A strong performance last year also enabled the Highland Spring brand to step closer toward its long-term goal of becoming the UK’s number one water brand by both value and volume, a major milestone which it achieved in July this year.

2024 was a landmark year for the bottled water category, with retail sales soaring past £1.8 billion – a remarkable 10.8% year-on-year growth. This far outpaced the wider retail market, which saw a modest increase of just 2.3%, underscoring the category’s exceptional momentum and increasing consumer focus on health and hydration. Value sales growth was driven by plain still waters, which represents 65% of the total water category and was up 12.6% vs 2023.

Overall, the group reported total UK retail sales of over £200m with Highland Spring reinforcing its position as the UK’s No.1 water brand with a retail volume share of 9.8% and a value share of 11%, as the brand leads the market with total sales reaching 306 million litres.

The launch of a new flavoured still water range in 2024 — designed to meet growing consumer demand for healthier, great-tasting hydration options — has also driven accelerated growth by enabling the business to tap into the £400m flavoured water category.

To support this strategic expansion, an investment of approximately £10m was made at the Blackford site, unlocking around 25% additional growth capacity annually and positioning the business for sustained future success.

Environmental sustainability remains at the heart of Highland Spring’s operations. Construction is now underway on a new 7 megawatt, 23-acre solar farm, which will generate approximately 20% of the electricity required at the Blackford site. This marks a significant step forward in reducing the business’s carbon footprint and enhancing long-term energy resilience.

As part of the group’s commitment to the local community, a free-of-charge electricity supply will be provided to the local school and a network of EV car chargers for community use.

The group’s dedicated rail freight facility in Blackford, Perthshire has now been fully operational for nearly three years. Currently, 48% of water from the main bottling plant is transported by rail, significantly reducing reliance on road haulage.

To date, this shift has removed over 16,000 HGV movements from UK roads and over 400 million litres of water has travelled by rail during this period demonstrating the business commitment to sustainable logistics and reducing its emissions from source to shelf.

Simon Oldham, managing director of Highland Spring Group, said: “The growing importance consumers place on health is a key driver behind the exponential growth of the bottled water category.

“At Highland Spring, we have remained focused on meeting this demand by continuing to evolve our brand and business – most recently through the launch of our new flavoured water range. I am incredibly proud of our impressive performance and the fact that our iconic Highland Spring brand has secured its place as the nation’s favourite way to hydrate.

“Looking ahead, we remain committed to a long-term strategy that reshapes our business, champions the provenance of the Highland Spring brand, and invests in innovative product and packaging solutions. Our goal is to create lasting value while making a positive impact on people, society, and the planet.”