Italy: Nestle invests in Acqua Panna brand

Sanpellegrino, the Italian bottled water firm within the Nestle Waters group, has announced an investment of €70 million ($80 million) over three years to make Acqua Panna “the premium still water” within the Nestle portfolio.

The group said it was earmarking the investment to improve efficiencies at its Scarperia and San Piero sites, as well as to boost its marketing activities, in a bid to develop the brand on international markets.

The Acqua Panna brand saw a volume increase of 13% in 2017 and supported Sanpellegrino’s growth in export markets, the company added.

Commenting on the investment, Sanpellegrino president and CEO Federico Sarzi Braga said: “We want to bolster the performance of our Scarperia and San Piero sites to support our business over the coming years and boost the international growth of Acqua Panna, a brand that has exceeded 300 million bottles sold around the world and which has registered exponential growth of 25% in the last five years. With this investment we are planning to boost production in order to enter new markets and strengthen distribution networks in the USA, the UAE, Russia and all the 120 countries in which we are currently present”.