Bottled Water in Colombia

PROSPECTS

Bottled water sales are flowing

During 2019, bottled water registered the best performance within soft drinks. Increasing concerns about healthier lifestyles that include the need for greater water intake, along with companies offering lower prices per litre through different presentations, have favoured strong growth.

Pack sizes extend

Manufacturers are responding to the demands for convenience with the development of a variety of pack sizes and the introduction of multipacks that were not common in bottled water until recently. Cristal and H2OH! for example are offering 6-24-unit multipacks for 250ml and 300ml varieties, suitable to include in lunch boxes or carry in a handbag.

Potential for a small wave of functional bottled water

Functional bottled water has made sporadic appearances in the category, but consumers are still not very enthusiastic about such products. Nevertheless, late in the review period small brands of functional bottled water containing collagen, such as Viel, were increasing in presence, mainly in modern retailers.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Postobón is the clear leader for bottled water

Competition in bottled water is fragmented with a strong presence of small regional brands with limited coverage. Despite this landscape, Postobón has been able to maintain leadership, leveraging its strong distribution network, innovating in terms of packaging, which has allowed the company to offer competitive prices per litre, and adjusting to the needs of certain regions.

Private label is looking increasingly healthy

Private label, despite having a small share, has been able to record positive growth rates during the review period. This has been the case thanks to discounters, which are offering still purified bottled water at low prices, and large retailers, which have been reducing the prices of their private label, including bottled water, to attract traffic.

FEMSA continues to dip in bottled water

Volume and value shares continue to decline for second-ranked player Fomento Económico Mexicano SAB de CV (FEMSA), with stronger sales decreases in presentations over five litres. Distribution issues and prices increases have contributed to some consumers turning to brands and products by other players.

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