumers, the health impacts may be even more important. For instance, magnesium content varies significantly from one brand to another and this meta-analysis by the National Library of Medicine has highlighted that water with high magnesium may be linked to lower risk of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD).
Having understood that there is a quality-conscious consumer segment in the sizeable and growing bottled water industry in the US and that there is a benefit to having better quality water, we sought to rank the top 15 highest quality bottled water brands in the US.
Let's now head over to the list of the highest quality bottled-water brands in the US.
We sifted through each of these sources and selected brands that appeared at least twice in them and ranked the brands accordingly. The list is ordered in a way that it starts with the brands with the lowest score. This score contains two elements: one, how many sources mentioned them in a top 15 or top 10 list and two, How highly they ranked them in this list.
We weighted these two elements and gave a score out of 10 to each of the following brands to rank them.
Note: Please understand that our list is highly subjective and is strictly based on the methodology applied. It may or may not cater to individual preferences.
By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that uses a consensus approach to identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The website tracks the movement of corporate insiders and hedge funds. Our top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 stock index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). So, if you are looking for the best stock picks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders.
15 Highest Quality Bottled Water Brands in The US
15. Aquafina
Insider Monkey Score: 4/10
Mentioned in sources: 3/5
Score from ranking in sources: 1/5
PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP)'s leading bottled water product, and the most sold water bottle in America; Aquafina has a distinct taste that its consumers have seemed to develop a preference towards. This popularity has been reflected in most of our sources however the consensus amongst these sources seems to be that Aquafina is the ‘best of the rest’ instead of being a market leader in quality.
14. Core Hydration +
Insider Monkey Score: 4/10
Mentioned in sources: 2/5
Score from ranking in sources: 2/5
Core Hydration + is a leading bottled water product of the parent company Core (NYSE:CNM). Hydration + comes in three variants: Immunity, Vibrance and Calm. Each of these three variants is infused with different fruits to enhance the taste and contains varying health benefits. The commonality amongst all three variants is a balanced pH of 7.4. The branding in Core Hydration + is one that stands out and helps it rank high in most sources it gets mentioned in.
13. Poland Spring Water
Insider Monkey Score: 5/10
Mentioned in sources: 3/5
Score from ranking in sources: 2/5
Poland Spring Water is a well known name in households across America. However, what is less known is that Poland Spring Water is also just as high in quality as other bottled water brands that advertise their products in a more flashy way. Importantly, Poland Spring Water has an established supply-chain across the country that allows it to reach significant amounts of customers and an approval from the FDA that is similar to the likes of Nestle Pure Life or Aquafina.
12. Dasani
Insider Monkey Score: 6/10
Mentioned in sources: 3/5
Score from ranking in sources: 3/5
The Coca Cola Company (NYSE: KO)'s bottled-water product seems to have a specifically polarized following. Capturing around 8.2% of the total bottled water market in the U.S according to one report by the Beverage Industry. However, there seem to be largely varying reviews for Dasani across our sources. There is a distinct flavor to Dasani’s water and some have commented on it being too much like a soda. However, the statistics on its sales indicate that there seems to be a customer segment that is loyal to this distinct flavor and soda-like consistency.
11. Nestle Pure Life
Insider Monkey Score: 6/10
Mentioned in sources: 3/5
Score from ranking in sources: 3/5
Known world-over for their commitment to providing premium bottled water, and a global leader in the market, Nestle S.A. (NASDAQ: NSRGF) maintains a high quality to their core product. Started in 1992 as Nestle Waters, the company launched their current product -- Nestle Pure Life -- in 1998. However, the story of Nestle S.A. (NASDAQ: NSRGF)'s first bottled water product extends as far back as 1843 when Henri Nestle built a factory in Switzerland to produce lemonade and then bottled water. The far-reaching historical lineage of bottled water being produced by Nestle S.A. (NASDAQ: NSRGF) makes it unsurprising that this global market leader is where it is in the US market.
10. BodyArmor Sports Water
Insider Monkey Score: 6/10
Mentioned in sources: 2/5
Score from ranking in sources: 4/5
Presenting a focus on electrolyte rejuvenation and alkalinity, BodyArmor covers the majority of what is required in a high quality water bottle. This product is marketed specifically for sports due its coconut infusion and ability to rejuvenate electrolytes.
9. Mountain Valley
Insider Monkey Score: 6/10
Mentioned in sources: 2/5
Score from ranking in sources:4/5
Bottled in glass since 1871, the perhaps less-known but uncompromising bottled water product from the DSS Inc. (NYSE: DSS) is one of the highest qualities of water you can find in the market.
8. Smart Water
Insider Monkey Score: 7/10
Mentioned in sources: 3/5
Score from ranking in sources: 4/5
The highest ranked of any mainstream (above 4.5% market share) bottled water on this list and The Coca Cola Company (NYSE: KO)'s highest quality bottled water product. Formerly known as Ice Mountain Spring Water, this product has been around since 1996 in the United States. Smart Water markets itself as a ‘vapor distilled water’ making it one of the purest quality of waters in the market and has added electrolytes for taste and better hydration.
7. Voss
Insider Monkey Score: 7/10
Mentioned in sources: 3/5
Score from ranking in sources: 4/5
Earning its reputation as the go-to water for a slightly higher price point, Voss has gathered massive traction across social media. Voss has a distinct marketing strategy of connecting with Hollywood and trying to reach audiences as the ‘cool’ brand for water. To this end, Voss also sponsored the latest Sundance Film Festival. However, when prompted of what makes Voss different, its customers often do not quote its marketing but its commitment to quality and very low TDS of 45 parts per million.
6. Liquid Death
Overall Insider Monkey Score: 7/10
Mentioned in sources: 3/5
Score from ranking in sources:4/5
Continuing from the tradition of high quality bottled water from the foothills of hills, Liquid Death claims to be 100% sparkling water from the Alps, making it one of the highest quality bottled-water brands in America. The brand also aggressively markets its products as green and to this end has made aluminum packaging for its bottled water product instead of the usual plastic.
