Bottled Water in Morocco

2020 IMPACT

Strong sales growth as bottled water’s essential status stands it in good stead

2020 saw bottled water buck the generally negative sales trends seen across most categories of soft drinks in Morocco as off-trade sales increased substantially over the course of the year. The key driver of the category’s excellent performance during the year was the essential status of bottled water, a product which virtually every household in the country regards as a necessary purchase.

On-trade sales decline steeply due to challenges faced by hospitality businesses

When assessing the positive total volume growth recorded in sales of bottled water during 2020, it should be noted that only off-trade sales increased over the course of the year. Indeed, sales of bottled water in the on-trade declined substantially during 2020 as the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on the Moroccan consumer foodservice industry.

Category players respond to high demand by ramping up production

The huge spike seen in demand for bottled water during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic placed significant pressure on the supply of products, with temporary shortages seen in the supply of some brands during the period of stockpiling that coincided with the initial stages of the pandemic situation. In order to make the most of the very favourable situation and avoid losing ground to competitors, all of the category’s leading players invested in increasing production capacity and improving the efficiency of their supply chains so as to ensure consistent availability of their products and avoid the situation where their products would be unavailable to consumers for any period of time.

RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES

Strong growth expected after a brief dip during 2021 as sales right themselves

Bottled water is slated for a strong performance over the forecast period, although sales are expected to decline substantially during 2021. This can be seen as a correction of the very high growth rates recorded in the category during 2020, rather than the result of any specific negative background trends.

Think of that are bottled water to be a key factor in the category’s ongoing success

Bottled water remains the only category of soft drinks that is regarded as completely essential by huge numbers of Moroccan consumers. This can be seen in the substantial stockpiling of bottled water that took place during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the very positive growth that was recorded in the category during 2020 as all other categories of soft drinks recorded falling demand.

Shift towards larger packaging sizes set to accelerate as consumers demand value

With bottled water widely regarded as an essential product among Moroccan consumers, it is natural for consumers to seek to minimise the cost of their bottled water purchases. One of the most common ways to minimise the expense involved in person bottled water is to buy in bulk.