Preliminary industry data 2021 - German mineral springs are confident
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Even in the second year of the corona pandemic, German mineral springs are facing a decline in sales of mineral and medicinal water. According to initial projections by the Association of German Mineral Wells (VDM), sales of mineral water and medicinal water across the industry fell by 5.9 percent year-on-year to 9.4 billion liters in 2021. Total sales of the mineral water industry in terms of mineral water, medicinal water and mineral water soft drinks fell by 6 percent to a total of around 12.3 billion liters. With a calculated per capita consumption of 122.7 liters, natural mineral water remains the most popular cold beverage. In the case of natural mineral water, the German mineral water industry is banking on growth in the coming years.
"2021 was a difficult year for non-alcoholic beverages as a whole, and therefore also for mineral water, with a drop in sales of around six percent. The industry-wide decline in sales during the Corona lockdown in the first half of the year and because of the mixed weather in the summer could not be compensated for even by the mineral springs' sales, which started to rise again in the fall," says Jürgen Reichle, Managing Director of VDM. "Consumers confirm to us in representative surveys that they still particularly value the natural product mineral water with its unique properties. We are therefore looking to the future with confidence and, depending on the weather and the effects of the pandemic, expect the trend to reverse this year. Of course, this is not a foregone conclusion - as an industry, we will loudly articulate the benefits of mineral water: Mineral water is a unique natural product that contributes significantly to a healthy diet."
According to a recent representative consumer study by VDM, 78 percent of mineral water and tap water consumers consider natural mineral water to be an essential part of a healthy diet and lifestyle. 91 percent of mineral water consumers consider the natural product to be a healthy food. 90 percent of consumers attach particular importance to natural or original purity as a unique characteristic of natural mineral water.
The calculated per capita consumption of mineral and medicinal water remains at a high level of 122.7 liters. The most popular type of mineral water in 2021 will continue to be mineral water with little carbonation ("medium"), with sales of around 4 billion liters (- 7.3%), followed by mineral water with carbonation ("sparkling" or "classic"), with sales of around 3.2 billion liters (- 8.0%). Sales of non-carbonated mineral water were slightly up on the previous year at around 1.9 billion liters (+ 0.3%). With a sales volume of around 81.0 million liters, medicinal water recorded a drop in sales of 3.5 percent.
In addition to mineral and medicinal waters, German mineral springs bottled around 2.9 billion liters of soft drinks in 2021 (- 6.4 percent). These include spritzers, lemonades, fizzy drinks and wellness drinks based on mineral water. The changes in sales figures were calculated taking into account a correction for sector coverage.
