A water for every occasion. Either go with a meal at the Disfrutar restaurant (two Michelin stars) or fill the weekly shopping basket at the supermarket. Aigua Sant Aniol, the company of the Bassols family founded in 1993 in the natural park of the Garrotxa volcanic area, is still in a new stage under the direction of Andreu Galindo, in which he wants to make the most of his range of products . And it will do so by focusing exclusively on mineral water.
The innovations launched previously – such as the foray into cosmetics they tried last year with the production of micellar water for the face – have not yet worked. “Our uniqueness is the mineral water of volcanic origin, we are one of the few waters that are exported abroad because we have a unique product, and we want to enhance this value”, says Galindo, who took over the general management of the company two months ago – previously he had worked for Danone and Codorniu.
Consolidating the premium sector, gaining presence and share in large distribution and strengthening the international market are the three levers with which the company wants to grow. “But in a profitable and safe way”, clarifies Galindo.
After the covid crisis, Sant Aniol has recovered sales, with an increase in both volume and price due to the increase in costs. Last year it brought in ten million euros, 25% more than in 2021, and for the current financial year they expect another increase in turnover. Here, the presence in high-end restaurants has played an important role, which has allowed them to continue increasing sales, despite inflation – Sant Aniol is already served at the tables of fifty Michelin-starred restaurants. Also the international presence. It gets 10% of its revenue from foreign markets, such as the United States, Canada, Japan, China or South Korea, while the remaining 90% comes basically from sales in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. Expanding throughout the rest of Spain is part of its goals.
Among the projects for this year, Galindo highlights the investment of one million euros to modernize the bottling plant and the glass unit, where they produce around 52 million liters of water annually. There they test new types of glass bottles, with a higher duration and reusable. They also develop recycled plastic packaging to adapt to the new environmental legislation.
The drought that Catalonia has been suffering for months does not affect its capacity, the general manager assures. “Our water has a long cycle – he underlines – and we have enough reserves in the aquifer”.
