With the theme ‘Natural value’, the event presented an excellent opportunity for producers, suppliers, customers and other industry partners to gain a complete overview of market trends, development and issues.
Day one began with a tour to Grupo Vichy Catalan, Spain’s leading domestic producer of still and sparkling natural mineral waters. Established over 130 years ago, the Vichy Catalan brand maintains strong links with health and medicine, having received numerous acknowledgements by gastronomy and health professionals.
Filling a total of 400 million litres per year, the group’s portfolio includes Vichy Catalan, Font d’Or, Font d’Or Maximum, Font del Regas and Les Creus.??Production is located at two main sites. Just over one hour’s drive from Barcelona, Caldes de Malavella is home to the Vichy Catalan source. The site operates glass and PET bottling lines across a range of formats from 33cl to 2-litre.
The second day began with the conference entitled ‘Natural value’, which was introduced with a look at ‘Iberian market perspectives’, followed by a welcome and Spanish market overview from Amador Vallmayor, managing director of Grupo Vichy Catalan. This was followed by a Portuguese market overview: the ‘Pedras’ case by Antonio Pires de Lima, chief executive officer of Unicer Bebidas.
Closing the session, and looking at ‘Industry priorities and expectations’, was Irene Zafra, secretary general of the Spanish Bottled Water Association, ANEABE.?? A question and answer session followed, before a hydration break.
The morning session then returned with a series of presentations about ‘Global market outlook’.?? Zenith International commercial consulting director Matt Wilton opened with a look at latest global trends and developments. Frédéric Guichard, vice president of Danone Waters France, followed with a presentation entitled, ‘Achieving consistent category growth’, while Dirk Hinkel, managing partner of Germany’s HassiaGroup, considered ‘Managing market and industry change successfully’.
The session was completed by Wolfgang Pasewald, senior vice president – European markets for Nestlé Waters SA, whose presentation was called, ‘Creating and maintaining shared value’.
The morning ended with Paal Steensland, head of sales for SmartSeal, discussing ‘New opportunities through supplier innovation’, and was followed by Javier Espagnol, commercial director of CSI Europe who spoke about ‘Maximising natural value through closure and capping solutions’.
After lunch, there was a panel session on ‘new materials for packaging, which discussed all aspects of packaging innovation, from lightweighting to recycling, and focused on the surge in attention to plant-based materials and its implications.??The panel included:
After a refreshments and networking break, the Congress reconvened with a session entitled ‘Growth insights from emerging markets’.
The first speaker was Rui Leandro, portfolio manager for Arisaig Partners, who looked at ‘Developing an emerging market strategy for growth’. Fu Lin, chief executive officer of Tibet 5100 Water Resources Holdings Ltd, then talked about ‘China: achieving high volumes at premium prices’. Jorge Lopez Doriga, chief marketing officer for Peru’s Ajegroup, talked about ‘Latin America: untapped opportunities for export growth’, while Joao Sampaio, executive director of Angola’s Wayfield Refriango, discussed ‘The future is in Africa’.
The first day of the Congress closed with a questions and discussion session.
In the evening, delegates travelled to the Pavilion Esferic, located in the Joan Brossa Gardens, for a gala dinner featuring the presentation of the Water Innovation Awards 2012 presented by FoodBev Media.
The second full day of the Congress began with a session entitled, ‘Meeting consumer priorities’. It opened with Gianni Catalfamo, European director – digital & social media from Ketchum, whose presentation was entitled: ‘Social media: redefining marketing’. This was followed by Kalle Koutajoki, chief executive officer of Digital Foodie, who looked at ‘How fragmented consumer needs are changing the retail landscape’.
The session closed with Ainara Andueza, FMCG manager for Emnos Iberia, who challenged delegates to ‘Listen to your customer for truly successful innovation’.??A question and discussion session was then followed by a refreshment and networking break.
The next session was called ‘Product innovation: the key to future growth’ and featured:
José Manuel Garcia Pérez, board member of Aguas de Cabreiroá and vice president of ANEABE, then introduced ‘Magma de Cabreiroá: naturally different’, and was followed by Maya Gerasimova, marketing director of Bulgaria’s Devin, whose presentation was called ‘Accelerating market leadership through a multi-source product portfolio strategy’.??
After lunch, the theme turned to ‘Bottled water alternatives’ and a panel session co-hosted by FoodBev Media group editorial director Bill Bruce and European Federation of Bottled Waters secretary general Patricia Fosselard. The panel reviewed the competing challenges faced by the packaged water industry and the industry’s response.
The final session of the Congress was a briefing on ‘Flavoured and functional waters’ delivered by Zenith International market intelligence director Esther Renfrew, who looked at the global market, regional breakdown, key countries, market dynamics, main trends, flavours, functions, innovation, leading companies and brands, volumes to 2011, and outlook to 2016.
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