Mineral Water: “Sparkling” Packaging

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The image of mineral water has clearly changed over the past few years. Water is inherently healthy, low-calorie and therefore fully in tune with modern consumers’ wishes. Mineral water has become a lifestyle and wellness drink. Be it in retail or in food service, choosing the right “sparkling” packaging is a top priority when pitching a brand in this key market.

The mineral water market is booming. In many countries mineral water is the most popular soft drink as a healthy thirst quencher and it continues to post strong growth throughout Europe. In the up-market catering and restaurant arena mineral water has also gained in importance: more and more often diners order not just any water but selectively choose the mineral water to accompany the good wine and fine foods they are consuming. This change in image also benefits the packaging industry: to successfully position the brand amongst the huge multitude of mineral waters on offer it is of pivotal importance to select the appropriate packaging and, even more so, one that matches the image of the product claims. The same holds true for the label: the product information listed here gives shoppers valuable added benefit while serving to stand out from competitor products.

Although the crisis is now said to have finally arrived everywhere and the consumer mood is close to “rock bottom” there is a growing demand among consumers for wellness, health and well-being. Very often a change in the look & feel of the product, i.e. of the packaging, is enough to boost sales. Their willingness to pay for added value is growing perceivably. The “penny-pitching is wicked” wave is definitely over.

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Diversity instead of Monotony

Glass or plastic bottles, with or without a deposit, single-use or reusable? For decades, if not centuries, generations of consumers have placed their trust in glass. Today, there is a clear trend towards individualisation and personalisation for glass. Extraordinary shapes, colours and engravings are popular design elements used to place a product in the prime segment like water droplets embossed into the bottle surface or minimalist lettering to convey a sense of freshness and purity. Likewise, slight green tinges or bluish colour effects set trends in this segment. While clear glass bottles in a traditional or discreet design play their role as an excellent add-on for wine and food menus in the dining out sector the situation is completely different in retail. Here the brands using single-use PET packaging currently post the highest growth – undeniably at the expense of glass bottles. And this trend is set to continue. PET is THE growth segment in the soft drinks sector.

Bottle, closure and label design are key for standing out from the multitude of waters and near-water beverages with a wide variety of benefits – such as valuable minerals and other ingredients promising well-being. Sporty design for active consumers: high-calcium mineral waters, in particular, focus on “vital” and “beauty” messages in their brand statements. This is then often also reflected in handy PET bottles for drinks “to go”. Equipped with trendy, high-impact labels and practical drinking closures they are the hit for the fitness-conscious generation. For all those wishing to keep cool in tough situations, nerve-wrecking occupations or under examination stress, mineral waters rich in magnesium make a valuable contribution to maintaining performance levels and increasing composure. This is also why the design of most magnesium-rich mineral waters is more subdued and the bottles come with a classic screw cap. In contrast to this, sodium strengthens sportspeople and physical workers, which is why the brand pitch of the relevant mineral waters must address this target group.

Exotic Waters from throughout the World

Very exotic and primarily targeting the high-end catering segment are high-quality waters from Canada, the USA, Great Britain, Corsica, Sweden, South Africa, Japan and New Zealand. These are served in chic, extraordinary and exquisitely designed glass bottles and their content is often just as exotic: e.g. “10thousand BC” consists of 100% melted glacier ice which is said to have formed over 10,000 years ago and remained unaffected by any type of environmental influences. A bottle of “King Island Cloud Juice” is made up of 9,750 rain water drops while “Fiji Water” comes from an Artesian source in the rain forest and is reported to be particularly popular with women in Beverly Hills and Hollywood because its high silica content is believed to strengthen skin, hair and fingernails…

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