GCC BOTTLED WATER INDUSTRY

By ZAINAB MANSOOR

WATER, WE ARE TOLD, IS the healthiest of all drinks and good for our health – aren't all good things in life for free? Not when you look at the flourishing worldwide bottled water industry. Global bottled water consumption is estimated to have crossed 53.9 billion gallons in 2009, as per Beverage Marketing's report on The Global Bottled Water Market. It further stated that bottled water accounted for more than 29 per cent of the total volume of liquid refreshment beverages in 2009.

Several Middle Eastern countries fared incredibly high on the global consumption ranking with United Arab Emirates recording per capita bottled water consumption of more than 40 gallons in 2009, being the third highest in the world. Saudi Arabia and Qatar ranked 13th and 16th respectively with 26.4 and 25.5 gallons per capita consumption of bottled water in 2009.
According to UN Reports, meanwhile, the Arab countries together hold just 1.1 per cent of global renewable freshwater for the total of 4.6 per cent of the world's population. The MENA countries may have account surpluses but lack the essential resources and infrastructure to effectively deliver potable water to its residents. Add to that, the region's hot and dry weather gives enough momentum to the region's bottled water industry. Sales of bottled water are expected to soar by 22.9 per cent through to 2013 from sales of USD 852 million were recorded in 2008.
The per capita bottled water consumption in the UAE has reached approximately 275 litres per annum – the highest consumption rate in the world. According to Business Monitor International's analysis, the UAE's bottled water industry is slated to increase to USD 420 million by 2013 which itself is a huge incentive for regional and local bottled water manufacturers.
Whilst the UAE bottled water industry is worth almost AED 1 billion per year, BMI reports that the adjoining regional markets show considerable potential as well. Saudi Arabia, hosting a population of approximately 25 million residents, is the region's biggest bottled water market by value. Kuwait and Qatar are also promising regional markets as they hold annual bottled water consumption of 100 litres per capita, touted amongst the highest in the world. Since these markets hold moderate- to high-income generating residents, they would be good prospects for regional water manufacturers.
This industry is helping grow the plastics industry, too. The most commonly used plastic for making water bottles is polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The demand for PET globally soared up to 15.3 million tons while the projected annual rise in global PET demand until 2020 is estimated at 5 percent. According to PCI, an industry advisory group, PET consumption in the Middle East will grow by 47.9 percent over 2010-2015 to 2.3 million metric tons per year to which the bottled water industry will evidently play a significant role.

Driving Trends in the Beverage Segment
THE INDUSTRY HAS WITNESSED a lot of innovation in terms of processes, products, communication mixes and ever-changing consumer trends and preferences, according to Natascha Edelmann, Masafi head of Marketing. "Bottled water has proved itself to be the key component of the liquid refreshment beverage market across the UAE and GCC. As you know, this has given rise to the phenomenon, which we commonly refer to as 'New Age Beverages'. Besides other products, these beverages also include Flavoured and Flavoured Functional Water," explained Ms Edelmann.
Amongst these trends is flavoured water, which Masafi was the first UAE-based company to enter and today leads with a market share of 2Mężczyźni