Non-alcoholic beverage retail sales breakdown in China 2020, by type

In 2020, bottled drinking water accounted for around 32 percent of all non-alcoholic beverage sales in China. In comparison, sports drinks took up only less than two percent of the market that year.

China’s bottled water market

In 2019, China remained the second-largest bottled water market globally, with a revenue of around 55 billion U.S. dollars. This was owing to not only China’s vast consumer base but also their preference for drinking bottled water. According to a Statista survey, approximately 46 percent of adults in China consumed bottled water regularly. China’s bottled water market is relatively concentrated, with its five leading manufacturers taking up more than 56 percent of the market share.

Nongfu Spring

In September 2020, the Chinese beverage maker Nongfu Spring accumulated a considerable 1.08 billion U.S. dollars funds from its initial public offering in Hong Kong, making its owner Zhong Shanshan one of the ten wealthiest people in the world. Nongfu Spring held over one-fourth of China’s massive bottled water market and generated a revenue of more than 24 billion a year.