Crystal Clear Costs: Why is Voss Water So Expensive?

Wondering why Voss water is one of the most expensive bottled water products at your local store? What gives Voss such a a high price tag, and is it worth the cost?

We’ve shared the top 9 reasons why Voss water is so expensive in this guide.

🤔 Why Is Voss Water So Expensive? 9 Reasons

So, why is Voss water so expensive? Below, we’ve discussed the 9 reasons why this premium bottled water product is sold at an eye-watering price.

Water Source

The main reason why Voss Water is more expensive than other brands is the water location.

Voss Water is much more exclusive than normal tap water. It’s sourced from an underground artesian aquifer beneath layers of volcanic rock in southern Norway, which can only be accessed via a deep well.

The cost of operating and maintaining this well is much higher than, say, the cost of collecting natural spring water as it leaves the ground, or the cost of sourcing and treating surface water.

Because of this, a percentage of the bottled water cost pays for this more expensive water sourcing process and the uniqueness and exclusiveness of the source.

Water Quality

On a similar subject, the quality of Voss water is another reason why it’s more expensive than other bottled waters.

Thanks to its deep groundwater source in a remote location, Voss spring water is naturally filtered and protected from pollutants.

The manufacturer implements strict quality control measures in the process of sourcing water and maintaining its water purity, which incurs additional expenses. These expenses are reflected in the high price tag of Voss bottled water.

You pay for clean, unaltered water with a pure, refreshing taste and a naturally low TDS (total dissolved solids) concentration.

Water Treatment

Voss Water might be sourced from a protected aquifer, but it still undergoes significant treatment at the bottling plant before it’s shipped out for drinking.

The microfiltration process that’s used to treat Voss Water is expensive and likely contributes to the price of the end result.

Water is pumped through a series of 2-micron filters, removing impurities and further improving water quality and taste.

Plus, Voss Water sells a carbonated water product that’s made by treating the water with nitrogen gas rather than carbon dioxide (which is cheaper), as well as water products infused with various vitamins and minerals, which add to the production costs and contribute to the water’s premium pricing.

Marketing & Reputation

Voss has spent millions of dollars on marketing its bottled drinking water as a luxury, premium product.

This makes Voss Water more expensive in two ways:

1. The manufacturer has a larger marketing budget and therefore needs to price its products accordingly to afford this;
2. The fact that Voss is marketed as a luxury bottled water means that people will pay more for the brand association, so the manufacturer can price its product higher knowing that there are plenty of customers willing to pay for it.

Voss Water is known for its sleek, minimalist design, and many people buy the water simply because of the bottle’s aesthetic appeal.

Plus, Voss is often placed in spas and expensive hotels, and served as a table water in some of the fanciest fine dining restaurants in the US. This further associates the bottled water with luxury, which makes it more alluring to customers and justifies its high price tag.

Bottle Design & Materials

Voss is one of the few bottled water brands to sell its water in glass bottles.

Glass is more expensive to use in the bottled water production process than plastic, which is cheaper to make and widely available.

Plus, there are other costs associated with glass, including extra shipping costs to protect the bottles while in transit. Shipping glass bottles requires much more care than shipping plastic bottles.

Voss doesn’t use a common bottle shape, either – its bottles are uniquely cylindrical from top to bottom, which means the manufacturer can’t simply use generic molds when manufacturing its bottles.

Both the bottle design and materials contribute to the expensive upfront cost of Voss Water.

Note: Voss also sells water in PET plastic and aluminum bottles, but these are still expensive due to the higher overall costs of manufacturing the costlier glass bottles.

Transportation

On the subject of transportation, let’s not forget that Voss Water is sourced from an artesian aquifer in Norway, and needs to get to the US to be enjoyed by customers.

Transporting bottled water thousands of miles overseas is much costlier than simply sourcing water locally, bottling it at a nearby plant, and distributing it within the region.

The costs associated with transporting Voss water from Norway to different parts of the world contribute to its overall price.

Some of these transportation costs include fuel, energy, and people power, and the added costs of shipping a fragile product (for the Voss water sold in a glass bottle).

Demand

Voss Water is an in-demand luxury product, and demand alone allows the manufacturer to increase the price tag.

Think about Apple as an example – we’ve come to associate Apple products with luxury and quality, so we expect to pay a lot of money for them.

The same goes for Voss Water. It might be expensive, but customers expect to spend more on a pure water product from a far-away aquifer that’s packaged in a glass bottle.

Therefore, the manufacturer can charge more for its water, knowing that people will pay the price for appearance alone.

Limited Availability

Voss water isn’t as widely available as, say, Evian Natural Spring Water, Aquafina, Dasani, or Mountain Valley Spring Water.

