Flavoured and functional waters bubble up in Europe

Growth was boosted by sales in East Europe, which achieved an 8% increase to 400 million litres.

Flavoured water was again by far the largest segment, with 84% of the total. Functional waters were responsible for the remaining 16%, advancing their share by 1% since 2007.

“Increasing public awareness about the benefits of hydration and mounting concerns over calories in other soft drinks have led to extensive innovation in flavoured and functional waters over the past few years,” commented Zenith Market Intelligence Director Gary Roethenbaugh.

“Scientific advances in tailoring functional ingredients to beverage-based applications have widened the opportunities for functional products.”

Other findings of the 2009 Zenith report include:

• Globally, West Europe is the second largest regional market by volume, accounting for a 24% share.
• Demand is increasing for waters with simple and clear messaging on functional consumer benefits in such areas as fitness and weight management waters.
• Germany and the Czech Republic are the undisputed volume market leaders in West and East Europe respectively.
• Future growth catalysts will differ greatly between regions: for the more mature West European market – repositioning, rebranding and continued investment in marketing; for emerging flavoured functional water markets – organic growth through new product launches.
• Zenith predicts a positive future outlook for European flavoured and functional waters, with a focus on ongoing flavour development tailored to local consumer preferences. The majority of additional demand is forecast to come from East Europe.