Mineral water has become a new growth point of drinking water market in recent years, breeding a brand new market with huge untapped potentials. A remarkable performance is that various high-end water brands are springing up on the Chinese market, Chinese high-end drinking water brands come out in an unending flow and the market competition is becoming increasingly fierce. All these signs show that this emerging market is full of vitality and enjoys broad prospects.
As such, high-end water stands as a new market that everyone wants to take a share of it. According to the 2018 White Paper on Water Consumption Trends released by tmall, the growth rate of China's high-end drinking water market in 2017 was 46% - 50%, and the online growth rate of domestic high-end drinking water was 27%, much higher than ordinary drinking water with 5% growth rate. High-end water is becoming increasingly popular not only in high level conferences and upscale restaurants but even for retail channels.
This subdivided market is also a target of Nongfu Spring. On February 1, 2015, Nongfu Spring unveiled a new product, the glass bottled premium water 750ml, in Fusong factory of Changbai Mountain. This new launch (gas contained or non-gas contained) makes a good accompaniment to meals. The non-gas contained natural mineral water with pure water quality and a soft and mild taste is suitable for relatively light dishes; and the gas contained one is able to stimulate the taste buds based on hundreds of gas gradient tests, so it fits those relatively heavily-flavored dishes to balance the overall dining experience.
Actually, Nongfu Spring started to develop this water product as early as 2007. In 2008, Nongfu Spring selected Moya Spring of Changbai Mountain as the water source for this high-end water product. This water source, which is drawn from the ice and snow that fell on Changbai Mountain 30 to 60 years ago, belongs to mineral water with low sodium and mineralization. It has balanced mineral element and a soft and ice and snow-like taste.
As for its bottle design, with an aim to fully demonstrate the four seasons scenery and natural ecology of Changbai Mountain, Nongfu Spring spent three years inviting five top design studios from three countries, and comparing 58 drafts from more than 300 designs to work out the final design plan.
Since 2016, Nongfu Spring has been a regular attender in major international conferences and served as the designated water for conferences to entertain world leaders and guests. At the 2016 G20 Hangzhou Summit, Nongfu Spring high-end water made its debut on the top international conference. In 2017, it had the honor to be the designated water for the Belt and Road Forum. And in the same year, it appeared in the conference hall and various early meetings of the BRICS leaders' meeting.
With its strong sense of ecological and humanistic care, this high-end water product has been hugely popular on the market, which enables Nongfu Spring to open up the high-end water market, keep abreast of the high-end water tide and enhance its brand value.