Resumen de Bottled natural mineral water in Catalonia: Origin and geographical evolution of its consumption and production
Bottled mineral water has managed to become a commodity and can be found virtually anywhere in the world. However, even if it is a very common and well recognized product, little it is known about its history, about how, when and why it came to be. The origins of bottled water can be found in mid-19th century Europe and America, when spas started selling their waters outside their facilities. However, soon other springs which had not relation with traditional hydrotherapy started bottling their waters as well. Four conditionings have been found which explain why bottled water started being produced at that point in time and not before. Those factors are the existence of an adequate container, the invention of an efficient transportation method, a cultural/social predisposition and lack of salubrious water. When those four conditionings occurred at the same time, the bases for a thriving mineral water bottling industry were established. By exploring each of these factors in Catalonia for the period that has been found to encompass the first golden age of bottled mineral water (1840-1930), the general hypothesis is proven, meaning that all the aforementioned conditionings were necessary for the commoditisation of bottled water. Only when all those four factors took place at the same time it was possible to have a thriving mineral water business, not before. Accordingly, when in the 1930s some of those conditionings changed, the bottled market sector started a sudden downturn period, which did not stop until the all four factors coincided in time again.
