In 2002, bottled water consumption in the United States tripledsince 1991, and many students on Dillard’s campus feel water is onits way to becoming the number one beverage in the country.
According to Gary Hemphill, senior vice president at theBeverage Marketing Corporation, water sales have increased from 2.5billion to 7.6 billion in 2002 and are on a steady increase.
Dillard’s Bookstore employees agreed with the potentialincrease. Bookstore cashier, Shenelle Sansom said that she has beennoticing “a lot of people buying water” and juices over sodas inthe bookstore.
Sansom said that she can understand why water sales areincreasing, and that water is “just so much better.” Sansom saidthat she drinks more water than any other drink because “you candrink soft drink after soft drink and still be thirsty,” but afterdrinking water, you are no longer thirsty.
Melissa Stephenson, a nursing major from New Orleans agreed.
Stephenson said that she drinks water because “it’s refreshing,”and “it quenches your thirst better than cold drinks.” Stephensonadmitted that when she eats fast food, she tends to forget aboutdrinking water, but that she does recognize “it [water] is betterfor you.”
Currently in 2004, water is the third highest selling beverageafter No.1 soda and No.2 juice.
Many students on campus have chosen to make water their drink ofchoice for different reasons.
Sophomore psychology major, Ricky Johnson said that he chooses todrink water over anything else because of health reasons.”Sometimes I get dehydrated,” said Johnson. More college studentsare starting to drink water, according to Johnson, because “theworld is becoming more health oriented.”
Lauren Roundtree, a senior International Business and Japanesemajor, said that she just began to drink more water when shestudied abroad in Japan last semester. “I started drinking morewater because when I went overseas, it helped with strange fooddigestion,” Roundtree said.
Other students such as freshman Kourtney Bass drink water tomaintain good skin. “Water prevents acne,” Bass said. The water ofchoice for Bass is Dasani because it is a Coke product and sheknows “they are a good product.” Bass also said that she enjoyswater because of its “pure taste.”
The top-ranked bottled water companies, according towww.waterindustry.com, include bottled water brands produced byCoke, Pepsi and Nestle.
Coca-Cola Company, which produces Dasani bottled water, is theNo.3 selling water distributor. Pepsi Co. holds the second highestslot with Aquafina bottled water and Nestle is the highest sellingdistributor. Nestle, an international brand company, currentlysells 70 brands of bottled water including Deer Park, Perrier andPoland Springs water.
Fifty Dillard students were asked which drink they preferred;water or soda and the results leaned in favor of water drinkers.Seventy-four percent of students chose water over soda. Of the 25female polled, only 24 percent said that they preferred soda, whilethis same choice was made by 28 percent of the males polled.
Dillard student Alexis Bowser said that she preferred sodabecause water “looks just like it tastes…clear.”
Leslie Redd, a senior mass communications major, said that hedrinks water over soda because it is clearly the better choice.”You might as well have a shot of liquor cause that’s about equal”to drinking soda, he said.
Devin Bennett, a senior business management major, said that hisreason for drinking water was for restoration after eating fattyfoods that take away from the body’s natural water make-up. Bennetthowever said that water would not be his first choice. “There aretoo may substitutes that taste better,” he said.