Bottled water evian’s brand story goes back some 200 years: and over that time it’s been very much focused on its core natural mineral water. But this month it is expanding into new categories of sparkling flavored, functional and canned products with the launch of evian+.
Portfolio expansion only began in earnest in 2016 with the launch of evian Fruits + Plants. And since then, new launches have been focused around the brand’s core values: such as building on the water’s natural mineral content with added magnesium and zinc with functional beverage evian+ this month; and driving forward its sustainability ethos with 100% rPET, label-free bottles and designer glass bottles.
The sparkling water category is still in its infancy, says Nixie Sparkling Water founder The sparkling water category may seem crowded with products made by CPG giants and offerings from smaller, independently-owned brands, but the reality is that sparkling water is still just a small piece of the overall carbonated beverage category, says Nicole Bernard Dawes, founder of Nixie Sparkling Water. It’s only crowded because it’s not getting a proportionate share of the aisle yet, Dawes told FoodNavigator-USA. If you look at the $30bn carbonated beverage set, sparkling water is still just a tiny fraction of that, but it’s the fastest growing.
Free from added sugar, artificial flavors and with around half the amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee, Ocean Spray Wave – a caffeinated sparkling water with real fruit juice – is the latest drink meeting a trio of consumer demands of refreshment, energy, and health.
Caffeine is in vogue in the beverage category as a stimulant people know and understand – far different to artificial ingredients such as taurine in energy drinks or the demonized sugar in soda.
The growth of the RTD coffee category illustrates the rise of the mid-afternoon pick-me-up occasion – as does Coca-Cola’s launch of Coca-Cola with Coffee in the US this year – but brands such as Ocean Spray, Nestlé and PepsiCo are eying up the opportunity to bring more refreshing, cleaner caffeinated beverage profiles to market with their recent launches.
Europe pledges to make beverage packaging fully circular by 2030 UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe, a trade organization representing the non-alcoholic beverage sector, has set targets for European beverage packaging to be fully circular by 2030. This will be achieved by using rPET, refillable bottles, and boosting collection rates.
An interim goals is for 50% rPET by 2025, while the organization wants to see recycled or renewable material accounting for all PET by 2030.
UNESDA – which represents 23 national associations across Europe as well as counting Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Suntory and Nestlé among its members - says it supports the EU’s ambition of making Europe the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050 and building a circular economy.
Ardagh’s metal packaging business will combine with Gore Holdings V to create an independent public company; which will apply to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.