Local beverage producer Beloka Water is the latest company to crack the export market into China where the insatiable demand for high-quality food and beverages is driving economic growth in regional NSW.
Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events and Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres said Beloka Water is a prime example of the ‘clean, green and safe’ export product highly so sought after in Asia.
“Beloka Water is a top shelf, 100 per cent Australian made product with a solid domestic reputation set to take off in one of the fastest growing markets in the world,” Mr Ayres said.
“With demand for food and beverage products from within NSW set to boom internationally and increase by up to 70 percent by 2055, it’s businesses like Beloka the NSW Government is assisting to get onto the international stage.”
Australia’s $544 million bottled water industry is dominated by industry giants and European imported waters however Beloka Water is on its way to targeting 10 to 15 percent of the bottled water market.
Bottling water drawn from a protected single subterranean for six years, Beloka Owner Joe Commisso has spent the last three years spent trying to crack the Chinese market.
“Our success finally came after displaying at the Guangzhou ‘international water tasting competition’ where we gained the attention of suppliers, something we’ve been attempting for three years,” Mr Commisso said.
“Beloka Water is 100% Australian – everything from the caps, labels, and boxes are sourced from within Australia, and it is bottled using recycled glass, meaning the water is also developed in a sustainable manner. We think it will be a huge hit amongst China’s rising middle class.
Voted in the top 5 in the world for ‘lightly sparkling’ water’, the company credits work by the NSW Trade Commissioner Cher Jones for assisting the export process through market insights, facilitated visits to Dongguan and Guangzhou, and introductions to several Chinese importers.
“In the next three years the export contract is expected to generate $25 million and grow local jobs including at our state of the art bottling facility in Beloka,” Mr Commisso said.
“Additionally, with such a pure spring coming from Kosciosko National Park we believe the health benefits of minerals of magnesium, calcium, sodium and potassium which are beneficial to the human muscular, skeletal and nervous systems will be a massive selling point.”
The products are already in Shanghai and will start being put on shelves soon and they will soon by in Guangzhou.