A lemon Perrier?
We will now have to postpone this little pleasure.
The famous green bottles of sparkling water are seriously starting to run out on the shelves of supermarkets and other points of sale.
Contacted by Le Figaro, Nestlé Waters France questioned the
“climatic events that have become more frequent and intense, with alternating episodes of
drought
and heavy rains”.
“The current economic situation and the global context also have significant impacts in the supply chain of certain raw materials
,” adds the group that operates the Perrier brand.
Everything is done to ensure the availability of the sparkling drink again, starting with the acceleration of the modernization of their Vergèze site.
The Nestlé Waters France group nevertheless indicates that the “
full availability of Perrier products
” will be affected in the short term and “
still for a few months
”.
Towards a shortage of sparkling water?
To make sparkling water, you need food grade CO2.
However, this carbon dioxide has experienced tensions and a price increase.
Food CO2 is a by-product of the manufacture of fertilizers, which is recovered, filtered and then purified.
But to make fertilizer, you need gas.
“
With the war in Ukraine, fertilizer prices exploded, so manufacturers stopped producing it,
” explains the France managing director of Sodastream, the sparkling water machine.
A Sanpellegrino plant, for example, was temporarily shut down in Italy last quarter due to a lack of food CO2 supply.
The food carbon dioxide activity being essential for Sodastream, the company therefore anticipated its “
supplies at the end of last year so as not to face a shortage for its machines
”.
At the end of 2022, sparkling waters did indeed experience supply difficulties, but which improved significantly at the start of the year, according to NielsenIQ.
“
People will be able to continue to consume sparkling water
”, finally reassures Christophe Laffont, general manager of SodaStream France.