Biborteni’s business to bubble over in 2008

Investments are planned to upgrade the company’s bottling plants and consolidate its position on the mineral water and soft drink markets. “Furthermore, we will be present in many more large stores nationwide, and expect our sales to double compared to 2007,” said Biborteni’s Brand Manager.

The soft drink market (which also includes mineral water) is worth some €850 mln, or 2.2 billion liters, according to data obtained from companies.

A market study indicates that carbonated drinks make up 45 percent of the total soft drink market, followed by mineral water, at some 42 percent, and the remainder non-carbonated drinks. The principal players are Coca-Cola HBC, PepsiCo, European Drinks, Romaqua, Biborteni and Parmalat. Last year Biborteni had 5 percent of the mineral water market share, and it expects this to increase in 2008.

Simion explained that Romania’s mineral water market is shared by carbonated and non-carbonated waters, the former dominating the market, although there has been an upward trend since 2005, when the share amounted to 26 percent.

The average annual per capita consumption of bottled water in Romania varies between 40-42 liters, compared to 120 liters per capita in European Union countries, according to data from producers.