Disposable bottles use drops dramatically
WeserGold achieves major change in packaging in just a few years

Rinteln. Over the past few years the WeserGold Getränkeindustrie GmbH & Co. KG in Rinteln has managed to achieve a major change in its range of packaging. Whereas the number of disposable bottles consumed in 2000 was more than 500 million, the proportion of disposables now used is less than 10 per cent.

riha WeserGold, the family and owner-run producers of non-alcoholic beverages and juices, made major capital investments to compensate for the changeover from disposable bottles to other types of packaging. Especially in the juice market segment, where it made the switch to PET aseptic packaging. Werner Gerdes, Managing Director of Sales & Marketing: “The move to PET allowed us to introduce successful new products. These include juice spritzers, ACE Drinks or the Aqua Plus range. The production concepts are linked to the packaging.

Because the company does its own marketing and can react quickly to change, new opportunities are sustainable. And this is why the retail brands have achieved a significant share of the market on top of their mid-range brands (Extaler, Naturella). In general, the group wants its products to represent good value for the consumer. WeserGold has “the” packaging solution for almost every product in the non-alcoholic beverage range. The Weserbergland producer tries to anticipate consumer demands and steer market developments in a sustainable way. And it goes without saying: if there’s a restriction, they’ll produce an alternative.

In order to achieve continuous capacity utilisation, the main priority is given to innovations with longer shelf-lives. “The quality and price of our products”, says the 46-year-old Managing Director of Marketing and Sales , “should allow them to walk off the shelves”. Gerdes acknowledges that the variety of individual demands is beyond the scope of the retail sector. But it has been proven time and again that the first to introduce an innovative concept will capture above-average shares of the market. And speaking about entry price, the riha Managing Director says: “I personally place value on supplying the consumer with high-quality products at an attractive price. Quality should never fall victim to price.”
Js/lz 20-08
Source: LZ (Länderreport Niedersachsen)

Stiftung Warentest (consumer magazine) – apple juice beverages


Analysis result
The 5/2007 issue of the German consumer magazine Stiftung Warentest rated 13 of 19 apple juice drinks as poor and compared apple juice drinks with apple juices. This result was unexpected and is unjustifiable. The following reasons were given:

• The apple juice drinks produced by us which were rated in the test were awarded the Golden Prize by DLG in 2006. Numerous tests were carried out recently by independent laboratories over the last few months and were returned without any complaints and were also found to be in compliance with European food manufacturing in all areas.
• Furthermore, the analyses carried out by Stiftung Warentest were subsequently rated by 2 external laboratories as “no reason for complaint”.

We regret that Stiftung Warentest gave a negative result to products which comply with applicable food manufacturing guidelines. The overall market segment, in this case the fruit juice segment, has been devaluated as a result.