In the shelves of the very chic Grande Epicerie de Paris, in the 7th arrondissement, a display stands out in the middle of luxury products. Mineral waters are now tastefully presented on delicatessen shelves. Larger public, supermarkets have also tackled this new market which seems to have prospered in recent years. On the shelves, water has now become a luxury item, like a bag or a watch.
Same observation on the Internet where sites have specialized in this micromarket, such as Watershop which offers the “largest choice of luxury waters in the world”. For individual bottles, prices vary between 3 and 7 euros for the most part. But some will reach greater heights, like the 75 cl bottle of Svalbardi, sold at 56.87 euros. “The northernmost water in the world, one of the most exclusive, in any case one of the rarest and purest. The water comes from millenary ice (up to 4,000 years old!) detached from the icebergs of the Far North”, promises the seller.
The importance of the container
Still other bottles sell all sorts of benefits. The Sip Sap – “organic birch water extracted in the spring directly from the trunks of trees in the heart of the forest” – guarantees a drink rich in vitamins and minerals, while the Black Detox Water based on activated carbon claims to be “very good for the digestion, for the skin, the hair and many other recognized virtues”. The packaging is also very studied, we do not only sell water, but bottles with geometric shapes in materials always studied.
Alexis Durand is “water sommelier” for the Watershop site and for him mineral water is important, because it is above all “100% natural”. “It is forbidden to touch it. As it is in nature, it is found in the bottle, with the exception of filtration for any microparticles. That’s why we say “pure”. All spring or natural mineral waters are drawn and bottled at the source and are all unique, with more or less minerals, more or less taste, freshness and taste. You guessed it, Alexis Durand is opposed here to tap water which would contain “pollutants and chemical cocktails never studied”.
But for the “water sommelier”, the expression “luxury water” is not justified. “We talk about ‘premium’ or ‘well-being’ waters because it is above all about our health”, he describes. In reality, for him, it would be necessary to vary his choice of water. “It never occurs to anyone to eat a single meal every day. It is the same with the waters”.
“A rather extraordinary tap water”
But isn’t the reappropriation of this resource by industry a bit of a straw that broke the camel’s back? Indeed, in France, drinking water is permanently accessible and today it seems disproportionate to transform this resource into a luxury good. “We are lucky to have tap water of good quality and controlled. We can drink it without health risk and it makes it possible to meet essential needs”, reassures Agathe Euzen, researcher and head of the water unit at the CNRS and author of Everything you need to know about tap water.
So certainly sometimes, the water can have changing tastes, like in the Paris region where limestone sometimes takes over. “Water is specific to the environments it passes through. Depending on the region, its quality and composition therefore vary,” says Agathe Euzen. Before tempering: “But even if we like it less, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t meet drinking standards. Tap water is completely consumable in mainland France. »
Make rare the most accessible
What is more, marketing water and giving it a “luxury” value makes it lose its primary interest: its great accessibility to all and at very low prices. According to the Selectra website, “on average, the price of water is estimated at 4.3 euros per m3 on January 1, 2021, i.e. 2.11 euros per m3 for drinking water and 2.19 euros per m3 for sanitation”. “It’s hard to compare with bottled water, some of which are sold at very high prices,” says Agathe Euzen.
To justify the price, most luxury waters play on the container, like Icelandic water that sculpts the rocks of a volcano on its bottle. “The bottle itself conveys a social value that can be accessed quite easily on an occasional basis”, imagines Agathe Euzen. Beyond the container, the content also becomes essential to our daily lives. We are offered rich and pure waters from distant lands “Over 5,000 years ago, long before the first humans reached faraway Iceland, a massive volcanic eruption created its own natural filtration system”, promises the Icelandic bottle on its packaging. Pineo water sells “full moon” bottling.
From now on, water is sacred and seeks to differentiate itself from tap water. “There is a contrast with these urban environments further away from nature and what it represents. It’s a way for everyone to project themselves into a form of purification by drinking this water that comes from this immaculate space. The symbolic dimension is very strong and shows the importance of the values conveyed by this vital element at all levels,” analyzes researcher Agathe Euzen.
water as medicine
But can we really consider that pure, mineral water is better for our health? The marketing aspect also plays on the history of these medicinal waters, previously sold in pharmacies. “There was a very specific property that responded to a treatment. In a way, with the highlighting of the properties of certain waters, this allows everyone to choose what they need. We return to this form of enhancing the composition of water to take care of one’s health, this is the role of medicinal and thermal waters”, underlines Agathe Euzen. This is confirmed by the “water sommelier” Alexis Durand: “Water is the first medicine of the human body. Our body understands natural waters, as it accepts vitamins and minerals from “healthy”, natural foods. »
However, while some luxury waters sell their richness in magnesium, calcium, sodium and other minerals, overdose can be harmful to health. “Mineral waters, due to their mineral composition – which characterizes them – do not necessarily meet drinking water standards, as spring or tap waters do”, indicates the researcher. It is also difficult not to see the ecological footprint of this water, which is exported from very far away and bottled, unlike tap water.