The European Vending & Coffee Services Association (EVA) recently contacted vending machine operators and bottlers as part of a survey to help analyse the current trends of bottled water in the industry.
The objective of the study was to understand how bottled water is currently provided in the vending industry, to understand if new formats for bottled water are being used and to what extent, and to see if European and national policies focused on sustainability are impacting the demand for water in vending machines. The survey asked European bottlers and vending machine operators a series of targeted questions.
The new report based on the more than 130 responses to this survey has just been published by the EVA, and outlines a number of interesting findings, including:
- Over half of operators say sales of bottled water has increased in the last five years;
- 42% of operators say PET bottles are the only format for bottled water in their machines, but this varies in different markets;
- Almost half of operators say that there has been an increased demand from clients for water dispensers.
While PET bottles are indeed the most common format of delivering bottled water, the report provides a breakdown of water provided in cans, glass bottles and cartons (such as Tetra-Pak) in machines, with the results varying – sometimes significantly – from market to market. Policy restrictions also, as expected, vary from country to country, but some operators commented that procurement has yet to catch up with policy intent, perhaps an indication that new restrictions could well be expected in the coming years.
EVA members can get the report from the EVA secretariat, or to buy it contact vending@vending-europe.eu
