When you
arrive at the restaurant, the waiter always asks the same question "Would
you rather have still or sparkling water ?" French or Italian ? Bottled or
jared ? With or without ice ? If you think these are too many questions, well, you
haven't seen anything yet because there are so many sparkling waters on the
market !
In
France, there are about 110 brands of waters, whether it’s still, sparkling of
flavored waters. The water industry is concentrated into the hands of 3 big
groups:
- Nestlé (Contrex, Perrier, Vittel)
- Danone (Evian, Volvic, Badoit)
- Alma (Cristaline, St-Yorre, Vichy Célestins)
The 3 of them account for almost 70 % of the national production in
volumes, and about 80% in terms of money value. French consumers still have a
preference for still water although sparkling water consumption has exploded
over the past years. In 2011, natural still water represented almost 84% of the
market share in terms of volume and 50,5% in terms of sales value for grocery stores
and supermarkets, according to resellers.
According to a Secodip survey in 2006, 61% of French people buy at least 1 bottle of sparkling water per year.
According to a Secodip survey in 2006, 61% of French people buy at least 1 bottle of sparkling water per year.
