Being available anywhere, at anytime to meet consumer expectations is a real creed for Nestlé Waters. This requirement has generated the need for multiple packaging formats. From the 5 gallon (18.9 litres) home delivery format to specially designed small formats sold in vending machines to the traditional 1 litre glass bottle of mineral water served in restaurants, each format provides a specific consumer response to a particular need in a corresponding distribution channel.

Packaging must also be adapted to the constraints of transport, warehousing and shelf space, all of which make distribution a custom-tailored service. While the retail take-home channel still represents over half of Nestlé Waters’ bottled water sales, new trends are complementing traditional channels and providing new consumption opportunities.

…in all circumstances

Consumption habits evolve and fewer meals are eaten at home. This major trend has created new distribution modes to meet consumer needs wherever they occur. Planes, cruise ships, train stations, cinemas, stadiums, amusement parks and petrol stations are progressively becoming new outlets. In much of the southern hemisphere, the street itself has always been a favoured sales outlet.

Representing close to a third of Nestlé Water’s business, the out-of-home channel is expanding rapidly. Because of the need to be available everywhere, the group has even created its own sales outlets in several countries, in the form of push carts and has strengthened its presence via vending machines accessible 24 hours a day.

HOD, a priority for the future

The future looks rosy indeed for water jugs and coolers. Home and Office Delivery (HOD) – water distribution in large formats to homes and offices – has become a strategic thrust for Nestlé Waters’ development in the past few years.

Launched by the Arrowhead Company (now owned by the group) in California at the end of the nineteenth century, HOD has always been an important distribution channel in North America, where it represents one-third of bottled water sales. 

Pioneering the North American market, Nestlé Waters offers a full range of regional brands, that are cross-branded between both HOD and retail channels.  In more recent years, Nestlé Waters has extended its HOD service to the other continents. The group set up a dedicated organisation and made several strategic acquisitions. After taking a solid lead in Europe with the acquisition of the Powwow Group in 2003 and extending its leadership to the Middle East, Nestlé Waters offers today an HOD service in over 20 countries around the world.

Service quality was the basis for development of the HOD business; to that Nestlé Waters adds brand image and recognition. Nestlé AQUAREL in Europe and Nestlé PURE LIFE in other regions of the world are destined to be major HOD brands in this channel. With their multi-site production strategy, they have the flexibility necessary to meet the demands of the HOD sector, where a key success factor consists in bottling close to the distribution zone.