Flavoured Water - Natural vs Industrial: What You're Really Drinking

The €4 Billion Flavoured Water Market: Natural or Not?

Walk down any supermarket aisle and you'll find dozens of flavoured waters promising "natural taste," "zero sugar," and "healthy refreshment." But when you flip the bottle and read the fine print, what are you actually getting?

We analyzed ingredient labels from major brands across Europe to show you the difference between genuinely natural flavoured waters and industrial products masquerading as health drinks.

The Three Categories of Flavoured Water

Not all flavoured waters are created equal. They fall into three distinct categories:

CATEGORY 1: Industrial Sugary Flavoured Waters

Examples: Vitamin Water, Glacéau, Volvic Juicy

Typical ingredients:

• Water
• Sugar (15-20g per 500ml = 4-5 teaspoons)
• Natural flavours
• Vitamins (added)
• Preservatives (E211, E202)
• Colors (E numbers or "natural" colors)

Price: €1.50-2.50 per 500ml
Price per liter: €3.00-5.00/L

The problem: Despite "vitamin" branding, these contain more sugar than many sodas. The vitamins don't offset the metabolic impact of that much sugar.

CATEGORY 2: Artificially Sweetened "Zero Sugar" Waters

Examples: Vitamin Water Zero, some flavored Dasani/Aquarius variants

Typical ingredients:

• Water
• Artificial sweeteners (aspartame, acesulfame K, sucralose)
• Natural and/or artificial flavours
• Vitamins
• Preservatives
• Colors

Price: €1.50-2.50 per 500ml
Price per liter: €3.00-5.00/L

The concern: While zero calories, these contain artificial sweeteners. Some research suggests artificial sweeteners may affect gut microbiome and metabolic responses, though evidence is mixed.

CATEGORY 3: Premium Naturally Flavoured Waters

Examples: Perrier Flavours, San Pellegrino Essenza, LaCroix, Akvile Sparkling

This category splits into two subcategories:

3A: Premium Brand Natural Flavours (Expensive) Examples: Perrier Flavours, San Pellegrino Essenza

Typical ingredients:

• Mineral water
• Natural flavours (from real fruit essences)
• CO2 (carbonation)

Price: San Pellegrino Essenza: €2.00-2.80 per 330ml = €6.06-8.48/L
Price: Perrier Flavours: €1.80-2.50 per 330ml = €5.45-7.58/L

The reality: You're paying significant premium for brand prestige. The water quality is good, flavors are natural, but the price-to-value ratio is heavily weighted toward marketing costs.

3B: Natural Mineral Waters (Accessible Premium) Examples: Akvile Sparkling Range, Voss Flavoured Cans

Typical ingredients:

• Natural mineral water
• Natural flavours (from real fruit)
• CO2 (natural carbonation)
• NOTHING ELSE

Price: Akvile 600ml: €1.20-1.80 = €2.00-3.00/L
Price: Akvile 1.5L: €1.80-2.50 = €1.20-1.67/L

The Real Comparison: Brand by Brand

Let's compare actual products available in European markets:

SAN PELLEGRINO ESSENZA (Lemon & Lemon Zest)

Ingredients: Mineral water, carbon dioxide, natural lemon flavour with other natural flavours

Nutritional per 100ml:

• Calories: 0 kcal
• Sugar: 0g
• Sodium: 0.004g

Format: 330ml can
Price: €2.00-2.80
Price per liter: €6.06-8.48/L

Assessment: ✅ Truly natural ingredients
✅ Zero sugar, zero calories
✅ Premium mineral water base
❌ Extremely expensive per liter
❌ Small format (330ml)

PERRIER FLAVOURS (Strawberry)

Ingredients: Natural mineral water, carbon dioxide, natural strawberry flavour with other natural flavours

Nutritional per 100ml:

• Calories: 0 kcal
• Sugar: 0g
• Sodium: 0.0015g

Format: 330ml can
Price: €1.80-2.50
Price per liter: €5.45-7.58/L

Assessment: ✅ Natural ingredients
✅ Zero sugar, zero calories
✅ Iconic Perrier mineral water
❌ Premium pricing for brand name
❌ Small format

VOLVIC TOUCH OF FRUIT (Strawberry)

Ingredients: Volvic natural mineral water, sugar, strawberry juice from concentrate (1%), natural flavouring, acidity regulator: citric acid, antioxidant: ascorbic acid

Nutritional per 100ml:

• Calories: 19 kcal
• Sugar: 4.6g
• Per bottle (500ml): 23g sugar = 5.75 teaspoons

Format: 500ml
Price: €1.40-1.80
Price per liter: €2.80-3.60/L

Assessment: ❌ Contains significant sugar
❌ Only 1% actual fruit juice
❌ Positioned as "healthy" but has more sugar than Coca-Cola per 100ml
✅ Natural Volvic mineral water base

VITAMIN WATER ZERO (any flavour)

Ingredients: Water, citric acid, natural flavour, vegetable juice (colour), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), sucralose and acesulfame potassium (sweeteners), vitamins B3, B5, B6, B12, zinc gluconate

Nutritional per 100ml:

