27 Mar 2026

The Real Cost of Sugary Drinks: Why NZ Families Are Making the Switch to Filtered Water

 

Let's be honest. Grabbing a Coke, a juice, or a sports drink from the fridge is just easy. They taste great, they're everywhere, and after a long day, sometimes you just want something that isn't plain water. We get it.

But here's the thing. Most of us have no idea how much we're actually spending on sugary drinks, or what they're quietly doing to our health and our bank accounts. And when you do the maths, it's a bit of a wake-up call.

Here's what most Kiwi families are only just starting to realise.

First, How Bad Is the Sugary Drink Habit in NZ?

According to the University of Auckland research, a third of the average New Zealand household’s entire drinks budget goes on sugary beverages. (Eyles et al., 2023) That’s not a small slice, that’s a big chunk of the grocery bill going on drinks that have little to no nutritional value.

And it’s not just adult’s reaching for them. Among Auckland school children, aged 8–12, a staggering 96% were consuming at least one sugary drink per week, with over 50% having five or more servings a week. (Smirk et al., 2021)Five. Or more. Per week.

New Zealand also has one of the highest obesity rates in the OECD (Ministry of Health New Zealand, 2024) and health experts are increasingly pointing to sugary drinks as a key driver, not just because of the sugar itself, but because liquid calories don't fill us up the way food does. We drink them, and then we eat just as much as we would have anyway.

The Hidden Cost: What Are You Actually Spending?

Here's where it gets interesting. Most people genuinely don't know how much they spend on drinks, it tends to sneak in as part of the weekly shop, a dairy stop here, a petrol station there.

Let's do a rough household estimate:

That’s over two thousand dollars a year. For a lot for NZ families, that’s a car payment, a family holiday, or a dent in the mortgage.

And that’s a conservative estimate. Factor in café drinks, dairy runs, and sports drinks after weekend sports, and you can easily tip well over $3,000 annually.
 

The Health Cost is Even Bigger

The financial hit is one thing. But the health picture is what's really making families stop and think.

New Zealand health researchers have linked high sugary drink consumption to:

Tooth decay. Dental health experts consistently identify sugary drinks as a leading cause of tooth decay in young New Zealanders.

Weight gain and obesity. Research shows that each additional daily serving of a sugary drink increases the risk of developing obesity by around 60%. (Malik et al., 2006)

Poor hydration. Drinks like juice and sports drinks can actually leave you less hydrated because your body has to work hard to process the sugar. Real hydration comes from water.

What makes this harder is that most of us aren't reaching for sugary drinks because we don't care. We're reaching for them because plain water just doesn't always feel satisfying. It can taste a bit flat, it's room temperature, or there's simply nothing cold and refreshing on hand. Convenience almost always wins.

The Easiest First Step: Just Water Drops

Here's something worth knowing before we talk about bigger changes. If your family struggles to drink plain water because they want something with a bit of flavour, Just Water Drops might be the simplest swap you ever make.

Just Water Drops are a healthy alternative to sugary drink flavourings, with no sugar and no artificial sweeteners. Just a few drops into your glass or bottle and you've got a great-tasting flavoured drink that isn't quietly loading your family up with sugar every day.

And the cost? Just $20 for 270 serves. That works out to under 8 cents per drink.

That's a saving of thousands of dollars a year, on flavoured drinks alone, with none of the sugar and none of the artificial sweeteners. For families where the kids won't drink plain water, this is often the game-changer.

So Why Are Kiwi Families Also Switching to a Fill Your Own Water Cooler?

Because once you've made the switch to Just Water Drops, the next natural question is: what are we actually putting those drops into?

That's where the fill your own water cooler comes in.

When cold, clean, filtered water is right there in front of you at home, people drink it. The cravings for sugary drinks don't disappear overnight, but they drop significantly when there's a genuinely great-tasting alternative always within reach, especially when that water is chilled, filtered, and tastes nothing like the flat stuff out of the tap.

The Next Step: Always Having Great Water on Hand

Now, Drops taste great in any water. But there's a reason so many Just Water family’s pair them with a fill your own cooler and it comes down to the same thing that started this whole conversation: convenience.

When cold, clean, filtered water is right there in front of you at home, people drink it. The cravings for sugary drinks don't disappear overnight, but they drop significantly when there's a genuinely great-tasting alternative always within reach, especially when that water is chilled, filtered, and tastes great.

A fill your own water cooler from Just Water makes that possible. You simply refill your bottle at home, and you always have fresh, filtered water ready to go at home. No plastic bottle clutter. No running to the dairy. Just great water, every day.

The Full Picture: What the Switch Actually Costs

 

 

A family replacing their sugary drink habit with filtered water and Just Water Drops could realistically save over $1,700 a year — while drinking better, feeling better, and cutting out a significant amount of sugar and single-use plastic in the process.

Making the Switch: It Doesn't Have to Be All-Or-Nothing

Nobody's saying you can never have a fizzy drink again. Life's too short for that.

But if you can shift the default, the thing you reach for when you're thirsty and not really thinking about it from a sugary drink to filtered water with a splash of Just Water Drops, the benefits compound quickly. Less sugar, more money in your pocket, better hydration, and fewer trips to the dentist.

Start with the Drops. Get the family used to flavoured water that doesn't come loaded with sugar. Then add the cooler so there's always cold, clean, filtered water on hand to put them in. It's a small shift that adds up to a big difference.
 

 

Ready to Make the Switch?

Start simple with Just Water Drops — $20 for 270 serves, no sugar, no artificial sweeteners.

They're the easiest way to get your family off sugary drinks without feeling like you're missing out on flavour.

Shop Just Water Drops

Then take it further with a fill your own water cooler for just $1.10 a day in rental.

Fresh, filtered water at home, refilled at our network of convenient stations across New Zealand.

Shop Fill-Your-Own Water Cooler

 

 

References

Source:

1.      Eyles, H. et al. (2024). New Zealand household purchases of sugar-sweetened, artificially sweetened, and unsweetened beverages: 2015–2019. Public Health Nutrition, Cambridge University Press.

2.      Smirk, E. et al. (2021). Sugar-sweetened beverages consumption among New Zealand children aged 8–12 years. BMC Public Health, 21, 2277.

3.      Ministry of Health New Zealand (2024). Obesity. Retrieved from https://www.health.govt.nz/strategies-initiatives/programmes-and-initiatives/obesity

4.      Malik, V.S. et al. (2006). Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain: a systematic review. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 84, 274–288.