Sparkling water vs seltzer: main differences between these drinks

Americans have been turning away from soda for some time now. As a result, fewer-calorie, bubbly beverages have grown popular during recent years. Keep reading to learn more about sparkling water vs seltzer as the top two contenders in this market category.

The rise of carbonated water

The first step to explore the question of sparkling water vs seltzer is to understand the breakthrough of bubbly water. Once upon a time, Americans considered it a fancy European beverage. Staple brands like Pellegrino and Perrier were rarely available at retail locations during the 1980s and 1990s. To add to this, the United States was not big on drinking bottled water (Nelson & Zarracina, 2016).

Fast forward a couple of years, and bottled water was on the rise. By 2015, the average person in the U.S. drank 37 gallons of it annually. A pointed growth from the four gallons of the late 1980s (Nelson & Zarracina, 2016).

Americans were also drinking less soda in 2015 than a decade before, mostly due to health concerns (Nelson & Zarracina, 2016). Bubbly water took center stage as a leading alternative, as it contains fewer calories, but is still refreshing. To keep up with the boom, long-time players are introducing more flavors, and newcomers are developing their own products (Caballero, 2020).

Its wide distribution also helps. Today, retailers carry multiple brands of carbonated water. The category reached 3.7 billion dollars in sales in 2020 –an 18.7% growth from the previous year (Nelson & Zarracina, 2016).

So, what are the differences between sparkling water vs seltzer?

Sparkling water vs seltzer: how are they different?

Nowadays, consumers come across products branded as either sparkling water or seltzer. How come?

While both are carbonated drinks, they differ in processing methods and added compounds, resulting in distinctive mouthfeel and flavor intensity (Raman, 2020).

Here is the breakdown of sparkling water vs seltzer:

Sparkling water

Also known as sparkling mineral water, it is naturally carbonated due to its diverse mineral content. It comes from springs or wells – as each source is different, so is the taste (Raman, 2020). Adding carbon dioxide is a common practice to pump up natural fizz (Raman, 2020).

Some brands flavor their sparkling water to accommodate consumers’ preferences. Nevertheless, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers it bottled water (Builder, 2018).

Seltzer

On the other hand, seltzer is artificially carbonated. Its bubbles come solely from carbon dioxide, so it is as flavorless as still water (Raman, 2020). Hence, most seltzer is flavored (Warshaw, 2019).

Brands produce tasty options like black cherry and peach-pear using so-called natural flavors. They typically come from essences, but in some instances, they come from authentic fruit juice (Webber, 2019). That is why seltzer might live up to fruit drinks consumers’ flavor expectations.

It also has that refreshing, flavorful feel of its buzzy sibling, the hard seltzer (or even fruited beer), without the alcohol content.

These traits lead to seltzer being labeled by the FDA as a soft drink (Builder, 2018).

Sparkling water vs seltzer and their impact on the industry