Behind their refreshing marketing, these drinks sit at a crossroads between bottled water, soft drinks and public-health scrutiny. French consumer magazine 60 Millions de Consommateurs has taken a closer look at how they are made, what happens to the water before it reaches the bottle, and what that means for your health and for local communities.
Flavoured water is not the same as mineral water
The first misunderstanding starts with the name. “Lemon water” or “peach-apricot water” sounds as pure as a mountain spring, yet in legal terms this is not how they are treated.
In France, and broadly across Europe, natural mineral water and spring water enjoy a special status. They must come from protected underground sources, be bottled at the source and cannot be disinfected like tap water. Once you add flavourings and other ingredients, that changes.
As soon as water is flavoured, it falls into a different legal category that allows treatments similar to those used for mains drinking water.
This alternative status means the producer may filter and disinfect the water. Techniques can include ozonation, UV treatment or other processes designed to ensure microbiological safety. The idea is to align safety standards with those of tap water, not with the stricter rules that apply to natural mineral water.
For consumers who assume a bottle showing mountains and fruit slices holds untouched spring water, this distinction matters. The starting water can be mineral or spring water, but the final product no longer enjoys the same regulatory protection against treatment.
A booming market with serious sugar levels
Flavoured water has become a solid niche in the French drinks market. According to data cited by 60 Millions de Consommateurs, sales of flavoured waters reached about €199.5 million between May 2024 and May 2025.
That is still small compared with plain bottled waters, which weigh in at around €2.5 billion over the same period, yet the growth trend is clear. Shoppers see these drinks as a step away from sodas and as a way to make hydration more appealing.
From a nutritional standpoint, many flavoured waters look far closer to soft drinks than to plain water.
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A typical 200 ml glass contains between 5 g and 10 g of sugar. Some products go up to 15–16 g per 200 ml, roughly the equivalent of two and a half sugar cubes. At that point, the line between “water with a taste” and “light lemonade” becomes very thin.
How much sugar are you really drinking?
To give a clearer picture, here is a rough comparison for a 200 ml serving:
| Beverage | Approximate sugar per 200 ml | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Plain water | 0 g | No energy intake |
| Flavoured water (low end) | 5 g | Just over 1 sugar cube |
| Flavoured water (high end) | 15–16 g | Comparable to a sweet lemonade |
| Standard lemonade | 18–20 g | Classic sugary soft drink |
These figures show why health experts urge moderation. For adults and children who already consume sweetened yoghurts, desserts and snacks, adding multiple glasses of sugary flavoured water can quickly push daily intake past recommended limits.
From supermarket shelf to local budgets
Beyond nutrition and treatment methods, bottled water of all kinds has a real economic footprint. In France, companies that draw water from local sources pay a fee to the municipality.
This fee is set at a local level within a national ceiling of €0.58 per hectolitre of water (100 litres), with exports exempt. On top of that, there is an additional contribution of €0.53 per hectolitre to help fund pensions for self-employed farmers.
Some small towns receive millions of euros a year from water bottling rights, turning springs into a major budget line.
In 2024, several well-known water towns benefitted strongly:
- Volvic reportedly received about €3.8 million
- Vittel around €2.3 million
- Évian-les-Bains about €2 million
- La Salvetat-sur-Agout around €1 million
These sums finance local services, infrastructure and sometimes environmental protection projects. When you buy a bottle of water or flavoured water, part of the price helps support the town that hosts the source.
What “treated water” really means for flavoured drinks
The word “treatment” can sound alarming, but it covers a range of processes. For flavoured waters, authorised treatments are largely focused on hygiene rather than on heavily altering mineral content.
Common steps can include:
- Filtration to remove particles
- Disinfection to kill bacteria or viruses
- Quality control to monitor microbiological safety
These procedures are similar to what happens to municipal tap water and are meant to guarantee that the drink remains safe over its shelf life. The trade-off is that the water can no longer be marketed as untouched “natural mineral water”, which legally cannot undergo such disinfection.
For the consumer, the bigger health issue usually lies not in the treatment itself, but in what is added next: sugars, flavourings, sometimes sweeteners or acidifiers that can affect teeth and metabolism.
Reading the label without a chemistry degree
A quick scan of the label can tell you a lot about a flavoured water:
- Ingredients list: Water should come first, followed by flavourings and any sweeteners or sugar.
- “Sugars” line in nutrition facts: Check grams per 100 ml and multiply by your typical serving.
- Presence of sweeteners: Names like acesulfame K, aspartame or sucralose indicate a low- or no-sugar formula, which raises different questions.
- Fruit content: Often very low; flavour usually comes from aromas rather than real juice.
Many flavoured waters are branded as “healthier choices”, yet the numbers on the back label tell a different story.
Health scenarios: when flavoured water makes sense, and when it does not
Used occasionally, a bottle of flavoured water can help someone who dislikes plain water stay hydrated during a hot day or after exercise. Choosing lower-sugar options and limiting portions reduces the impact.
Problems start when these drinks replace ordinary water day after day. A teenager drinking three 500 ml bottles of a flavoured water with 8 g of sugar per 100 ml would consume 120 g of sugar, far beyond most guidelines. In that scenario, the product behaves much like a soft drink in terms of metabolic load.
Families sometimes switch from cola to flavoured water thinking they have made a radical change. If sugar content remains high, the effect on weight gain and dental health may be smaller than expected.
Key terms that help make sense of the bottle
Several recurring terms can create confusion in this category:
- Natural mineral water: Comes from an underground source, stable in mineral composition, cannot be disinfected; often marketed as premium.
- Spring water: Also from an underground source, but under slightly less strict rules than mineral water.
- Flavoured water: Water with added flavourings and sometimes sugars or sweeteners; can be treated and disinfected.
- Flavoured drink “based on mineral water”: Uses mineral water as a base but loses the legal status of mineral water once additives are included.
Understanding these nuances helps consumers align products with their expectations: is the goal true hydration with minimal additives, or a sweet drink that simply feels lighter than a soda?
Practical alternatives and combined habits
For those who enjoy taste but want to limit sugar and processing, homemade flavoured water can be a simple option. A jug of tap or filtered water with slices of citrus, cucumber, fresh mint or a few berries adds aroma with virtually no calories if fruit is removed after a short infusion.
Another strategy is alternation. Someone used to drinking two bottles of flavoured water a day could replace one with plain water or unsweetened tea. Over weeks, this cutback can substantially reduce sugar intake while keeping some of the pleasure element.
There is also a cumulative angle worth thinking about. Flavoured water is rarely the only sweet drink in a day. When combined with fruit juices, milky coffee drinks and sodas, it becomes part of a steady sugary background that blurs the line between hydration and snacking. Reframing these products as occasional treats rather than default thirst-quenchers helps bring consumption back in line with health goals.