Meaningful Sales of Unlabeled Bottled Water... Consumers Prefer Eco-Friendly Consumption

CU 'Heyroo Mineral Water' Sales Increase by 78% Compared to Last Year

HEYROO Mineral Water No-Label Bottled Water sold at CU.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chunhan] "Since we live anyway, let's choose eco-friendly; since we live anyway, let's choose label-free bottled water." As interest in eco-friendly consumption rises, label-free bottled water products released one after another by distribution companies are gaining great popularity.

According to CU on the 22nd, an analysis of sales of the label-free bottled water "Heyroo Mineral Water" from the 25th of last month to the 20th of this month showed a 78.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Compared to the overall bottled water sales increase of 20.4% during the same period, this is about 3.8 times higher. It is analyzed that consumer preference for eco-friendly products is actually leading to purchases.

CU launched the label-free version starting with the 500ml size among the three sizes of Heyroo Mineral Water?500ml, 1L, and 2L?last month. Label-free bottled water can be easily separated and disposed of without the hassle of peeling off labels separately for recycling. This increases the recycling rate of used PET bottles and reduces the amount of vinyl used for label production to about half compared to before.

A BGF Retail official said, "There were many concerns about removing brand label exposure, but there were also many positive evaluations that water contained in transparent PET bottles looks visually cleaner and clearer, as well as being eco-friendly," adding, "We will put more effort into practicing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management targeting consumers who practice eco-friendly consumption."

The first label-free bottled water released domestically was Lotte Chilsung Beverage’s "Icis Eco," which sold about 10.1 million units last year. The weight of one label is 0.8g for 1.5L and 2L bottles, and 0.3g for 500ml bottles, reducing a total of 6.8 tons of plastic packaging waste.

The label-free bottled water "Choice L Save Water Eco," released by Lotte Mart in January this year, is also receiving great response. Recently, sales of this product increased by nearly 70% compared to existing products. Starting with Choice L Save Water, Lotte Mart plans to continuously release products that embody the values of environment and donation in the future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.