Bottled Water in Colombia

PROSPECTS

Bottled water sees strong growth

During 2018, bottled water registered the best performance within soft drinks. Increasing concerns about healthier lifestyles that include increased water intake, along with companies offering lower prices per litre through different presentations have favoured strong growth.

Convenience is driving the development of bottled water packaging

Bottled water continues to gain relevance among consumers that not only look to quench their thirst but also who are embracing healthier habits. 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.

Functional bottled water remains negligible

Functional water has made sporadic appearances in the category, but consumers are still not very enthusiastic about such products. Nevertheless, in the past year small brands of functional water containing collagen, such as Viel, have been increasing presence mainly in modern retailers.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Postobón maintains leadership

Competition in bottled water is fragmented with strong presence of small regional brands with limited coverage, but despite this landscape Postobón has been able to maintain leadership, leveraging its trong distribution network, innovation in terms of packaging that has allowed the company offer competitive price per litre and adjusting to the needs of certain regions. In Colombia, the presence of bottled water in plastic pouches is very popular, but has been decreasing, mainly because of the campaign undertaken by Postobón, which launched 300ml Ecopack at a similar price to personal pouches and reinforced this with a campaign highlighting the poor hygienic conditions of plastic pouches and the impact on health.

Private label growing

Private label, despite having a small share, has been able to record positive growth rates during the review period. Not only the entrance of discounters, that are offering still purified water at low prices but the strategy of large retailers to reduce prices of its private label, in different basic products, including bottled water, to attract traffic has driven growth, challenging growth of brands such as Cielo from Ajecolombia SA.

Challenging year for FEMSA

Volume sales have been declining, with stronger decreases in presentations over five litres. Distribution issues and prices increases, contributed to deviate demand towards other brands.

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