The Natural Source Waters Association is today announcing the launch of a new category campaign, encouraging more young people to drink more naturally sourced waters.

The ‘Uncapped Natural Taste’ promotion is aimed at 16 to 34-year-olds and will be activated on social media platforms from next week.

With an investment of over £100k, the six week campaign seeks to generate interest and engagement in the attributes of natural source waters, such as health and naturality.

This is the first time in over ten years that natural source water producers have come together to communicate to consumers, creative assets will convey messages around the unique properties of natural source waters, including their taste and provenance.

It also underlines that the plastic bottles used by natural source water companies are 100% recyclable and it encourages consumers to recycle them when empty so they can be made into new bottles.

All our members are committed to using recycled content in their bottles and supporting a circular economy for their packaging.

Many people believe natural source waters or ‘bottled water’ is just tap water in a bottle, which is why they might choose to buy an alternative soft drink that they can’t “get out of a tap” such as sugar sweetened soft drinks. Natural source waters come from protected underground sources and are not chemically treated.

Instead, the water filters through layers of rock over many years, making them safe to drink, with the geology of the area giving each water its own unique mineral characteristics and taste.

In research conducted in May 2020 with 2,000 consumers, the top reasons for choosing natural source waters were taste, naturality and health, which all indexed strongly at around 32-33%, with purity also scoring well at 23%.

The ‘Uncapped Natural Taste’ campaign shows a young female adult skateboarding in an urban park, leaving a trail of graffiti behind her, which paints the picture of an ‘underground natural water source’.

The end frame includes brand logos from all the members of the NSWA and include a recycling message. Further information and the campaign content are available at https://uncappednaturaltaste.com/ .

This includes a 30 second film as well as the shorter films that will be activated across YouTube, Facebook and Instagram in a paid-for media campaign.

Kinvara Carey, general manager, Natural Source Waters Association said: “With the Government focus on tackling obesity, there has never been a better time to encourage healthier eating and drinking. Natural source waters are the healthiest drink on the shelf and have the lowest environmental footprint within the soft drinks category”.

James Pearson, managing director of Danone Waters UK & Ireland said: “We know that many people prefer the taste of natural source waters. Natural source waters are filtered through nature for years and have nothing added to them providing their unique taste.

“As a category, we want to help consumers understand more about natural source waters so they can make healthy choices.”

Les Montgomery, chief executive of Highland Spring commented: “Our category has a great provenance story to tell, and we hope this new campaign helps consumers understand what makes natural source waters special and different, by bringing-to-life the journey of the product from source to shelf.

“As responsible producers, we want to help consumers make informed choices that enable them to stay healthily hydrated, whilst ensuring it is easy for them to recycle their packaging after use.”

Michel Beneventi, managing director, Nestlé Waters UK said, “It is fantastic to come together as producers with a consumer facing campaign for the first time in more than ten years about our natural source waters.

“We are united in our passion for healthy hydration, preserving and protecting our natural environment and that includes reminding everyone that our packaging is fully recyclable.

“Every bottle counts, they are only waste if you waste them. I hope this campaign reaches young audiences and makes them feel good, not only about the water inside the bottle, but that they can help play a part in creating a circular economy for plastic.”