Research Report On Sparkling Water

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RESEARCH REPORT ON SPARKLING WATER

SUBMITTED BY:
YUEXIU (ANITA) WANG

SUBMITTED TO: JOHN COWPER

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction
3. Methods
4. Results
5. Discussion / Interpretation of Results
6. Conclusion
7. Recommendations

Sparkling Water Research Summary

Executive Summary (Summary or Abstract)
Those of us who find regular water boring often choose sparkling water as a more satisfying alternative, “Is sparkling water better or worse for you than still water?” The answer you will find on the Internet is that sparkling water isn’t necessarily any better or worse for you from a nutritional standpoint than tap water. But is it equally good for you?
The aim of the report was to find out the preference level of respondents regarding sparkling water, the health benefit of the sparkling water and what makes people buy certain brands of sparkling water.
Introduction
Sparkling water, also called soda-water, is plain water that has carbonation added to it. Carbonation makes the water fizz and is the same exact ingredient that makes soda pop fizz. Sparkling waters are often consumed on their own and can be served either plain or with a twist of lemon or lime as garnish. They may also be used as the base for various cocktails or sodas. Regular water is just water in its natural form.
So now that the differences are clarified, is sparkling water good for you? Almost every site you visit or resource you consult will disagree. For instance, some will say that carbonation can help alleviate upset stomach and constipation; others will say that carbonated water does nothing more for your body than make you belch. Still others say that carbonated beverages cause gas in the digestive tract. In fact, some people find it irritates their digestive tract over time.
Water purists usually recommend that topping up on still water, rather than sparkling, is the route through to tiptop well-being. However, my eye was caught by a recent study which suggests that sparkling water may sometimes offer superior health benefits to still water.
Australian market research organization found that between January 2009 and December 2013, consumption of unflavoured sparkling mineral water increased slightly from 7 per cent to 8 per cent. As consumer preferences shift away from sugary soft drinks such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi, and towards other ‘healthier’, more ‘natural’ sparkling beverages, we’ve seen increased marketing activity in this segment, from Samsung recently launched a new French Door fridge with built in Sodastream, you can make your own sparkling water with one simple press.

The age factor

Sparkling (non-soft) drinks were especially popular with the Baby Boomer generation, with 16 per cent drinking mixers and 10 per cent drinking unflavoured sparkling mineral water in an average seven-day period. Both these figures were above the national average.

Pre-Boomers also had a taste for mixers (17 per cent drink them in an average seven days), but were not so sold on sparkling mineral water (7 per cent).

Roy Morgan Research said the younger generations (Y and Z) tended to be less enamoured of mineral water and mixers and were more likely to drink soft drinks than the Boomer generations. However, even their consumption of soft drinks appeared to be gradually declining.

“While younger Australians aren’t quite as keen on unflavoured sparkling mineral water and mixers as their older counterparts, the overall move to these drinks is changing the nature of the non-alcoholic beverage market,” Ms Smith said.

“Not only are we moving gradually away from soft drinks, but fewer of us are drinking fruit juices, energy drinks and sports/health drinks than were five years ago too,” Ms Smith said. “It seems our tastes are slowly but surely evolving towards ‘lighter’, less heavily flavoured beverages,” she said.

Roy Morgan Research said its new