While the mains-fed water cooler industry across west Europe still showed double-digit growth in 2008 at an impressive 17%, bottled cooler placements declined by around 3%.
According to Zenith, well-established bottled cooler markets are providing a key platform for mains-fed development, and a growing number of operators across Europe are now offering both types of water cooler.
It seems this is a trend that’s set to grow, as distributors are unable to miss out on the opportunities that mains-fed coolers undoubtedly offer.
As the mains-fed industry continues to develop, we’re still searching for the best terminology to use. My comments in my last blog, where I questioned the continued validity of the term ‘point of use’, certainly raised some debate within the industry.
Feedback has mostly been positive, with Cooler Innovation readers and the online community recognising the need to speak plainly with customers and the general public.
There’s an online LinkedIn survey available here, where we’d like to hear if ‘mains-fed’ is indeed the best term or whether there’s a better alternative. We plan to publish the results in the next issue of *Cooler Innovation*. They should make interesting reading!
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