Sparkling Waters – Perrier and San Pellegrino.
The bottled water industry has seen an across-the-board decline in sales in the past year. Consumers are turning to the lower cost “tap” waters – many of which are private label or “non-familiar” labeled brands sold at discount “dollar” stores.
But there has been one “sparkling” (pun intended) light at the end of the tunnel with the premium “sparkling” water brands – a category that is enjoyed more by the higher income folks. That segment of the industry saw a 3 percent increase in 2009.
One company that has helped to foster those increased sales is the Nestle Waters of North America Co. Their two brands, San Pellegrino and Perrier accounted for a 15.6 and 20.7 percent (respectively) of the 3 percent increase.
Nestle said their two premium sparkling waters (usually sold at high-end restaurants) have grown in retail sales mainly because of the over-all decline in the bottled water industry, even though their restaurant sales have declined.
The reasons: Nestle has shifted its promotional efforts by launching a “fancy-dining-at-home” website campaign for their San Pellegrino brand. The www.thesparklinglife.com site is reaching out to the growing at-home gourmet cook ideal. Using a partnership with “Food & Wine Magazine, Top Chef judge Gail Simmons, and a collection of food festivals in Florida” they are enticing the “fancy” cook to stay at home and impress their guests with their culinary expertise.
Nestle also hosted a competition called, “Almost Chef” which brought culinary students together with established chefs, giving them an opportunity to learn from the experiences of the masters.
Perrier’s increase has been attributed to Nestle’s campaign of promoting the sparkling water through the exclusive night club scene, and have added in-store and on-shelf support to both brands.