Thai waters vs imported: what is the difference

In short: most Thai bottles hold purified drinking water with very low mineralisation, which is cheap and good for every day. Imported mineral water such as Narzan and Essentuki comes from a natural spring with its own composition, and people buy it for the table, for the banya or simply for a familiar taste. At home it is handy to keep both.

What sits on the Thai shelf

Most bottles in a Thai shop are drinking water: purified, with very low mineralisation. Under Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 462, total mineralisation in it is no more than 500 mg/L and hardness no more than 100 mg/L of calcium carbonate. Next to it sits locally bottled mineral water, which is natural and has its composition printed on the label. Any legal water carries an อย. registration. A litre of local water costs several times less than imported, because it is not shipped halfway around the world.

• Drinking water is purified, often with minimal mineralisation
• Locally bottled mineral water is natural, with its composition on the label
• A litre of local water costs several times less, as it does not travel far
• Any legal water has an อย. registration on the label

What imported water gives you

People buy imports for the composition and the familiar taste. Narzan's natural carbonation cannot be reproduced by treatment: the carbon dioxide is dissolved in the water underground, at around 2.5 g/L according to analyses of 2023 batches. Essentuki No. 4 is a medicinal-table water with a mineralisation of 7 to 10 g/L, and there is nothing like it on the Thai shelf. Icelandic Glacial, at 62 mg/L according to the brand, is bought as a soft water to serve with wine and fish.

• A familiar taste and a familiar composition
• Narzan's natural carbonation cannot be reproduced by treatment
• Essentuki No. 4 is a medicinal-table water with no local equivalent on the shelf
• Icelandic Glacial is a soft table water for serving and for pairing with wine

Why is imported water dearer than Thai?

The price is made up of the journey and the paperwork. The water travels from Russia and Iceland, duties are paid, and every batch is registered in Thailand. Glass is heavier than PET, and you pay for that weight the whole way. Batches are small, so the cost per bottle is higher than at a local plant that bottles millions of litres in the next province. That is the arithmetic of logistics, not a markup for the brand.

• Shipping from Russia and Iceland, duties, batch registration
• Glass is heavier and costlier to ship than PET
• Smaller batches mean a higher price per bottle
• It is honest arithmetic, not a markup for the name on the label

How to build your basket

At home it is handy to keep two lines. Everyday volume is covered by local water or an 18.9 L bottle. For dinner and guests, take 0.45 to 0.5 L glass; for the banya, mineral water of moderate mineralisation in the same glass; for the gym, still water in 0.5 L PET. A restaurant usually needs both lines: a base water for the floor and one or two positions for the menu. The easiest way to plan a month is to count everyday water by the litre and mineral water by the number of occasions.

• Everyday volume: local water or an 18.9 L bottle
• For dinner and guests: 0.45 to 0.5 L glass
• Banya: mineral water of moderate mineralisation in glass; sport: still water in 0.5 L PET
• A restaurant usually needs both lines: a base water and one for the menu

Sources

• Thai Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 462 (2025) on drinking water in sealed containers
• GOST R 54316-2020: composition of Narzan and Essentuki No. 4 (table A.1)
• Icelandic Glacial: questions and answers about the water's composition