Aquawell Group AG starts selling its products on the Serbian market as of April. The company sees its SAINT JOHN’S Mineral Water brand as the Evian of the Balkans, while it also expects its Kids and Baby water to become favourites on the market
The newcomer on the Serbian bottled water market, Aquawell Group AG Switzerland, believes it has a lot to offer consumers of still and sparkling water.
Your products have not previously been present on the Serbian market and the markets of the region. What are your top products and which of them do you plan to launch on local markets during the course of this year?
– We will start selling our products in Serbia and the region in April. As it is still unclear which of our products will have success and which will be the most in-demand, we will launch all the products we have from the beginning. We can say now that bottles of 0.5L and 1.5L, as well as Kids and Baby water, will be the favourites on the market.
The international market shows that the tendency is on nonsparkling, still water, but as the Serbian market is a very specific we hope that the sparkling water segment will be significantly higher in Serbia than it is on the international market.
The majority of your products go to retail shops, supermarkets and HoReCa facilities. What benefits do companies receive from cooperating with Aquawell?
– Our buyers – from supermarkets, all shops and the HoReCa sector – will have a great advantage with our products, as our brand and water quality belongs to the premium segment. Also, our advantage is that the price of our products is not premium, but rather is in the range of the average price of mineral water in Serbia and elsewhere in the world.
SAINT JOHN’S has an exceptionally good balance between minerals, so that the human body can absorb all substances to use it optimally. As such, it is an ideal companion for day and night, and for all stages of life
When it comes to shops, we give them support in marketing, sales and customer service, and when it comes to HoReCa we will have affordable prices in the next two years and support for sales in hotels, restaurants and cafés. Another advantage is that we will have very attractive incentives for our HoReCa buyers.
How much of your production will be sold via export; where will you be exporting to and how much will be sold on the Serbian market?
– At the moment we are unable to value the percentage of the domestic market, but Serbia is clearly our focus in 2017. Our advantages are our international certifications and permits that give us the opportunity to sell our products in the EU, Russia and also the U.S.
How do you see the Serbian market?
– The Serbian market has around seven million potential consumers. If we believe the results of the survey of Euro Monitor, bottled water consumption in Serbia decreased from 2010 to 2015. This should cause our concern, but we also see a huge opportunity to play on the market as a new niche player.
Total consumption of bottled water in Serbia stands at approximately 450 million litres per year. The interesting thing is that four domestic players share 80 per cent of the market. We have the opportunity to follow those four players in the next two years, and to position ourselves with our products.
What standards do you apply when it comes to preserving the quality of the water that you deliver to customers?
– We have all the necessary certifications, like HACCP, ISO standard, and we test our water in our own laboratory several times a day. In 2012, SAINT JOHN’S received official authorisation from the European Union. One of the leading institutions in the world, SGS Fresenius International, accompanied us throughout the approval process.
Our mineral water is naturally filtered and is not subjected to chemical or mechanical treatment. SAINT JOHN’S has an exceptionally good balance between minerals so that the human body can absorb all substances to use it optimally. If we have to compare our water with another international water brand, we can state clearly that SAINT JOHN’S Mineral Water is the Evian of the Balkans.