«Theoretical aspects of education development»

Management, Marketing

THE USAGE OF NATIVE AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE

IN BOTTLED WATER TRADEMARKS IN EUROPE:
TRENDS, PROS AND CONS

Lazebnyk Oleksandr
Postgraduate Student
European University Kyiv, Ukraine,
oleksandr.lazebnyk92@gmail.com

Nowadays it is often argued whether it is appropriate to borrow the words

from foreign languages. So, let us have a look at the examples of mineral water
trademarks in several European countries and then analyze the advantages and
disadvantages of the usage of native and foreign words there.
According to the European Federation of Bottled Waters (EFBW), throughout
the last years the largest annual mineral water consumption per capita in Western
Europe has been in Italy, Germany and France. So, let’s look at the water brands
in these countries.
The most popular Italian mineral water trademarks are San Pellegrino, San
Benedetto, Sant’Anna, Ferrarelle and Sangemini [2]. Other examples of mineral
water brands from Italy are Levissima, Ulvieto and Pian della Mussa [3]. The
common thing among all these brands is that they are not just created in the
Italian language, but they also sound like natural Italian names. Italy is popular
for its culture, various marvelous places and outstanding cuisine, and the mineral
water plays the major part of the national cuisine.
As for the most popular Italian mineral water, San Pellegrino, in the
beginning of 2022 it was the second largest sparkling water trademark in the
world with the yearly sales of $901mn, and its entire market share was 4.9% [4].
This is not just due to its sales within Italy, but also thanks to export to different
parts of the world, especially to Europe and the Americas. For example, an
anonymous online survey conducted in February-March 2020 showed that 25%
of Germans and 33% of Mexicans who drink mineral water opt for San Pellegrino
brand, and today the export rate of San Pellegrino water exceeds its domestic
consumption [2]. That makes Italy one of the world’s largest bottled water
exporters. To make it clear for consumers that the product is made in Italy is it
essential to use the Italian trademark.
The similar mineral water branding conception is used by French
manufacturers. According to the Computer-assisted web interviews (CAWI)
conducted by Statista, in 2020 the Top 3 mineral water brands in France were
Cristalline, Evian and Perrier (20.8, 9.7 and 9.6 million customers respectively)
[5] Moreover, today Evian is offered worldwide, “its markets go beyond Europe
to the US, Canada and Japan” [6]. Furthermore, according to the survey
mentioned in the previous paragraph the most favourite trademark of mineral
water among French respondents aged 26-34 was Volvic, and the next was Vittel.
Both these brands are low-cost, which means they are popular with the population
with average income, whereas Evian and Perrier are premium brands. However,
all these trademarks have one common thing, and namely the French name.
France has vast mineral springs, with makes this country the main Italy’s rival on
the global mineral water market. So, it makes sense to use a typical word or
phrase that sounds like typical French in order to create the association with the
water’s French origin.
Furthermore, according to Splendid Research, in 2021 Volvic and Vittel were
included in Top 5 strongest mineral water trademarks in Germany, and they were
on the 2nd and 4th place respectively. However, the first place in this rating had
Gerolsteiner, and the 3rd and 5th place were presented by Apollinaris and
Adelholzener. These three brands have got German origin. [7]
Moreover, according to EFBW, Germany has 821 mineral sources, and this is
the largest number in Europe [1, p. 5]. Though Gerolsteiner water is presented
worldwide, unlike Italy and France, Germany doesn’t tend to export most of its
waters. Instead, the national manufacturers opt for producing regional mineral
waters, which are popular among the residents of particular cities, districts or
federal lands. For example, 2 out of 5 respondents from Nuremberg or nearby
prefer Frankenbrunnen water, which is presented only in Middle Franconia. That
is confirmed by the online survey that was conducted in February-March 2020.
Speaking about the languages, although most German mineral water brands
consist of the words in the German language, there are trademarks that don’t
sound purely German, like ViO or Hella, or even include foreign words, such as
Aqua Nordic, Share, Apollinaris, Viva con Agua, Vivre etc. [8-9]. These examples
have the words in English, Greek, Spanish and French, but the waters sold under
these brands are originally from Germany. In addition to this, BonAqua water,
which is presented in many countries of the world, originates from Austria
[10, p. 58], though this trademark consists of French and Latin words.
Now let us have a brief overview of mineral water trademarks in Eastern
Europe. As EFBW states, the largest annual bottled water consumption per capita
is in Hungary [1, p. 3]. Moreover, the large rate of tourism and mineral water
export has got Croatia, Czech Republic is the home country for mineral water,
and Ukraine has about 500 mineral springs [11]. So, it makes sense to look
through the mineral water brands in these countries.
The most popular mineral water brands in Croatia are Jana and Jamnica, and
other examples are Bistra, Sveti Rok, Viva Voda and Aquarel [12]. Peridot,
Kekkuti, Theodora, Atlantis Aqua and Jodicum are the examples of mineral water
brands in Hungary [13], whereas Vincentka, Mattoni, Aquila, Magnesia and
