The conference was titled ‘Power of the Past, Force for the Future’, and was introduced by BWCA chair John Dundon.
John has worked in the water cooler industry for over 20 years and has gathered a wealth of knowledge from experience working at Sparkling Spring UK, as MD of First Choice Watercoolers, and MD of Nestlé Watercoolers, and now at Angel Springs, where he is managing director.
In his introduction, John gave his personal views on the industry and the BWCA from the perspective of the past, and outlined his thoughts on planning for the future. He talked about the twin pressures of poor weather and a weak economy, and said that the delegates could expect the speakers to be challenging in their views and observations.
The first speaker was FoodBev Media group editorial director Bill Bruce, who has observed and written about the water cooler industry for almost 15 years.
Bill explained his credentials in passing comment on the cooler industry by outlining the development of the industry’s specialist magazines, from the original H20 Europe in 1999 through to the creation of the world’s only point-of-use magazine, The Point, to the creation of today’s Cooler Innovation magazine.
He also set the context of making these observations from his role in a business that reviews all food and drink categories worldwide, and drew delegates’ attention to the wide range of cooler industry stories, views and innovations on FoodBev.com.
He commented on the original creation of the European Bottled Water Association from the then IBWA-Europe, and talked about the entrepreneurs who set the standard for quality and service a decade and a half ago.
Bill then moved on to discuss the consolidation of the industry, a fall in service standards and a realisation that the industry had, to some degree, been focused on cooler numbers rather than profitability.
He touched on the industry’s apparent obsession with machinery rather than what he said was, “the essential service of providing health, wellness and hydration in the workplace”.
Moving to the present day, he outlined some challenges and opportunities facing the industry. In conclusion, he suggested that, to succeed, the industry should concentrate on adding value with premium quality and premium service, and that if it chose to differentiate with, for instance, coffee, it should do so clearly.
He challenged the audience to pay attention to technology, particularly where it enhance the user experience.
Bill then focused on communication and repeated that the key message should be ‘hydration, hydration, hydration’. He challenged the audience to consider the language it used and suggested that industry terms such as ‘sanitisation’ are best avoided.
Finally, he looked at the sensitive issue of price, concluding that, “consumers willingly pay a premium price for premium quality/technology and service”.
The next speaker was Zenith International’s Iva Hatzold. Iva is a member of Zenith’s market intelligence team, conducting research for Zenith’s global beverage databases and compiling market reports specifically on the water cooler sector.
Iva presented the results of Zenith’s latest research into the water cooler industry.
John Dundon then introduced Stephen Falder, inventor and founder director of Byotrol Plc.
Stephen described himself as a microbiologist, paint maker and entrepreneur. He is the inventor of Byotrol technology and his family business is the UK’s largest private paint manufacturer.
A passionate advocate for a proper understanding by governments of the value of and needs of specialist industries that are not always the first concern of regulators, his speech was amusing and challenging, drawing on numerous experiences that resonated with the delegates.
The final speaker was Pat McFadden MP. Following a role as political secretary to Prime Minister Tony Blair, Pat was elected as Labour member of parliament for Wolverhampton South East in 2005. He is a member of the Treasury Select Committee and a member of the Parliamentary Commission for Banking Standards.
He discussed the effect of the current banking issue and the economy on SME businesses and how he believed they can best face the future.
The conference closed with a lively question and answer session.
The Trade Show was very busy, with over 30 exhibitors showing their latest innovations in products and services for the water cooler industry.
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