Point of Use boosts UK Water Cooler Market
2009 proved to be a mixed year for the UK water cooler industry. Whilst plumbed-in mains water coolers, known as point of use, maintained solid growth, they were unable to offset the decline in bottled coolers. The total market fell by 2%.
Leading food and drink consultancy Zenith International’s 2010 UK Water Cooler market report, its 19th annual edition, shows that there were a total of 682,000 coolers installed at the end of 2009.
Although this is the second year in a row that the overall installed base has seen a decline, the rate has slowed. Considering the challenging economic climate and the absence of a long hot summer in 2009, this is positive news for the industry.
According to Zenith Director Mark Groves: “The concerted efforts of operators to maintain high levels of customer service, to promote the hydration benefits of water and to increase their focus on profitability benefited the industry in 2009.â€Â
The balance of UK water cooler dynamics continues to shift in favour of point of use coolers. With virtually all bottled water cooler companies now also offering this type of unit, its share more than doubled from 18% five years ago to 42% in December 2009.
A highly competitive sector, the leading distributors continue to jockey for position, with the top two players switching places in 2009. Despite four of the top five companies experiencing declines, many cooler companies are growing faster than the overall market. The top 20 firms achieved a compound annual growth rate of 7% between 2003 and 2006, but this fell to 1% from 2006 to 2009.
Driven primarily by point of use placement, Zenith forecasts that UK water coolers will see a return to moderate growth in 2010, reaching 715,000 units by the end of 2014.
The 2010 Zenith Report on UK Water Coolers contains over 140 pages of market commentary, charts and tables together with company profiles. Contact Zenith International on tel +44 (0)1225 327900, fax +44 (0)1225 327901 or e-mail info@zenithinternational.com
Notes for Editors
1. For further information, please contact:
Mark Groves or Charmaine Holmes, Zenith International Ltd
7 Kingsmead Square, Bath BA1 2AB, United Kingdom
t +44 (0)1225 327900, f +44 (0)1225 327901
zenithinternational.com