SCARPERIA AND SAN PIERO (FI) – Sanpellegrino announces a significant investment in Acqua Panna which, together with S.Pellegrino, is the leading brand in international gastronomy. The aim of the project, worth a total of about 70 million Euro allocated over the next three years, is to make Acqua Panna the Nestlé Group’s worldwide premium still water. Speaking at the presentation meeting of the initiative, dedicated to the over 170 employees (FTE) of the production site where Acqua Panna is bottled were the Managing Director of the Sanpellegrino Group, Federico Sarzi Braga, the Director of the International Business Unit, Stefano Marini, the Plant Director, Donatella Cursi, the Head of the Secretariat of the Chairman of the Tuscany Region, Paolo Ernesto Tedeschi and the Mayor of Scarperia and San Piero, Federico Ignesti. Also present were the Mayors of Mugello.
The project
The project provides for the launch of a Masterplan for the architectural re-design, increased efficiency of the Scarperia and San Piero production site, and an investment in communication to drive further development of the brand on international markets. Acqua Panna helped drive the Group's exports last year with a 13% growth in volume in 2017. Sanpellegrino closed 2017 with a turnover of 895 million Euro and, thanks to products such as Acqua Panna and S.Pellegrino mineral waters and Sanpellegrino branded drinks, symbol of Italian style and taste around the world, its turnover grew by 7.8% in volume in Europe and by 14.8% by volume in Latin America.
A brand at the centre of the Group's strategies
Federico Sarzi Braga, Chairman and CEO of the Sanpellegrino Group said “We want to make the Scarperia and San Piero plant even more effective at supporting the business in the coming years and give an even stronger impetus to the internationalisation of Acqua Panna, a brand that has exceeded sales of 300 million bottles worldwide and has recorded an exponential growth in volume of 25% over the last 5 years. We intend to use this investment to increase production to enter new markets and expand the distribution basin in the United States, in the United Arab Emirates, in Russia and in the 120 countries in which we are currently present”.
The value of the project for the Tuscany Region
“I wish to express to the Sanpellegrino Group the Tuscany Region’s satisfaction with the important investment announced today, which will contribute to supporting the development of our territory and to further enhancing Made in Tuscany internationally, through a resource that flows and is bottled in our region. I thank all the people who contribute every day with their work and dedication to bringing a product from our region to tables throughout the world” said Enrico Rossi, Chairman of the Tuscany Region.
A bona fide Masterplan
The Masterplan, which is essential for increasing production efficiency, boosting product availability and creating new formats, includes work to make the existing PET line even more functional and to support a new line. The factory layout will also be made more competitive with the creation of a new warehouse for product storage. The three-year work plan will open next year with operations on the production line and will close in 2021 with the architectural re-design of the factory and Villa Panna.
This project will also be supported by significant investments in communication to further promote the quality, uniqueness and territory of origin of Acqua Panna throughout the world. A water that has become an emblem of Made in Italy and an international vehicle of the Tuscan spirit, which intersects its history with the territory of Mugello and with one of the most powerful families in Florence, the Medici.
Acqua Panna becomes more premium
Sanpellegrino’s goal is to strengthen the premium position of Acqua Panna in the Ho.re.ca channel and to reach a new target in the “away from home” channel through new formats and targeted communication. The first step in this direction is the launch of a new image designed to further enhance the history of the brand and the territory of origin. A more iconic logo that reinterprets the elements of the label: the presence of the “lily”, the date “1564” and the word “Tuscany” with a strong reference to its origins.
Stefano Marini, Director of the International Business Unit of Sanpellegrino stated “Through this significant investment in Acqua Panna we intend to reach that wide target of consumers who appreciate the taste, quality and Made in Italy style of our water. Acqua Panna has long pursued a company policy oriented towards sustainable growth and the creation of shared value that is also expressed through initiatives to promote the territory, such as the enhancement of Tuscany in international markets. A commitment that is also the result of a long-term collaboration between the public and private sectors, which will be even more key to establishing a virtuous model capable of exporting Made in Tuscany worldwide”.
by Prisca Peroni
11, 19 - 2018
