State and strategy of production, market and integrated management of mineral water, South Korea

Abstract

In this study, the state of the production, market, and integrated management of mineral water in South Korea was assessed and a strategy was established to improve the competitiveness of mineral water with respect to foreign brands. Diverse data, including a number of mineral water manufacturers, daily permitted volume, daily production amounts, sales volume, and sales amounts, were used to clarify the state of mineral water and establish a strategy. Real-time data transmitted from the mineral water manufacturers were analyzed and managed in an integrated management system (IMS). Chemical characteristics of mineral water were analyzed to assess water quality and identify problems related to contamination. This study shows that specialization plans according to geological characteristics should be established, rather than focusing on quantitative growth by a low-cost sales method. The establishment of contamination management plans was found to be needed for wells with potential pollution due to sub-surface inflow into the wells. We suggest that an independent editing system of the attribute information needs to be designed based on the analysis and management of the IMS.