Industry & Business

Britvic Ireland has announced the GB launch of Ballygowan natural mineral water with export of the award-winning bottled water brand. This is a significant milestone for a home grown Irish brand like Ballygowan, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary as Ireland’s first bottled water brand.

The GB launch will see the product stocked in the leisure and workplace channels and in selected convenience and grocery retail outlets. Bottled water represents 16.5% of the GB soft drinks market, equating to a volume of 1.5 billion litres, and is worth €1 billion at retail sales value.

Kevin Donnelly, country director of Britvic Ireland, says: “The Ballygowan brand has researched extremely well with GB consumers who love the packaging and the brand’s unique heritage. They are particularly impressed with the fact that Ballygowan starts its life as Atlantic rain brought to Ireland by the Gulf Stream which is then filtered through mineral rich limestone in an underground well that dates back to 1184. The combination of contemporary packaging, Irish purity and heritage and its distinctive crisp taste, gives Ballygowan a compelling positioning for the GB market.”

Bottled at source at a state-of-the-art facility in Newcastle West, Co. Limerick, Ballygowan is Ireland’s leading water brand with a 21% market share. 

The GB launch range will consist of still and sparkling variants in 50cl, 75cl and a new 1L bottle and an advertising campaign in is planned for the Summer to highlight the health credentials of the iconic Ballygowan brand.

Over the coming months, Ballygowan natural mineral water will become Britvic’s sole water brand in GB and Ireland replacing Britvic’s existing GB brands Drench and Pennine Spring Bottled Water.

CAPTION:

Pictured at Newcastle West, Co. Limerick to see off one of the first export batches of Ballygowan are Kevin Donnelly (left), country director of Britvic Ireland, and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney T.D.