By Kwon Ji-youn
Shelves at local supermarkets are brimming with bottled water.
At a small convenience store in Migeun-dong, Seoul, half a refrigerator is dedicated to bottled water, featuring more than eight different brands, both mineral and carbonated.
Imports of bottled water hit a record high of $3.75 million last month, with import weights reaching 10,582 tons, according to the Korea Customs Service. This demonstrates that the bottled water market has regained momentum after a brief slowdown in growth. Nongshim announced its plans to invest 200 billion won in building a bottled water plant in Yanbian, China.
As the local bottled water market continues to flourish, research shows that a growing number of people are exploring premium water brands that claim to contain health-boosting minerals, most of which are French.
A 2013 Euromonitor International report on Korea's premium water market claimed that the trends show potential market growth and player movement, especially as department stores begin operating "water bars" along with separate sections for premium water.
Successful premium water brands often have unique stories, powerful branding and, most importantly, great designs – a combination of the above helps build strong customer loyalty.
Bottled water brand Evian backed such claims.
"Premium water constitutes a 3 billion won market, and its growth rate exceeds 20 percent per year," said Sean Ryoo, zone director for Evian Korea. "Import weights of bottled water reached 68,871 tons in 2013, an eight-fold increase from 2009."
Ryoo added that the market is expected to grow even further as Korean brands make forays into the premium bottled water industry.
Upgraded designs
To stand out in such a market, Evian has targeted female customers with pink packaging designs.
"Bottled water designs usually come in blue or transparent packaging so as to make its contents appear chilled and refreshed," Ryoo said.
"Evian, however, set sights on a boost in brand awareness with packaging colors that female consumers prefer."
Evian, sourced from springs in the French Alps, took its facelift a step further in 1993 with its limited edition bottle designs, and in 2008 began collaborating with renowned designers, including Paul Smith, Issey Miyake and Jean Paul Gaultier.
The brand's 2014 project, aimed at winning back market share, was with Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab.
The design reflects the purity that both brands pursue, adding delicate lace patterns to the sleek Evian bottle. Saab stressed in a number of interviews that the transparency of his signature lace reflects the transparency of the water.
"Evian has worked to bring together designers' identities with Evian's brand concept in its limited edition bottle designs, conveying Evian's pure and fresh image to consumers in a more visual manner," Ryoo stressed.
"We are aware that some consumers are unhappy with the idea of commercializing water, so we wanted to create bottle designs that consumers would want to keep when they're done drinking from them."
The reopening of water bars in department stores has restored in consumers an appetite for premium water, according to Ryoo.
"The designer bottles play a significant role in differentiating Evian from other brands that have made inroads into the premium water industry," he added.
Other sought-after bottle designs include those of Antipodes, based in New Zealand.
"We like to think that Antipodes Water is truly different – different in quality, in the way it looks, in its impact on the environment and in the way it is produced and distributed," Deborah McLaughlin, general manager at Antipodes, told The Korea Times W by e-mail.
"Antipodes Water was specifically chosen to complement the fine wine and fine food experience, both in taste and bottle design. The bottle is clean and simple to enhance the dining setting rather than dominate it, to look as pure on the outside
as the water is on the inside."
Korean bottled water brands are now following with award-winning designs that appeal to premium water consumers.
The design for Hallasu, produced by the Jeju Special Selfgoverning Province Development Corp (JPDC), won a packaging design prize at this year's iF Design Awards, which took place in Munich, Germany.
"We wanted our bottle designs to reflect the premium water that it carries – Jeju water of the best quality," said Oh Jaeyun, president of the JPDC.
The Hallasu bottle is trapezoid in shape with a rounded square cross section, and a silhouette of Mount Halla, from which the water is sourced, is reflected in the bottle's base. The black stopper serves as a drinking vessel. The design was also
awarded the Reddot Design Award in 2013.
In May, Dongwon F&B unveiled a limited edition premium water product, Breeze A, at 1,500 won for 480ml. Breeze A's nature-friendly bottle design is suggestive of a dewdrop as it falls from a tree leaf.
Bottled luxury
Overseas, select brands have raised the stakes in bottled water designs. Japan-based Fillico produces water that costs around $100 (103,730 won), the bottle of which is generously studded with Swarovski crystals and etched in gold paint. High-end water brand Bling H2O features bottles that are also studded with Swarovski crystals, made of frosted glass and priced at approximately $40 (41,500 won) per bottle, offering "an exquisite face to match exquisite taste." The water reportedly
does taste good – it won the gold medal at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Festival.
"But as far as I know, Evian is the only brand that that has provided consumers with limited edition designer bottles in Korea," said Ryoo. "We are taking an active interest in carbonated water brands, such as Perrier and San Pellegrino, which are looking to launch limited edition designer products here as well."
