Waldquelle reports production increase
Austrian-Czech mineral water bottler Waldquelle reported today (Weds) it had raised the amount bottled by seven per cent year on year to 120 million litres in 2009.The firm said its turnover had increased by 8.7 per cent year on year to 21 million Euros last year.Waldquelle chief Herbert Czech claimed that Waldquelle had the second-largest market share for mineral water in Austria, after market leader Vöslauer but ahead of third place Römerquelle.Czech added that his firm had increased its market share in Austria by 60 per cent in the past five years. He attributed last years success to its first TV advertisements. “We have invested in tough times rather than resigned ourselves to them,” he noted.He said Waldquelle would continue its TV advertisements this year and increase its exports by 10 per cent.Its chief export market is Germany, but it also exports its products to the Czech Republic and Croatia.Austrians love mineral water, with 85 per cent of households purchasing it and consuming an average of 135 litres of it annually.Fifty-five per cent of Austrians who drink mineral water prefer the sparkling variety, 40 per cent would rather drink it still, and five per cent like both kinds, according to results of a poll of 500 people by GfK Austria last year.The poll also found that younger people drink much more mineral water than older folks.