• Calories: 0 kcal
• Sugar: 0g

Format: 500ml
Price: €1.80-2.20
Price per liter: €3.60-4.40/L

Assessment: ❌ Contains artificial sweeteners (sucralose, acesulfame K)
❌ Not mineral water (regular water)
⚠️ Added vitamins (not naturally occurring)
✅ Zero sugar and calories

AKVILE SPARKLING RANGE (Lemon, Lime, Peach, Orange, Red Berry)

Ingredients: Lithuanian natural mineral water, natural fruit flavour, CO2

Nutritional per 100ml:

• Calories: 0 kcal
• Sugar: 0g
• Fat: 0g
• Salt: 0g
• pH: 8.0 (naturally alkaline)
• Nitrates: 0.0 mg/L

Format: 600ml or 1.5L
Price 600ml: €1.20-1.80 = €2.00-3.00/L
Price 1.5L: €1.80-2.50 = €1.20-1.67/L

Assessment: ✅ Truly natural ingredients (only water, natural flavour, CO2)
✅ Zero sugar, zero calories, zero artificial anything
✅ Premium Lithuanian mineral water (naturally alkaline, ultra-pure)
✅ Affordable pricing (3-7x cheaper per liter than San Pellegrino/Perrier)
✅ Larger formats available (600ml & 1.5L family size)
✅ Ultra-pure source (0.0 mg/L nitrates)

LACROIX (USA Brand, available in Europe)

Ingredients: Carbonated water, natural flavour

Nutritional per 100ml:

• Calories: 0 kcal
• Sugar: 0g

Format: 355ml can
Price: €1.50-2.00 when available
Price per liter: €4.23-5.63/L

Assessment: ✅ Natural ingredients
✅ Zero sugar, zero calories
⚠️ Not mineral water (filtered/purified water)
❌ Expensive for what it is
❌ Limited availability in Europe

The Price-Value Reality Check

Here's what you're actually paying per liter for the "same" product (naturally flavoured sparkling water):

Brand	Price per Liter	What You Pay For
San Pellegrino Essenza	€6.06-8.48/L	10% product + 90% brand prestige
Perrier Flavours	€5.45-7.58/L	15% product + 85% marketing/brand
LaCroix	€4.23-5.63/L	20% product + 80% brand/import
Volvic Touch	€2.80-3.60/L	❌ But contains 23g sugar per bottle
Vitamin Water Zero	€3.60-4.40/L	❌ But artificial sweeteners, not mineral water
Akvile 600ml	€2.00-3.00/L	70% product + 30% reasonable margin
Akvile 1.5L	€1.20-1.67/L	80% product + 20% margin

What "Natural Flavour" Actually Means

This is where it gets technical. According to EU regulations:

"Natural Flavour" must be derived from:

• Plant materials (fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices)
• Animal materials (meat, dairy)
• Microbiological processes (fermentation)

However, "natural flavour" can still involve:

• Chemical extraction processes
• Concentration and isolation
• Multiple processing steps

"Artificial Flavour" means synthesized chemically in a lab.

The truth: "Natural lemon flavour" is better than artificial, but it's still processed. The best flavoured waters use fruit essences extracted with minimal processing.

The Environmental Factor: Packaging Matters

Aluminum cans (Perrier, San Pellegrino):

• ✅ Infinitely recyclable
• ❌ Energy-intensive to produce
• ❌ Derived from rare earth mining

PET bottles (most brands):

• ✅ Lightweight, lower transport emissions
• ✅ Widely recyclable (in practice: 60-70% recycled)
• ⚠️ Plastic use (but better than multi-material packaging)

Family-size formats (1.5L):

• ✅ Significantly less packaging per liter
• ✅ More sustainable choice
• ✅ Better value

What You Should Look For

When choosing flavoured water, check for:

✅ First ingredient: Natural mineral water (not "water" or "purified water")
✅ Natural flavours only (no "natural and artificial")
✅ Zero sugar, zero sweeteners (including artificial ones)
✅ Short ingredient list (ideally: water + natural flavour + CO2)
✅ No preservatives (E211, E202, etc.)
✅ No colors (E numbers or otherwise)
✅ Reasonable pricing (€2-4/L for premium is fair, €6-8/L is brand tax)

The Bottom Line

The premium brands (San Pellegrino, Perrier):

• Excellent quality ingredients
• Natural flavours
• BUT: You're paying 3-4x more for brand prestige

The mass-market brands (Volvic Touch, Vitamin Water):

• Either loaded with sugar OR artificial sweeteners
• Marketed as "healthy" but nutritionally questionable

The smart choice (Akvile, quality natural waters):

• Same natural ingredients as premium brands
• Genuine mineral water from protected sources
• Fair pricing (€1.20-3.00/L)
• Larger format options
• No bullshit marketing

The honest truth: A €2.50 San Pellegrino Essenza (330ml) contains the exact same type of ingredients as a €1.50 Akvile Lemon Sparkling (600ml). You're getting 45% less water for 67% more money. Why? Brand prestige and marketing budgets.

At NoBullshitDrinks, we believe you shouldn't have to choose between premium quality and reasonable pricing. That's why we stock brands like Akvile—genuinely natural, properly sourced, fairly priced.

Want naturally flavoured water without the brand tax?
[Explore Akvile Sparkling Range →]