Upgrading in Chinese Bottled Water Market. The case of Italian San Pellegrino.

Abstract

Bottled water has been transformed from a banal thirst-quenching product into a consumer commodity connected to a range of different cultural images and lifestyles. For millennials Chinese People drunk boiled water, however, in latest years more and more Chinese consumers shifted towards bottled water, mainly for safety concerns about environmental pollution of tap water. In addition to this, the rising of the middle and wealthy class and the more health-awareness of Chinese people, are making them not only buy more, but also buy better. It has been identified that in recent years Chinese consumers are in a consumption upgrading to natural mineral water and high-end water. In this sector, sparkling water has having a huge growth in Chinese Consumer consumption, and it is predicted to continue to steadily growth. Sparkling water has become in the Chinese society the symbol of the high-end lifestyle in the water market, mainly connected to a western lifestyle. As a consequence, import of natural mineral water is growing and after France, Italy is the second exporting country of natural mineral water in Chinese Market. Through an online questionnaire, there will be investigated Chinese consumers’ frequency, preferences, habits and reasons regarding imported bottled water and especially San Pellegrino, trying to understand if its consumption is tied to Country of Origin Effect.