Coca-Cola HBC Hungary is investing HUF 1.8 billion in an expansion of its mineral water plant in Zalaszentgrót, in the west of the country, where it will begin production of its Glaceau Smartwater premium product, the company said.
Glaceau Smartwater is a vapor-distilled water with added electrolytes, produced using technology inspired by cloud formation, notes a report by online news portal index.hu. Coca-Cola will initially sell the brand in Italy, Austria, Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia and Ireland, with annual production potentially increasing to 100 million bottles in the coming years.
Minas Agelidis, general manager for Coca-Cola HBC Hungary, said Smartwater has already become a leading premium product in the U.K. and the U.S., where it was introduced in 1996. The technology used in its production has hitherto only been employed in Europe in the U.K. and the Netherlands.
