The mineral market has witnessed an annual increase of 20%, after the very high temperatures registered in the summer, and consumers' shift from table water to mineral water.
Consumption is again expected to rise by 20% this year, forecasts Iosif Nagy, chairman of SNAM (National Mineral Water Society). Adrian Teslovan, the marketing manager of Romaqua Group, the biggest domestic bottler of mineral water, also anticipates a similar rate.
Bottlers of mineral water with SNAM licences, which account for around 90% of the market, last year posted an 18% increase in terms of volume compared with 2006, according to SNAM data.
Taking into account the licenses granted by ANRM (National Agency of Mineral Resources) to bottlers Dorna Apemin and Apemin Tusnad, the market was estimated at over 1.25 billion litres in 2007. In terms of value, the domestic mineral water market could exceed 400m euros this year.
"I expect sales of mineral water bottled by European Drinks to increase by over 20%," said Adrian Rotar, general manager of European Drinks. He specified that in the first four months of the year the company's sales of non-carbonated mineral water rose by 27% against the same period in 2007. Last year, the company bottled 155 million litres of mineral water, according to SNAM data, higher than the volume previously forecast by the company's representatives.
"This year, one of the market drivers could be producers' bottling capacities, which will allow us to meet demand during peak periods, when very high temperatures are recorded," Teslovan said.
According to him, disruptions in major stores can be avoided this year if demand is met during periods with high temperatures.
Last summer, demand took most bottlers by surprise because of the hot weather, making the year one of the best companies ever had.
In 2007, the high tempera
