Move over juice and soda, for many Koreans bottled water is becoming their favorite drink.
With more Koreans choosing to stay healthy by drinking water over other beverages,… the domestic bottled water market is also enjoying a boom.
And nowadays,… you can even find trendy shops stocked with dozens of varieties of water from sparkling to glacial staffed with specially trained water experts to help you make your choice.
Here′s our Park Ji-won with this week′s Industry Insight.
Korea′s bottled water market is estimated to hit about 5-point-five hundred million U.S. dollars in 2014.
The market has almost quadrupled over the past 15 years,… and last year alone… it grew by some 10 percent.
Currently, there are around a hundred domestic brands of bottled water in Korea.
But the hands-down top seller is Jeju Samdasoo the number one brand for 16 years running.
Let′s take a look.
Jeju Samdasoo has been the invincible market leader,… since it was launched in the late 1990s.
Produced and bottled by the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Development Corporation,… Jeju Samdasoo racked up some 206 million U.S. dollars in sales revenue last year,… a market share of over 35 percent.
:
“The reason for the continued support from Korean consumers is the unparalleled water quality. Jeju Island has one of the highest levels of precipitation in Korea. The rainfall permeates underground,… forming vast groundwater resources. Jeju Island′s volcanic rocks function as a natural filter,… resulting in clean and naturally mineral-enriched water.”
With Jeju Samdasoo firmly in the lead,…. the competition for the number-two spot has been fierce.
As of the end of 2014,… Baeksansoo,… a brand launched in 2012 by food and beverage conglomerate Nongshim,… has taken the highly-coveted second position,… with a 5-point-4 percent market share.
While Korea′s bottled water market grew about 10 percent last year,… Baeksansoo′s revenue expanded over 30 percent from the previous year.
“There are three conditions for good water resources: excellent water quality, a clean environment and an abundance of water. Baekdusan Mountain meets all three conditions,… and that′s why Baeksansoo is bottled there.”
With the growing interest in health and well-being in the nation,… sales of bottled water have outpaced the sales of juice,… which tends to contain sugar and artificial colors,… for the first time.
Now that water is one of the most popular beverages,… consumers are developing a water palate and a flair for water and food pairings.
And premium water bars like this,… which sells over a hundred bottled water brands,… are gaining a foothold.
At the bar, water sommeliers offer their advice about which types of water will best suit consumers′ needs.
“There are many types of bottled water,… from glacial water to deep sea water to spring water. The taste depends on the mineral content and the water′s P
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