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At a small convenience store in Migeun-dong, Seoul, half a refrigerator is dedicated to bottled water, featuring more than eight different brands, both mineral and carbonated.
Imports of bottled water hit a record high of $3.75 million last month, with import weights reaching 10,582 tons, according to the Korea Customs Service. This demonstrates that the bottled water market has regained momentum after a brief slowdown in growth. Nongshim announced its plans to invest 200 billion won in building a bottled water plant in Yanbian, China.
As the local bottled water market continues to flourish, research shows that a growing number of people are exploring premium water brands that claim to contain health-boosting minerals, most of which are French.
A 2013 Euromonitor International report on Korea's premium water market claimed that the trends show potential market growth and player movement, especially as department stores begin operating "water bars" along with separate sections for premium water.
Successful premium water brands often have unique stories, powerful branding and, most importantly, great designs – a combination of the above helps build strong customer loyalty.
Bottled water brand Evian backed such claims.
"Premium water constitutes a 3 billion won market, and its growth rate exceeds 20 percent per year," said Sean Ryoo, zone director for Evian Korea. "Import weights of bottled water reached 68,871 tons in 2013, an eight-fold increase from 2009."
Ryoo added that the market is expected to grow even further as Korean brands make forays into the premium bottled water industry.
Upgraded designs
To stand out in such a market, Evian has targeted female customers with pink packaging designs.
"Bottled water designs usually come in blue or transparent packaging so as to make its contents appear chilled and refreshed," Ryoo said.
"Evian, however, set sights on a boost in brand awareness with packaging colors that female consumers prefer."
Evian, sourced from springs in the French Alps, took its facelift a step further in 1993 with its limited edition bottle designs, and in 2008 began collaborating with renowned designers, including Paul Smith, Issey Miyake and Jean Paul Gaultier.
The brand's 2014 project, aimed at winning back market share, was with Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab.
The design reflects the purity that both brands pursue, adding delicate lace patterns to the sleek Evian bottle. Saab stressed in a number of interviews that the transparency of his signature lace reflects the transparency of the water.
"Evian has worked to bring together designers' identities with Evian's brand concept in its limited edition bottle designs, conveying Evian's pure and fresh image to consumers in a more visual manner," Ryoo stressed.
"We are aware that some consumers are unhappy with the idea of commercializing water, so we wanted to create bottle designs that consumers would want to keep when they're done drinking from them."
The reopening of water bars in department stores has restored in consumers an appetite for premium water, according to Ryoo.
"The designer bottles play a significant role in differentiating Evian from other brands that have made inroads into the premium water industry," he added.
Other sought-after bottle designs include those of Antipodes, based in New Zealand.
"We like to think that Antipodes Water is truly different – different in quality, in the way it looks, in its impact on the environment and in the way it is produced and distributed," Deborah McLaughlin, general manager at Antipodes, told The Korea Times W by e-mail.
"Antipodes Water was specifically chosen to complement the fine wine and fine food experience, both in taste and bottle design. The bottle is clean and simple to enhance the dining setting rather than dominate it, to look as pure on the outside
as the water is on the inside."
Korean bottled water brands are now following with award-winning designs that appeal to premium water consumers.
The design for Hallasu, produced by the Jeju Special Selfgoverning Province Development Corp (JPDC), won a packaging design prize at this year's iF Design Awards, which took place in Munich, Germany.
"We wanted our bottle designs to reflect the premium water that it carries – Jeju water of the best quality," said Oh Jaeyun, president of the JPDC.
The Hallasu bottle is trapezoid in shape with a rounded square cross section, and a silhouette of Mount Halla, from which the water is sourced, is reflected in the bottle's base. The black stopper serves as a drinking vessel. The design was also
awarded the Reddot Design Award in 2013.
In May, Dongwon F&B unveiled a limited edition premium water product, Breeze A, at 1,500 won for 480ml. Breeze A's nature-friendly bottle design is suggestive of a dewdrop as it falls from a tree leaf.
Bottled luxury
Overseas, select brands have raised the stakes in bottled water designs. Japan-based Fillico produces water that costs around $100 (103,730 won), the bottle of which is generously studded with Swarovski crystals and etched in gold paint. High-end water brand Bling H2O features bottles that are also studded with Swarovski crystals, made of frosted glass and priced at approximately $40 (41,500 won) per bottle, offering "an exquisite face to match exquisite taste." The water reportedly
does taste good – it won the gold medal at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Festival.
"But as far as I know, Evian is the only brand that that has provided consumers with limited edition designer bottles in Korea," said Ryoo. "We are taking an active interest in carbonated water brands, such as Perrier and San Pellegrino, which are looking to launch limited edition designer products here as well."
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