Mineral Water Leader

Containers carrying the Baeksansoo via the Rajin Port in North Korea are unloaded at  Busan Port on December 7.
Containers carrying the Baeksansoo via the Rajin Port in North Korea are unloaded at Busan Port on December 7.

 

170 tons of the Baeksansoo, the mineral water Nongshim produced in Yanbian, China, arrived in Korea as a part of the third test phase of the Rajin-Khasan Freight Logistics Project.

Nongshim is striving to turn the mineral water brand into a global one. The company set up manufacturing facilities in China to this end at an investment of 200 billion won, the largest amount in its history. The facilities, put into operation two months ago, are capable of producing one million tons of the mineral water a year.

The mineral water product is characterized by its excellent quality. Nongshim produces it by means of the natural intake of natural mineral-containing spring water in the virgin forest protection areas located in the Paektu Mountain. Once on the ground surface, the spring water is directly injected into bottles through dedicated airtight supply lines. The world’s finest equipment such as Husky’s bottles and Krones’ packaging equipment are used during the course.

In fact, the Baeksansoo is already a premium mineral water brand in the Chinese market. At present, 70 percent of the production volume is consumed in China, where the high quality of the product and the Korean company’s reliability are going viral. According to industry sources, the Chinese mineral water market is expected to grow from 23 trillion won to 70 trillion won in size between this year and 2025.

The popularity of the product is on the rise in Korea, too. Although it made its debut in Korea in 2012, two years later than in China, it has recorded a year-on-year sales growth rate of about 30 percent while the percentages have been limited to 6.3 percent for the Jeju Samdasoo and 19.2 percent for the Lotte Icis 8.0. At present, the three brands’ shares in the Korean market are 5.6 percent, 45.2 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively.

Nongshim is aiming to post annual sales of at least one trillion won with the Baeksansoo in or before 2025. The sales of the product are estimated at 40 billion won this year and the company’s target sales for next year are 80 billion won. The export of the product to Japan, Russia and Europe is scheduled to begin next year, too.

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