for Nestlé the solution is found

© Capital

– Born in 2023, Perrier's little sister, called Maison Perrier, resembles her elder sister. Less constraints.

Is this the end of the Perrier brand, as we know it? This Monday, December 16, Radio France and Le Monde revealed the conclusions of a report from the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Occitanie judging that the Perrier source was occasionally altered by bacterial or even virological contamination. According to the terms of the document reported by these media, the authority “ invite » downright Nestlé at « strategically question another possible food use of the exploitation of current mineral water catchments ».

It's a real stone in the Perrier source. Black and white, the ARS suggests that the brand use treatments capable of guaranteeing the drinkability of the water it bottles in Vergèze (Gard) and therefore agree to lose the “mineral water» which results from it. This is not going to help the affairs of the Swiss giant, already entangled in the water scandal for months and which officially announced on November 19 its desire to explore all possible options concerning them… Until their sale . Nestlé, however, has prepared a judicious way out, with the creation of the Maison Perrier brand. A bit of a trickster launch, but really very clever.

© Ogilvy Paris

– Nestlé accompanied the launch of its new Maison Perrier brand with a massive communication campaign, with actress Lilly Collins as its muse, revealed by the series Emily in Paris.

The sleight of hand between Perrier and Maison Perrier…

By placing itself on the French podium for the best innovations of 2024, according to NielsenIQ, Maison Perrier has indeed achieved one of the commercial successes of the year. And success doesn't stop at our borders. Already launched in 50 countries, the new Nestlé brand is based on a range of 130 references sold throughout the world. There is something for everyone: sparkling flavored waters, energy drinks enriched with vitamins or caffeine, festive alcohol-free mixes such as Mojito… If the Perrier brand continues for the moment, the group warns that all future launches in this market will be under the Maison Perrier banner.

While the announcement creates a stir internally and among distributors, the brand specifies that Perrier could nevertheless benefit from range activities, such as new formats or collector bottles. If the ARS gives him the opportunity…

In the countries where it has been launched, the brand is already listed in more than 90% of points of sale. In Canada, Maison Perrier Litchi is even the best innovation in the entire category. A feat for a mineral water brand! Except that it's not one of them… While several wells in Vergèze (30), where the Perrier spring is located, are regularly declared unfit for consumption, Nestlé accepted their downgrade to “drinking water», a name whose regulations are more flexible. For the group, it was the opportunity to enter the dynamic market for so-called functional drinks, popular with young people because they offer health or pleasure benefits. But not only that: with this new classification, Nestlé gives itself the possibility of cutting all ties with the source, and therefore of producing Maison Perrier anywhere…

“It has all the attributes of a global brand that can be produced everywhere and avoid containers crossing the Atlantic, it's super smart. Jean-Daniel Pick, president of HEC Alumni distribution.”

Clever, indeed. A bit of a trickster, too. Because in view of this classification, the production of the Maison Perrier ranges could in the future be done from any bottling plant in France… or in the world. Even if the company assures that the 150 million euros invested in Vergèze over the last five years, a third of which to enable the launch of Maison Perrier, demonstrate its local roots, the principle cannot be excluded. And what about the Perrier brand itself, which has no other choice than to be produced at the source of Vergèze and free from any treatment or filtration? If she still coexists with her little sister, her future seems very uncertain. And the announcements of Tuesday, November 19 on the creation of a subsidiary dedicated to water brands and then the revelations of Le Monde in December, risk strongly steering Nestlé towards the idea of ​​ceasing activity, or even of a transfer. Moreover, given their poor level of profitability, Nestlé had already shed its American water brands in 2021. Should we not be wary of dead water?

© Capital

– In the game of differences, some people get lost.

A little game of the 4 differences between Perrier and Maison Perrier

1. Shape : Same design, same font: Maison Perrier bottles look exactly like their predecessors.
2. Logo : A tangle of similar letters, the logos are difficult to distinguish: SP for Source Perrier, opposite MP from Maison Perrier.
3. Color : If it is not concentrated, the consumer may believe that their orange bottle is just a flavored variation of their usual favorite brand.
4. Name: But pay attention to the names: on the left, a “flavored sparkling drink”, on the right, “natural mineral water”. Only the latter is attached to a production site.