Peñafiel


There are almost 6,000 bottled water manufacturers in Mexico, with 10 large consortiums, 150 large companies, 300 medium companies, 600 small companies, and 5,000 micro-companies in the mix. On top of that, almost 85% of bottled water in Mexico comes from micro bottlers using purified water. However, the trend of premium waters from natural sources has recently been gaining ground.1

The major bottled water companies in Mexico have established large scale networks regarding national distribution, sales support as well as promotional and advertising campaigns to showcase their brands, whereas the smaller ones operate mostly based on regional components in order to compete in more specific market segments. Regardless the excess of transportation and environmental impacts, the business of bottled water is going mad all-around Mexico and the liquid assets are highly valued. Interestingly enough, almost every one of the larger companies and several smaller ones as well, rebranded their products and profile in the past two years. 

The case of Penafiel’s branding, probably the most ubiquitous mineral water in Mexico, is exemplary. “A thick, crystalline, slightly-salty water”, drawn from Citlaltépetl since 1928. Peñafiel’s water is actually the most mineral-heavy out of all the major mineral waters, clocking in at 880 ppm total dissolved solids! Compare that with Topo Chico’s 630 ppm, or even San Pellegrino’s 860 ppm. It’s also got almost three times the Sodium and twice as much Chloride as Topo Chico, making this one of the saltiest (probably the saltiest) mineral water on the market.2 New entries, such as Tehuacán Brillante, with “natural chill and bubble quality not as aggressive as Topo Chico”3 are also moving towards the same direction, trying to claim their share on the market. Is bottled water becoming a thing again?

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Mexico bottled water companies.