EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 25 No. 11/24 www.petpla.net 12 Visit to Sarooj Water in Oman From 0 to 4 million bottles per day in 2 years by Alexander Büchler In Oman, just three years ago, a 24-pack of the favourite 250ml single-serve water bottle cost 1.60 euros in a discount supermarket. That’s not even 7 eurocents per bottle. Supermarkets are now offering the same 24-pack of 250ml Sarooj water for 0.80 euro - just half the price, or just 3.5 eurocents per bottle. What is behind it? We asked the driving force behind Sarooj Water, Mr Fahad Mohammed Riaz. Four years ago, Fahad’s world consisted primarily of trading in wood for house and furniture construction. In search of another site for his logistics operations, he was offered a site in Muladdah, near Muscat. At first he wasn’t convinced, but when he heard that it included a deep well licence for the best underground water in Oman, his ears perked up. The water is virtually sodium-free and has a tangy but balanced flavour. The two quickly came to an agreement and Fahad and his team set about developing a concept for the water from the well. What can I do better than the competition? How can I produce and sell the right quantities? A concept was quickly developed: it had to be the best bottled water in Oman, and the end consumer should only pay half as much as before. The supermarkets are supplied by full lorry loads only. The retail trade and Farad as a producer did without the usual margins and still made their money from ordinary consumers. He is enthusiastic about the concept of Niagara Water in the USA. A joint meeting with the owner family Peykoff sealed his decision: concentrate on one product, a light bottle and in bulk. What was missing was a suitable bottle and the associated production facilities. Two years ago, the moment came. After a lot of research, Fahad decided on a bottle with the relatively large 29/25 cap that is common in the region. With the Neck-Lite from Redupet, it was possible to make the bottle 8% lighter at 6.85g. After initial scepticism, blow moulding trials at Krones and Sipa showed that the bottle could be produced. Corvaglia developed a shutter weighing just 1.1g. Neither is available on the open converter market, so Fahad ordered the corresponding preform and cap systems from Netstal. A key factor in the success of the lightweight bottle was that Otto Hofstetter managed to build a 128-cavity mould for the NeckLite preform for the first time. Until now, the Neck-Lite had only been produced on small preform tools. The material advantage quickly pays for itself compared to the additional expense of in-house preform and cap production. Needless to say, Fahad also produces the film for the 24-pack himself and prints and cuts his own labels. The 128-cavity mould from Otto Hofstetter went into the Top Entry 400 t Netstal lines, the 48-cavity EDITOUR F.l.t.r.: Plant manager Ahmed Sarif, Alexander Büchler and Fahad Mohammed Riaz Fahad Mohammed Riaz (right) and Alexander Büchler in the discount supermarket, where his 24-packs of 250ml water are selling faster than the staff can stack them. The Sipa Sincro Bloc was the third system installed two years ago, with which Fahad shook up the market.
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