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**International industry leaders gathered in Wiesbaden near Frankfurt for the annual Global Bottled Water Congress organised by Zenith International in association with Water Innovation magazine.**

Sponsored by Bericap, Döhler, Luso, NSF, Seaquist Closures and Simei, the event included a conference with the theme 'Motivating consumers'; plant tours to Gerolsteiner, Bericap and Döhler; a Flavoured and functional focus day; retail outlet visits; and a gala dinner featuring the presentation of the Water Innovation Awards.

The event began on 22 September with a series of retail outlet visits arranged by Coca-Cola GmbH. Delegates were also able to visit the Gerolsteiner Brunnen GmbH & Co KG plant.

Established in 1888, the company is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year. It produces Germany’s leading water brand and is the country’s largest exporter, distributing its products to 42 countries worldwide. A tour of the Doehler GmbH plant at Darmstadt was also a highlight of the first day, as well as a briefing by Seaquist Closures and a welcome reception.

Motivating consumers Day two featured the main conference, entitled 'Motivating consumers', and the elegant Friedrich von Thiersch Saal in Wiesbaden’s famous Kurhaus played host to a packed programme with speakers from all over the world.

Zenith International Chairman Richard Hall welcomed delegates, and before proceedings could begin, invited Dr Peter Traumann, CEO of Gerolsteiner Brunnen, onto the stage for the presentation of a large cake to celebrate Gerolsteiner’s 120th birthday.

Dr Traumann then gave the opening address in a session entitled 'Renewing momentum in Europe', looking at the German market. Considering the “still water opportunity in a sparkling market” was the theme for Christine Siemssen, General Manager of Danone Waters Deutschland GmbH.

Volker Büttel, Marketing Director – Water for Coca-Cola GmbH, then discussed 'Awakening the sleeping beauty: The successful relaunch of Apollinaris'. Thomas Hilche, Technical Director of Genossenschaft Deutscher Brunnen, looked at 'Reusable packaging in Germany: Ecology and economics'. The session closed with a period of questions and discussion.

The second session of the morning looked at international market development and began with Zenith International Chairman Richard Hall examining the “latest global market developments and leading company positions”. The keynote address: 'Meeting consumer needs, hopes and concerns' was given by Wolfgang Pasewald, Senior Vice President – Europe of Nestlé Waters.

Lunch was followed by a look at the 'BRIC countries: Growth engines', and featured sessions including: 'Emerging sophistication in Brazil' with Cristiane Mocellin, Non-Executive Director of Aguas Ouro Fino; 'Russia: Drivers for rapid expansion' with Marc Schroeder, Business Development Director for Pepsi Bottling Group/PepsiCo JV Russia; and 'India: Premium opportunity for good sources' with Pradeep Poddar, MD of Mount Everest Mineral Water Ltd, part of Tata Enterprises.

A session entitled 'Environmental action' featured three speakers: Barbara Chung of Fiji Water looked at 'Creating a truly sustainable business'; Sally Stanley, Marketing Director of Highland Spring Ltd considered the challenge of 'Maintaining consumer trust under media spotlight'; and Nextek Pty Ltd MD Edwards Kosior discussed 'Lightweighting and recycling for bottled water'.

The day ended with the Water Innovation Awards gala dinner at the Kurhaus Colonades.

Flavoured and functional focus Day three of the Congress was devoted to a flavoured and functional focus, beginning with two speakers: Douglas Lamont, MD of This Water for Innocent Drinks, who discussed the natural evolution from smoothies to This Water in the UK; and Ulf Spendrup, Vice CEO of Spendrups Bryggeri, which looked at the incremental opportunity for Loka flavoured water in Sweden.

Four functional case studies then followed. Martin Chalk, co-founder or Australia’s Balance Water, presented 'Flower essences: Function without requiring flavour'; Nuño Ferreira Pires, Innovation Director and Head of Water and Soft Drinks Business Unit for Sociedade Central de Cervejas y Bebidas in Portugal looked at 'Luso for weight management and intestinal health'; Colin Bloom, Director of South African-based Aqua Bimini discussed the success of anti-ageing water; and Anthony Newman, MD of UK-based Extreme Drinks presented 'Aqua Vitamins: No artificial anything'.

After lunch, there were two global insight briefings. The first was from Zenith International Market Intelligence Director Gary Roethenbaugh on 'Flavoured and functional water market trends worldwide'; and the second was on 'Ethical and environmental initiatives' from Carbon Action Plan Partnership Chief Executive Ian Hall.

For further information about this, or other Zenith International events, visit www.zenithinternational.com or call +44 1225 327900.