Magazine: Let’s pour clean water into the glass!

Nikolett Van der Wildt
marketing director
Szentkirályi
Magyarország

Szentkirályi Magyarország’s value share of the mineral water market strengthened further in 2020, a year when the natural mineral water market contracted due to the pandemic.

Marketing director Nikolett van der Wildt revealed to Trade magazin that the restricting measures entailed a drop in demand for impulse products; shoppers preferred 1.5-litre products. Discounters continued their market conquest and still mineral waters had a 50-percent market share. Private label products lost some of their market share to branded products.

András Palkó
marketing operations manager
Coca-Cola HBC
Magyarország

András Palkó, Coca-Cola HBC Magyarország’s marketing operations manager pointed it out that sales of small-sized mineral waters suffered the most from the effects of the pandemic. Besides discounters’ dominance, small independent shops are also important in sales. E-commerce only plays a minor role at the moment, but sales are growing dynamically here.

Market fluctuation that is difficult to follow

Krisztina Kozák
marketing manager
Magyarvíz

According to Krisztina Kozák, Magyarvíz Kft.’s marketing manager, the pandemic taught the company the importance of reacting quickly. Sales skyrocketed in February-March 2020, but in April this peak was followed by a 40-percent sales drop in comparison with April 2019. Sales got better in May and then June-July brought further improvement. She added that the total mineral water market decreased by 2 percent.

János Hajdu
key account manager
In-Food 2000

János Hajdu, In-Food 2000 Kft.’s key account manager talked to Trade magazin about their premium category mineral waters. This high quality also manifests in the packaging of products, which is 100 percent rePET, and in the comfortable carrying handle on multipacks. It is needless to say that the pandemic had a negative impact on In-Food 2000 Kft.’s sales too, mainly because of cancelled events and closed bars and restaurants.

Fonte Viva Kft.’s sales increased in 2020, primarily thanks to the fact that their large-sized mineral waters kept selling well, and also because of the acquisition of new retailer partners.

Attila Erdész
managing director
Fonte Viva

Managing director Attila Erdész told: 2020 was a turbulent year for the company, from the buying frenzy in early spring through the unfavourable summer weather to the never-before-seen ingredient prices at the end of the year.

Greener solutions

Szentkirályi mineral water is leader among branded products, with a 23-percent value share in sales in the unflavoured (natural) mineral water market. Theodora mineral water’s performance and the launch of the new carbonated variant of Theodora Kékkúti mineral water greatly contributed to the good results. Szentkirályi bottles are 100 percent recyclable and last autumn the company’s flagship product debuted with limited edition 50 percent rePET bottles for 0.5-litre waters sold online only (Kifli.hu, eMAG, NetPincér).

More than half of Coca-Cola HBC Magyarország’s Naturaqua value sales are realised by the water’s still variant. A carbonated version is also available in all formats and the mild variant is marketed in PET bottle packaging. The brand’s mineral waters received a new packaging design in the spring of 2020.

The decline in hospitality and tourism,  cancellation of events and faster-paced shopping trips primarily impacted the segment of small-sized bottled waters

No compromises in health and environmental protection

From In-Food 2000 Kft.’s portfolio multi-serve mineral waters performed the best – in terms of both volume and value sales. Still waters were responsible for 69 percent of volume sales. The company is proud of the fact that every Vöslauer product they sell is marketed in 100 percent rePET bottles. In part this is the reason why Vöslauer is a 100 percent CO2-neutral company.

Magyarvíz Kft. was the first in the country to introduce a carbon neutral mineral water, 1-litre Mizse Ecogreen. This cutting-edge design is eco-friendly, the bottle is made of 50 percent recycled material and it is the lightest 1-litre bottle in Hungary. Raw material was sourced regionally and solar energy was used in production.

From Fonte Viva Kft.’s products consumers preferred 1.5- and 2-litre mineral waters during the pandemic. Still, in the long run the company would like to make progress in the impulse, smaller than 1-litre format: in addition to the 0.75-litre waters that sell well in service station shops and supermarkets, they now also manufacture 0.5-litre mineral waters. Thanks to the company’s new production line, energy use has reduced and it is now possible to utilise recycled materials. //

Recycled and label-free bottles from Evian

Premium mineral water Evian has been bottled since 1859 and the product has been available in PET bottles for 25 years. In accordance with the company’s new waste management strategy, a circular production model will be adopted by 2025 and 100 percent of the packaging material is going to be reused. Evian has also come out with 100-percent recyclable, label-free 0.4-litre PET bottle products. Currently this product is only available in France, in the Evian online shop, but Southeast Asia will follow in September. //

Drinking water quality is very important for Hungarians

A representative survey by Resideo has found that the quality of drinking water is important or very important for 94 percent of Hungarians.

67 percent said it is important to use a system that is water saving. Resideo’s Braukmann portfolio offers reliable and efficient solutions for preserving the quality of water. For instance the Braukmann FK06 system is easy to install and maintain. It was designed to filter out contamination in the pipe system. //