You probably won’t find Voss in every store you visit, and it’s more likely to be found in upmarket locations, like fine dining restaurants and spa hotels.

The limited availability and the perception of exclusivity contribute to Voss Water’s premium pricing, making it more of a rare gem amongst the bottled waters that we’re used to seeing in supermarkets across the country.

Sustainability Practices

Voss says it has a “strong commitment to sustainability” and is consistently taking efforts to minimize its environmental impact by reducing its carbon footprint, optimizing its packaging, and more.

We know that Voss is moving away from using single-use plastic bottles. While it still has a range of water sold in PET plastic bottles, you’ll also commonly find its water sold in glass and aluminum bottles. The brand’s goal is to only use glass, aluminum, and 100% recycled PET by 2025.

It’s great to see that Voss Water is adopting sustainability practices, but these come at a cost to the customer. The more money Voss invests in recycling, making its sourcing and manufacturing process more eco-friendly, and adapting its bottle packaging, the more its bottled water must cost to justify this spending.

💲 Is Voss Water Worth The Extra Money?

In our opinion, Voss Water isn’t worth the extra cost.

You might love the fresh, smooth taste of the water, and it’s a nice treat to have on special occasions or when you just want something different from normal tap water.

But because Voss water is so expensive, we don’t recommend exclusively drinking this water instead of water from your tap. You’ll rack up hundreds, possibly even thousands, of dollars per year on water that you could theoretically access for mere cents at home. Plus, Voss glass bottles might look nice, but there are only so many you can keep hold of, so you’ll have to recycle the rest.

We think it’s best to view Voss water as the occasional treat, as you would with any other luxury food or beverage. But if you want to enjoy clean, filtered water year-round, installing a water filtration system to use at home is the best solution.

Water filter systems remove unhealthy impurities from tap water while retaining healthy minerals and ions, improving its quality and giving it a fresh, crisp taste that’s similar to that of bottled water.

While you might not be able to replicate Voss’s natural spring water exactly, you can still produce great-tasting water using a water filter.

🧑‍🔧 If you don’t know much about water filters and are hesitant to spend a lot of money on one, check out our guide to our top recommended water filter pitchers. The best filtered water pitchers remove hundreds of impurities, producing the purest water at less than $100 upfront and at a similar cost per year.

🔎 Is Voss Water Problematic?

As with many premium bottled water brands, Voss Water has seen its fair share of controversy over the years.

Perhaps the biggest tarnish to the Voss Water name is the 2014 Vice article, titled “Voss Water Is Bullshit”, which references the documentary A Drop of Luxury, produced by Norwegian channel TV2. The documentary interviewed leading hydrogeologists, who suggested that Voss water is identical to the country’s municipal water supply and “couldn’t possibly” be artesian.

Of course, this is just a claim and hasn’t been proven – and who knows whether these hydrogeologists could have had ulterior motives for their allegations. Still, it’s something worth thinking about. How can we really know for certain where our favorite bottled water comes from?

We personally think that the biggest problem with Voss artesian water is that it has to be shipped thousands of miles from Norway to customers around the world. As much as Voss might claim that it’s an environmentally-friendly company, we have to argue – can you really be environmentally friendly if you use a ton of energy to get your product from A to B?

In short, Voss Water doesn’t appear to be a corrupt organization, but like all major brands, we think there are still problems with the company’s operation.

💰 How To Save Money On Voss Water

There’s no denying that Voss water is expensive, and the reality is that the manufacturer doesn’t need to offer deals, discounts, and saving opportunities to its customers, because it gets plenty of sales as it is.

However, with that said, you might be able to save money on Voss water by looking for deals, and checking online for discount coupons and codes.

You can also look for third-party sellers of Voss Water that offer loyalty programs, helping you to save money by committing to regular purchases.

Plus, buying Voss Water in bulk will reduce your annual spend because the cost per gallon is lower.

📑 Final Word

Hopefully, this guide has answered the question: “Why is Voss Water so expensive?”

We think, like many other luxury water brands, Voss Water has nailed its marketing efforts, and that’s mainly why people are happy to spend so much on this bottled water product.

Even the fact that Voss is sourced from Norway is a clever marketing tactic. When you think of Norway, you probably imagine snowy mountains and pristine blue waters, crisp, cool, and untouched by pollution – exactly the kind of place you’d love to get your water from.

Our advice is to be aware of these marketing techniques and recognize that, while premium water products like Voss taste great, they’re not worth spending a good portion of our hard-earned money on.

We personally enjoy the taste of Voss water, but you’re better off filtering your water at home and drinking it from your own fancy reusable glass bottles rather than spending so much money on a brand that has to ship its water halfway across the world to reach your home.