“Romanians drink three times less mineral water than the European average, although we are the third country, after France and Italy, in terms of mineral water extraction potential,” said Apemin CEO, Minail Ianas.
In Western countries, consumption amounts to 140-150 liters per capita annually. According to market players, the main problem faced by Romanian producers is that sales depend on the weather.
The quantities of bottled mineral water increased by 21 percent in the first seven months of 2008, to 747 million liters, according to Apemin data. The good evolution in the first part of the year determined Apemin representatives to revise estimations for mineral water production, from 1.15 billion liters, to 1.25-1.3 billion liters. Ianas said the market leader is Romaqua Group, with its Borsec brand (35 percent market share), followed by Dorna Apemin, with 14 percent market share and European Drinks, with a 13 percent share. The first six market players cover 85 percent of the total market.
Local soft drinks market, including mineral water, reached €900 million last year and some 3 billion liters in volume. The market was estimated at some €1 billion this year. The main mineral water producers are Romaqua Group, Bibco Biborteni, Pepsi Americas, Dorna Apemin, owned by Coca Cola HBC, Perla Harghitei and Rio Bucovina.
