Perla Harghitei estimates turnover of 148.5 million RON for 2023, up 18 percent compared to 2022

Perla Harghitei, one of the largest producers of natural mineral water in Romania and market leader in the category of bottled water in returnable glass bottles, has set a goal for 2023 to increase its turnover by 18 percent to 148.5 million RON and strengthen the company’s position among the industry players.

The company’s management also estimates a sales volume 11 percent higher than in 2022, a performance supported by investments in technology and organizational development. Since the beginning of this year, sales growth has been in line with the company’s objective, with a volume increase of 10 percent recorded until May.

“We are starting to see the results of the optimization and streamlining processes of the company’s activities, which we have worked on together with the entire team over the past two years. Investments in technology help us use resources more logically and sustainably, with care and responsibility for every drop of water, so that we can continue to offer our consumers natural mineral water produced to European quality standards. This is why we are making every effort to become the most modern natural mineral water factory in Romania, despite a challenging year for both consumers and retailers,” said Gyarfas Kurko, President of the Board of Directors of Perla Harghitei.

This year, Perla Harghitei has budgeted 25 million RON for technology investments. The most important projects focus on the sustainability of the production process, by increasing the efficiency of the natural mineral water bottling lines. The digitization of the factory in Sâncrăieni, carried out with the help of state-of-the-art technology in the beverage industry, allows for maximum reduction of losses and exclusive use of cutting-edge equipment for bottling water. Another 10 million RON is allocated for the expansion of the administrative building, with a new space of approximately 1500 square meters, which will be constructed in the next two years.

The company includes the brands Perla Harghitei and Tiva Harghita in its portfolio, and the production unit in Sâncrăieni has four PET bottling lines with a total capacity of 50,000 bottles per hour and one glass line with a bottling capacity of 14,000 units per hour, storage space for over 12,000 pallets, and the possibility of loading over 100 trucks per day.

The development of the returnable glass line is one of the company’s most important sustainability projects, but also one of the biggest challenges for the business: “Water in returnable glass bottles deserves to regain its position in consumer preferences, being a more efficient option both for their budget and for the environment and future generations. That is why we are determined to find a solution to increase the commercialization of bottled water in this packaging, which we had to temporarily delay due to the fact that glass prices have tripled in the last two years,” says Magyari Ors, CEO of Perla Harghitei. The company has also created a portfolio of bottled water for the HoReCa industry, with the possibility of return and reuse, and is running campaigns to raise awareness of the benefits of using this type of packaging.

In the next two years, the company aims to complete the integration of operational and commercial digitization tools by implementing a new integrated ERP system, exponentially increase the dynamics of social and environmental responsibility projects and strengthen its market position by developing a business strategy centered around the consumer and the organizational team.

Last year, Perla Harghitei recorded a turnover of approximately 125.5 million RON and a profit of 14 million RON. The mineral water market remained on a slight upward trend in 2022, and the company’s most recent market study shows that an individual consumes over 112 liters of bottled water per year in Romania.