At temperatures above 30 degrees, consumers especially like to drink mineral water. The market is extremely competitive, as there are often cheap promotions and supermarkets offer cheap own brands. The turnover in domestic retail trade amounts to around 260 million euros.
On warm days, the bosses of the local mineral water companies are in a jubilant mood. At temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, customers especially like to drink mineral water. “For every +0.5°C more on the thermometer, we see an increase in our sales figures of around 15,000 liters per day,” calculates Coca-Cola boss Herbert Bauer, because Römerquelle is also part of the soft drinks giant. Yvonne Haider-Lenz from market leader Vöslauer adds: “On so-called peak days in 2023, around 23,600 hectoliters were delivered daily – that is almost twice as much as on ‘normal’ days.”
On sunny days, many Austrians find it too hot for juices, beer and wine – a maximum of one spritz is allowed, or soft drinks are watered down. The providers of particularly strongly sparkling products are taking advantage of this. At Vöslauer 2023, the ‘super fizzy’ variant increased particularly strongly in terms of quantity by +11%.
Everyone is looking for their own selling points: Ludmilla Starzinger, head of the Upper Austrian beverage company Frankenmarkter, also positions her range as a baby water, because it has particularly little mineralisation, low nitrate and nitrite values and a neutral taste.
Vitamin water is also “in”
Positive well-being is not only important for young children. Flavoured drinks (with few or no calories) and with special ingredients are very trendy. Strengthening the immune system is just as important as magnesium supplements for athletes. Vitamin water is also “in”.
The containers are also crucial for the purchase decision. More and more people are opting for reusable products. At the same time, convenience often wins. Gasteiner boss Walter Scherb scores points with his 0.33 liter cans.
“The water market is extremely competitive”
Every year, around 260 million euros are spent on water in supermarkets. Waldquelle boss Vítězslav Staněk, who sees his brand positioned as a family product: “The water market is extremely competitive.” In addition, Mineral is often offered with special offers to attract customers to supermarkets. What pleases the dealers irritates the water bottlers. This means that sometimes only 20 percent of the quantities can be sold at the normal price. In addition, there are cheap offers from the chains (Lebensquelle from Spar, Clever, etc.), which take business away from the brands.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
