Finally to comply and respond to the market, Perrier is launching a new range of flavored waters in Verges in Gard.
The use of activated carbon and ultraviolet filters was not regulated: Nestlé Waters is returning to the standards and adapting its production at its Source Perrier site in Gard.
“This is the culmination of a major transformation plan”. Sophie Dubois, director of Nestlé Waters France, says she has high hopes for growth for the historic Sours Perrier site in Verges (Garde). Here, the famous sparkling water sold around the world, like many other waters marketed by Nestlé, experienced a significant drop in production, which is particularly associated with the effects of climate change.
Declining production
Production drops from 1.7 billion units (bottles and cans of various capacities) coming off the guard lines in 2021 to 1.4 billion in 2022, then 1.2 billion in 2023. “We aspire to return to our production of 1.7 to 1.8 billion in 2024 and maintain or develop our activity in the region”, Assures the manager. However, there is a caveat: not all bottles produced in Vergés in 2024 by the factory’s thousand employees will be called Perrier and not all will be natural mineral water! Henceforth, two of the eight wells (the oldest) will produce water for human consumption which cannot be called mineral water. “We are launching a new range of Maison Perrier, flavored waters, which will not have the characteristics of Perrier waters but will suit a new, very fast growing consumer segment,” assures Sophie Dubois.
Sophie Dubois is director of Nestlé Waters France.
The birth of Maison Perrier is above all a result of the obstacle for the Swiss giant to comply with French regulations, which was not the case! The use of ultraviolet light and activated carbon filters is in fact not authorized in France, and Nestlé Waters has admitted to continuing the practice illegally until 2021, when it finds a new microfiltering technique and proposes to the authorities. “We must both protect the environment of our sources, and preserve the characteristics of our water. This requires permanent and quite complex adaptation to climate events, sometimes floods, sometimes droughts. So our plan aims to be more resilient. For natural water We return to compliance with a regulatory framework, a framework that we may have lost without looking back, however, at any time putting the food safety of our water into question.Sophie Dubois continues.
Production has declined in the last three years.
Invested €50 million in the Vergèze factory
The microfiltration process has been validated, it took three years to remove the activated carbon and ultraviolet filters that made it possible to have the labeling required for marketing, and the group’s French boss recognizes this. “All our systems are now fully compatible, but this has led us to make very difficult business choices”. A €50 million investment was made at the Guard site, to separate the flow arrivals from the two types of water, Perrier and Maison Perrier.
This “major strategic shift” is based on the prospects of the rapidly growing bottled water market. The flavored water, sold out in a few weeks and already in production at Verges, will be called Maison Perrier Forever, Maison Perrier Chic (non-alcoholic drinks or “mocktails”) Magnetic Juice (with fruit juice) or Energize (an energy drink with natural flavors). . ). In 2024, Nestlé Waters France intends to recover its volumes, demonstrate innovation and reach new customers, especially young people.
In the Vosges, closed wells
At its Vittel-Contreuxville site in the Vosges, Nestlé Waters has suspended some wells. Age, susceptibility to climatic hazards and depletion of water resources have reduced the amount of Hepar and Contrex. The end of the marketing of Vittel water in Germany added to the difficulties. Last October, a social movement affected the Vosges site, with employees protesting against a reduction in the number of employees (171 departures out of 720 jobs are planned).
