Bottled water increase reflects lifestyle trend
In its Soft Drinks Report last November, Mintel found that seven in 10 consumers had bought bottled water in the last month, making it one of the most popular soft drinks overall in terms of usage.
“The desire among Irish consumers to lead a healthier lifestyle has helped boost overall usage of bottled waters,” it reported.
In the same month figures released by Kantar Media’s 2017 Republic of Ireland TGI study showed that some 63% of all Irish adults – that’s 2.4 million people – drink bottled water.
While down from 2015’s high of 71%, those drinking bottled water more than once a day have increased to 22% from 18% in 2015.
This works out at nearly 850,000 people.
The CSO puts a figure of €110.14 million on the value of our exports of still and sparkling water. This is down 17.7% on 2016’s €134 million figure (although volumes were up 15.6% on the 2016 figure).
On the other hand, our water imports totalled a heftier €248.3 million on a volume which reduced by 13.7%. Import values came down 9.3% from €273.95 million, indicating continued potential for domestic supply replacing importation.
According to market research provider Euomonitor International’s new report on Bottled Water in Ireland, the off-trade value of sales of bottled water has grown by 3% to €184 million while off-trade volume sales have grown by 4% to 183 million litres in 2017.
Euromonitor expects a similar 3% off-trade Category Annual Growth Rate in constant 2017 terms through 2018 for bottled water. This will be accompanied by a 5% CAGR in off-trade sales volumes.
The value of sales in the on-trade has also grown 3% in 2017.
The value of sale in the on-trade has grown 3% reports Euromonitor.
Sports sponsorship correlates with share
Here, Euromonitor reports, “In response to Ireland’s obesity crisis, the government has invested heavily in public health awareness, supporting sport and health facilities, particularly for female sport.
“Ireland has seen a huge increase in sports participation.
“Leading manufacturers have begun messaging their products around prehydration, hydration and rehydration to target the growing number of sports participants. Leading brands benefit from being the official sponsor to sporting bodies, such as Ballygowan sponsoring Dublin GAA and Deep River Rock with provincial rugby and the association is a competitive differentiator in consumers’ minds.”
Ballygowan – Ireland’s clear favourite
Ballygowan, Ireland’s Number One water brand, holds a 66% share of the bottled water sector by value in the licensed-trade and is growing 3% ahead of the market.
The key to success for Ireland’s original and most popular water brand is a commitment to product quality, a strong consumer engagement plan and product innovation.
With 750 years of heritage and purity in its filtering process Ballygowan is hydrating the nation.
All Ballygowan is bottled in a dedicated bottling facility in Newcastlewest, drawing on an exclusive source. The St David’s Well source was first discovered by the Knights Templar over 800 years ago as they returned from the Crusades and it sits in the grounds of the Ballygowan bottling plant to this day.
A proud Irish brand, Ballygowan is a founding member of the Love Irish Food campaign which champions locally-sourced goods, supporting Irish jobs. Ballygowan also supports Irish Sport and is official water to the Irish Open and All Ireland Champions Dublin GAA.
It leads the market with the broadest pack offering in the water sector.
Ballygowan Sparklingly Fruity is a “refreshingly different” range of low calorie, low sugar water drinks in a stylish can. With just 23 calories in a can and with no artificial flavours, colours or sweeteners, the range is ideally positioned to appeal to consumers looking for healthier refreshment.
