FDBusiness.com

102,500 more water coolers were installed across West Europe in 2017, marking a 3.4% increase and taking the total to 3.1 million, according to a new report from the sector’s leading specialist consultancy Zenith Global. The number of mains water, point of use coolers rose by 6.2% to reach 46.9% of the total, up from 42.3% in 2013. Mains water coolers have achieved double digit annual growth in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Portugal and Switzerland over the past four years.

Bottled water coolers rose by 1.1% in 2017, the fourth consecutive year of growth, driven mainly by Italy and Spain.

By 2022, Zenith Global forecasts that the total West European market will advance a further 16% to 3.6 million units, with mains water coolers accounting for 52%.

“The water cooler industry is growing faster than the overall economy, because consumer health concerns are leading to increased habitual consumption,” comments Richard Hall, Chairman of Zenith Global Ltd. “Mains water coolers are proving more manageable and more sustainable for increasing numbers of customers. We expect them to overtake bottled water coolers by 2021.”

The United Kingdom retains the overall lead for water cooler installations, with a 21.4% share, followed by Italy and France accounting for 17.6% and 15.7% respectively. Since 2013, the most dynamic markets have been Germany, Switzerland and Spain, rising by an annual 7.3%, 5.0% and 4.3% respectively.

The volume of water sold through bottled water coolers rose by 2.2% in 2017 to 1.3 billion litres, with the most significant gains being made in Italy, Spain and Portugal.

The 2018 Zenith Global West Europe Water Coolers Report contains over 700 pages of market commentary, charts and tables including country and regional market analysis across 16 countries as well as more than 150 detailed company profiles. Contact Zenith Global on +44 (0)1225 327900 or e-mail insight@zenithglobal.com.