Europe and US water dispense markets compared
Speaking at the Watercoolers Europe Conference in Lisbon last week, Richard Hall (right), Chairman of industry consultants Zenith Global, gave a detailed presentation on developments in the European water dispense market and concluded by offering a series of comparisons with the US market.
“This is significant because, in the past, there really was no comparison,” Richard Hall explained.
“30 years ago, the American market was huge and mature. The European market was tiny and just starting out. But Europe has learned from the American experience and is now closing the gap. Some aspects are surprisingly similar, some quite different.”
- At the end of 2021, there were 6.4 million water dispense units in Europe, compared with 8.6 million in the United States. The European figure includes more than 1 million pump units in East Europe.
- Both the European and US markets grew in unit numbers at the same rate in 2021, by just over 3%.
- Bottled water coolers make up the majority of units in both markets, with bottle-free point of use accounting for a slightly higher 27% in the United States, compared with 25% in Europe. The third main segment is bottle-free integrated tap systems. Point of use has a 39% share in West Europe and a much lower 7% in East Europe.
- The US market commands substantially higher revenue at $4.3 billion in 2021, compared with 2.1 billion euros for Europe.
- Bottled water throughput in the United States is also substantially higher for water dispense at 6.2 billion litres in 2921, compared with 3.6 billion litres for Europe.
Richard Hall then provided forecasts for both markets to 2026, with European numbers expected to rise by 14% to 7.3 million units, while US installations are predicted to advance by 15% to 9.9 million.
“30 years ago, the American market was huge and mature. The European market was tiny and just starting out. But Europe has learned from the American experience and is now closing the gap. Some aspects are surprisingly similar, some quite different.”
Further information on Zenith Global’s European and US Water Dispense Market Reports is available at www.zenithglobal.com/market-insights/reports.