Nestle Waters Looks for a Boost From the Sparkling Category
By Steve Holtz on Jan. 25, 2018STAMFORD, Conn. -- Nestle Waters North America hopes to drive significant growth in the sparkling-water category with a new and updated line of sparkling spring waters with more flavors and packaging choices than ever.
The Stamford, Conn.-based company is applying its sparkling-water expertise from premium brands Perrier and S.Pellegrino and harnessing the brand loyalty from its regional spring water brands to the new releases, it said.
“Consumers are choosing sparkling water at an unprecedented rate,” said Antonio Sciuto, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Nestle Waters North America. “We already have great equity in our regional spring-water brands, and we hope that, as our existing customers enter the sparkling category, they will choose our brands first. With our 10 great flavor options, they now have a whole new way to enjoy the spring water they love.”
In February, the company will introduce an entirely new sparkling portfolio for its six regional brands: Poland Spring, Deer Park, Zephyrhills, Ozarka, Ice Mountain and Arrowhead. The release will include new flavors, a new bottle design and packaging, and the introduction of 12-ounce cans—unveiled at the NACS Show in October—to meet more consumption occasions and consumer preferences.
“Following rapid growth over the past few years, the sparkling-water category is now mature enough for us to make a significant investment in developing this extensive line of mainstream sparkling offerings from our regional spring-water brands,” Sciuto said.
The enhanced portfolio will provide consumers 10 water flavors:
- Lively Lemon
- Lemon Lime
- Zesty Lime
- Orange
- Triple Berry
- Summer Strawberry
- Raspberry Lime
- Black Cherry
- Pomegranate Lemonade
- Simply Bubbles
Other features of the new releases include:
- Proprietary bottle design – a sleek PET bottle design that resembles vintage glass, is more comfortable to hold and highlights the movement of sparkling bubbles, according to the company.
- New labels – more prominent branding and fruit imagery, as well as a new colored cap to accentuate visual brand cues and distinguish from competitors.
- New case-pack visuals – vibrant, colorful fruit graphics designed to capture attention on shelf and highlight flavor varieties.
- Cans with colorful fruit graphics – offering 12-ounce cans in all markets.
- Rainbow packs – popular flavor combinations in 24-pack bottles and cans to encourage flavor trial.
With these changes, Nestle Waters hopes to nearly double the number of regional spring-water sparkling households by 2020, compared to the number of households in 2016.
Nestle Waters is already a leader in the sparkling category with premium brands Perrier and S.Pellegrino, as well as the regional brands. While its premium sparkling brands have enjoyed strong year-over-year growth, the company has not emphasized sparkling offerings for the regional brands until now.
According to Euromonitor, the sparkling water category grew 70% from 2011 to 2016 and is expected to reach $3.1 billion by 2022.
Nestle Waters was the first to introduce sparkling water to the mainstream in the 1980s with the introduction of Perrier Sparkling Natural Mineral Water in the U.S., the company said.