Dobrá Voda are the most famous water brands in Czech Republic [14]. The
mineral water manufacturers in these countries tend to mostly brand their
products in their native languages, though sometimes they tend to use other
languages in order to make it easier to pronounce the brands and to make it easier
for tourists and immigrants to understand the meaning of the brand.
As for Ukraine, the most popular mineral water brand in this country is
Morshynska (Ukr. Моршинська). According to the survey conducted in
February-March 2020, 61.3% of its participants from Ukraine who drink bottled
water prefer namely Morshynska. The name of this trademark comes from the
city of Morshyn located in Lviv region at the west of Ukraine, and like many
other mineral water brands from Ukraine it consists of the word in the Ukrainian
language. Nowadays Morshynska is presented mostly in Ukraine, though before
24 February 2022 3% of Morshynska water used to be exported to Moldova and
Czech Republic [15]. Although the export rate on Ukrainian mineral water had
been low even before 2022, today it is precluded due to russia’s war against
Ukraine. This is because the export routes in the Black Sea are blocked by
russians, and the aircraft don’t fly both to and from Ukraine.
As for the language, the majority of Ukrainian bottled water trademarks
consist of Ukrainian words. Large variety of them, such as Mirgorodska,
Obolonska, Zbruchanska, Poliana Kvasova, Luzhanska, etc., have been present
on market since USSR, whereas Morshynska, Okhtyrska, Kryvoozerska and
Svaliavska were introduced after 1991. But the common thing among these
brands is that they highlight the source where the mineral water is extracted.
However, some modern Ukrainian mineral water brands include the words in
foreign languages, such as Bon Boisson, Buvette, Aqua Life or Aqua Solo. The
latter is present only in Poltava, Sumy and Kyiv region, and Aqua Life is a still
water packed in large 5L and 6L bottles. Buvette is present in many shops around
Ukraine, though according to the survey mentioned before only 5.4% of
respondents who drink bottled water are fond of Buvette. The brands with
trademarks that consist of Ukrainian words rule the national market, which is
especially relevant for promoting the increased usage of the Ukrainian language
during russia’s war against Ukraine.
The advantages of using the native language in mineral water trademarks is
that each local customer can understand and thus remember and pronounce the
brand. Furthermore, the country’s native language in a brand is a nice way to
highlight the patriotism of the product’s manufacturing company. Such message
can be a part of mineral water’s promotional campaigns. As for the disadvantages,
not all languages are understandable by foreigners. Moreover, not all languages
have the Latin script, which makes it harder for residents of various European
countries to understand what is written on the label. So, in order to overcome this
such brands like Borjomi, Morshynska and Zaro’s, which originate from Georgia,
Ukraine and Greece respectively, also include officially registered Latin
transcriptions.
There are two main things to consider when creating a trademark name. First,
it has to be pronounced easily by the representatives of the product’s target group.
For example, the phonetic construction of the German language doesn’t allow to
pronounce most words easily. Furthermore, the German Federal Institute for
Population Research states that in the beginning of 2022 there were 22.3 million
immigrants, which is 27% of the whole German population, mainly from Turkey
and Poland [16]. It means that German is not their native language, so one way
forward to make it easy for them to pronounce the water trademarks would be to
create them in a foreign language.
Second, the trademark shouldn’t cause any negative associations. Instead, the
brand name should impose a direct connection with the product and the need it
satisfies. As for the mineral water, the above-mentioned anonymous survey has
revealed that the majority of mineral water consumers drink it mainly to quench
thirst. So, if the mineral water is intended for export or if the native language is
pretty tough, the best language options to select for the brand are English, French,
Italian, Spanish or Latin. The first is the language of international communication
that is understood worldwide. Then France and Italy have their own cuisines,
where mineral water plays a vital role. By using the French or Italian language it
is possible to create consumers’ associations with those countries. Finally,
Spanish as well as Latin sound melodic, which creates association with purity,
softness and pleasant taste.

References:
1. EFBW (2020) Natural Mineral & Spring Waters. The Natural choice for
hydration. European Federation of Bottled Waters (EFBW) Industry
Report, p. 3, 5.
2. Cuccorese M. (2018). Italian Mineral Water Brands: Top 5 to Quench Your
Thirst. Bell Italia Srl. URL: https://www.bell-italia.com/blog/en/beverage/italian-
mineral-water-top-5-brands-to-quench-your-thirst. (Accessed 14 January 2023).
3. Italy We Love You (2022). 17 Top Italian Bottled Water Brands. URL:
https://www.italyweloveyou.com/italian-water-brands/. (Accessed
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4. Kizer Kristin (2022). The 15 Largest Sparkling Water Brands in the World.
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https://finewaters.com/bottled-waters-of-the-world/czech-republic. (Accessed
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