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A tower of bottled water on display at the opening of the 11th China-Northeast Asia Expo in Changchun, capital of Jilin province earlier this month. [Wang Zhengdong/for China Daily]

Shoppers snap up upmarket labels with the industry projected to reach 86.5 billion yuan in 2021

Drinking upmarket bottled water has become chic for China's sophisticated shoppers.

The thirst for the right brands is growing despite rising prices as consumers go for the healthy option and leave fizzy, sugary soft drinks on the shelves.

Tang Min is a typical example of this new wave of conscientious customers.

She is a marketing manager at a Chinese boutique furniture store in Shanghai and buys an array of different kinds of bottled water.

In March, Shenzhen Ganten Food and Beverage released its Blairquhan series upmarket label. This included mineral and sparkling water priced at around 15 RMB a bottle, which was sold in hotels, cinemas, cafes, bars and luxury department stores.

The Blairquhan series was launched after the success of Nongfu Spring.

Based in Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang province, the company rolled out a high-end brand of mineral water in a glass bottle for 35 yuan in 2015.

International businesses have been quick to follow by dipping into this lucrative market.

In July, Reignwood Group, which distributes energy drink Red Bull in China, introduced Norwegian high-end bottled water brand Voss here.

A month later, Aoraki, the upmarket label marketed by French food producer Danone, made its debut in Shanghai and on e-commerce platforms.

"High-quality water sources are 'premium' among consumers," Li at Mintel said.

Indeed, this was evident in a poll conducted by the market research group about the retail habits of 2,965 shoppers aged between 20 and 41.

Mintel found that up to 71 percent of those surveyed last year were more concerned about where the water was sourced, compared to 68 percent in 2015.

Another 45 percent felt high-end bottled water helped provide additional health benefits, up from 42 percent in 2015.

"Consumers nowadays have become increasingly sophisticated and therefore look for value before paying a premium price," Li said.

In the process of upgrading China's service industry and traditional manufacturing industry, we insist on doing our own work, producing better quality voss plastic bottles and various plastic juice beverage bottles for higher quality bottled water at home and abroad.

This article is reproduced from China Daily