China Has A Serious Thirst For Imported Premium Bottled Waters

China’s newly-affluent, health-conscious urban consumers are driving sales of premium mineral waters. Packaged water sales in China grew 14 percent in the first half of 2017, a much higher rate than the two percent posted by the whole range of FMCG offerings. The top five local bottled water brands continue to dominate the mass market, claiming a 70 percent market share. But imported brands, including Nestlé’s Perrier and San Pellegrino, control the upscale segment. In fact, Nestlé “higher than expected” double-digit growth in sales of its premium sparkling mineral waters in China pushed the country ahead of Japan as Perrier’s largest market. Chinese brands are competing for a share of the upscale market with new packaging. Shenzhen Ganten and Nongfu Spring have both unveiled high-end glass bottling reminiscent of Perrier’s.