Bottled Water in Austria

PROSPECTS

Temporarily higher population growth drives volume sales

Off-trade volume sales of bottled water performed marginally better in 2018 than in 2017. The strongest factor driving bottled water sales was population growth: higher immigration rates over the last few years of the review period led to a temporary spike in annual growth rates.

Still water slowly gaining ground on carbonated varieties

While carbonated varieties have traditionally characterised the Austrian market and still remain the preferred type of water, consumers are increasingly warming to the idea of still and more lightly carbonated water varieties. Once a difficult sell, as they were viewed as too similar to tap water, growth of still and light carbonated water is expected to exceed that of carbonated water over the forecast period.

Summer sales increasingly decisive in determining annual performance

With summers becoming warmer and the number of days recording temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius increasing, bottled water consumption is shifting more towards the summer months.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Vöslauer Mineralwasser remains the leading player

Vöslauer Mineralwasser remained the leading player in bottled water in 2018, thanks to the unabated popularity of its Vöslauer brand in both carbonated and still bottled water. Moreover, the company also holds a strong position in flavoured bottled water, which, despite beginning to lose momentum recently, remains one of the most dynamic categories in bottled water.

Domestic brands continue to lead

As Austria is a country rich in mineral spring sources and given its high food safety standards, unsurprisingly there is an abundance of local (mineral) bottled water manufacturers. The leading brands are home-grown: in addition to Vöslauer, brands such as Römerquelle, Waldquelle or Gasteiner enjoy solid brand reputations.

Private label forms an obstacle to value growth for branded players

Facilitated by high concentration in grocery retailing, private label remains strong in bottled water. This poses an obstacle for growing value sales through charging price premiums for brands as private label continuously threatens to offer lower-priced comparable alternatives.

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