Masafi revolutionizes mineral water market

Masafi, the leading brand of pure natural mineral water in the region for over 30 years, will soon unveil details about the unique gallon bottles which will be 100 per cent recyclable, completely revolutionizing the gallon mineral water bottling segment in the Middle East.

The non-returnable gallon bottles will guarantee 100 per cent purity in a 100 per cent fresh bottle, every time, anytime. The revolutionary bottles ensure a hygienic and safer option to refillable water gallon bottles that risk containing impurities or chemical residue as a result of the cleaning process they undergo before being filled and refilled.

The launch of Masafi gallon water is a significant step towards the company's evolution at becoming a complete FMCG brand by 2011 and signals its strategic growth direction.

Masafi has put into place a mechanism to deliver the innovative single-use gallon water bottles at the doorstep at home or office, besides strategic geographic outlets. The empty bottles will be collected by Masafi personnel and then recycled for non-food applications, making it 100 per cent environmental friendly.

In his comments, Mr Ashraf Abushady, Chief Executive Officer of Masafi, said: "We are excited to announce our plans to launch the Masafi gallon bottles -- a major step to serve the strong consumer demand for pure, natural mineral water in 4-gallon bottles. The innovative bottle packaging also revolutionizes the multi-gallon water packaging in the region and represents the strategic future direction for pure, natural mineral water."

He added:

"The bottle is for one-time-use with no refills and hence no chemical residues, thereby making it more hygienic and safer. The bottles are completely recyclable and forms part of our concerted initiatives to safeguard the environment. More importantly, customers also save on a significant amount of money tied up as deposits for gallon bottles."

The specially designed bottle will epitomize Masafi's rich heritage and unique brand promise - 'Premium Products for Better Life' and designed to communicate the values which drives Masafi - 'Quality, Purity and Transparency'.

Masafi, which has successfully retained its market leadership in the UAE mineral water segment with more than 40% share, distributes approximately 20 million cases or 320 million bottles across UAE, which boasts of the highest per capital consumption of mineral water in the world. The revenues of the company were AED 273 million last year.

Nearly 30 per cent of Masafi mineral water is exported to different countries across the globe, including Japan, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Germany, UK, Australia, Taiwan, Pakistan, Morocco, Yemen, Sudan, Bangladesh and the Ivory Coast.

Masafi had recently unveiled a new brand identity that signifies its evolution as a complete FMCG brand by 2011. As part of this new identity, Masafi has rolled out a new, refreshing look for water as part of its efforts to lead the mineral water category through innovative strategies.

The new brand logo encompasses all natural elements with a refreshing silver outline. The new brand identity simplifies and unifies the look and feel of Masafi in an effort to better communicate its vital characteristics and values to consumers.

As a firm, the company aspires to be a complete food and beverage company and intends on being present across all categories in this sector. Masafi aims to strengthen its market leadership through a process of continuous reinvestment and innovative manufacturing and distribution strategies.