Gerolsteiner launches individual 0.75 liter glass bottle

Glass plays an important role as a packaging form, especially for branded mineral waters. The water supplier Gerolsteiner Brunnen GmbH & Co. KG will be using its own bottles for the new 12-bottle crate in future.

In the price segment in which consumers pay over 40 Euro-Cents per liter of mineral water, glass bottles account for 30.6 percent of sales (in terms of quantity 28.6 percent of sales). The signs are pointing to growth. According to the GfK Consumer Panel, there was an increase in sales of 10.7 per cent by comparison with the previous year. This development is driven in particular by modern individual packaging. In 2010 Gerolsteiner Brunnen GmbH & Co. KG ushered in a new era for the new popularity of mineral water from glass bottles with the introduction of the Gerolsteiner 1.0 liter returnable glass bottle in a 6-bottle crate. The Gerolsteiner packaging has since proved to be a growth driver. For this reason, the company is expanding its packaging range in the glass sector and will be introducing a new 0.75 liter returnable glass bottle in a 12-bottle crate as of October 2019. Instead of using the pool bottles of the Association of German Wells, the mineral water market leader has opted for its own bottles in the new crate too. According to the company, the bottles will be introduced separately for each water variety. The launch will start in October 2019 with the still mineral water Gerolsteiner Naturell, which will be followed in spring 2020 by Gerolsteiner Medium, and then in summer 2020 by Gerolsteiner Sprudel (sparkling water) and the medicinal water St. Gero. At Gerolsteiner, the new individual glass bottle is successively replacing the 12 x 0.7l/0.75l reusable glass packaging previously used.

“With this new launch, we are completing a crucial step in our portfolio,” explains Joachim Schwarz, Commercial Managing Director of Gerolsteiner Brunnen GmbH & Co. KG. “In the quality-conscious core target group of Gerolsteiner, there is a high percentage of consumers who prefer to drink mineral water from glass bottles and attach importance to the possibility of stocking up with supplies.

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The new 12-bottle reusable crate comes with a practical central carrying handle and rounded crate edges for carrying comfort.  The Gerolsteiner 12 x 0.75 liter individual glass bottle is offered on Euro pallets. The same crate is used for all three types of mineral water as well as for St. Gero in order to guarantee a uniform brand appearance.

Success factor – diversity of package types

Since consumers choose mineral water packaging depending on their consumption situation and individual preferences, Gerolsteiner offers its mineral water in returnable glass, returnable PET and non-refillable PET bottles and invests purposefully in all three packaging systems. Glass and PET refillable bottles account for 65 percent of Gerolsteiner’s sales, and non-refillable PET bottles for 35 percent of sales. In terms of packaging materials, glass accounts for 27 percent of sales. “With the new Gerolsteiner bottle package, we are supporting reusable glass as an important packaging variant for the mineral water product,” emphasizes Schwarz.

In 2018, Gerolsteiner Brunnen was able to slightly expand its market leadership among carbonated mineral waters in the price segment from EUR 0.40 upwards per liter with a market share of 20.9 percent.

Gerolsteiner Brunnen GmbH & Co. KG is the supplier of the most purchased mineral water brand on the German market and the largest mineral water exporter in the German mineral water industry with a focus on North America, Asia and the Benelux countries.