National Mineral Water Co.(NMWC) is the oldest natural mineralwater company in Oman, having startedtrading in 1979. The company has devel-oped gradually over the years, eventuallyreaching its current turnover of aroundOMR 10 million (US$25.9 million).The history of the company can be

traced back to a hydrology investigation

carried out by the French company Evian,a global leader in the field of natural min-eral water. Mr Pugh tells us more: “Evianidentified the best local source of mineralwater in Oman, in a place called Tanuf,in the Ad Dakhiliyah governorate. In thispart of the Middle East, natural sourcesof water are generally found in long ravinescalled ‘wadis’, which contain water only

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NATURAL PROGRESSIONSABCO Group’s National Mineral Water Co. SAOG is the clear leader inOman’s bottled water market, and is celebrating its 35th anniversary thisyear. Managing Director, Mr John Pugh, speaks to Sarah Pursey about thecompany’s cultural and historical roots in Oman, its sought-after brandsand its fresh focus on health-related drinks. Written by Gemma Carter.

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during times of heavy rain. That watereventually ends up in subterranean arte-sian wells, and it is becoming increasinglyprecious throughout the MENA region.Indeed, as the years go by, access to waterwill arguably become more valuable thanaccess to oil, particularly in countrieswith growing populations.”NMWC started out as a family-run

operation, owned by the Al Busaidi family,and it is currently listed on the MSM(Muscat Securities Market), althoughthe Al Busaidi family retains a substan-tial shareholding in the business. Amajor shareholder in the company isSABCO Group, which was establishedin the 1970s and has since grown signifi-cantly to become an integrated investment,commercial, industrial and services organ-isation. Indeed, SABCO Group is a pres-tigious family-owned business house inOman, comprising multi-faceted busi-nesses that are leaders in their respec-tive fields. Within the group’s portfolio,for example, is a company called OmanPerfumery LLC, which is renowned forcreating some of the world’s most finelycrafted and exotic fragrances. Its flagshipbrand is Amouage, which is aimed at roy-alty and VIP customers, and is reputedlythe most expensive perfume in the world.

Wholly natural waterThe company’s natural water source islocated in the foothills of the Jabal Akhdar(Arabic for ‘The Green Mountain’), whichis part of the Al Hajar Mountains, thehighest mountain range in the easternArabian Peninsula. Rainwater graduallypercolates through various layers of graveland limestone, losing many of its con-taminants en route through a process ofnatural filtration, while also picking upnumerous beneficial minerals, as it col-lects on a bedrock of limestone morethan 100 metres below the ground.NMWC then extracts the water via

several drilled boreholes, as Mr Pughexplains: “Once we have extracted thewater, the first part of production is awater softening process, which is carried

out, if required, to reduce the hardnessof the water, and we use sand filter sys-tems to remove any impurities or sedimentthat may be present. The water passesthrough various levels of filtration untilit is completely free of impurities.“Then, the water undergoes a process

of reverse osmosis, which ensures thatthe natural minerals present in the waterare balanced – a heavy concentration ofsodium, for example, is not desirable. Thebalance of the water is subject to variationdepending on the state of the ground-water,” he notes, “and may require aninjection of additional natural mineralsif those minerals are absent, perhaps dueto heavy dilution as a consequence of anabundance of new water coming into thewell. Also at this point, we utilise pharma-

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ceutical-grade microfiltration to removeany particles that may still exist, down toa minimum size of 0.2 microns. This unitis also capable of removing any microbi-ological contaminants, and it is moni-tored on an hourly basis.”Next, the water is put through an

ultraviolet filtration process, which is anadditional product sterilisation method,before a further ozone disinfection processthat uses a highly reactive form of oxygen.“Indeed, the entire screening process isa highly meticulous procedure throughoutwhich the quality testing that was carriedout at the original source is comparedand is monitored for any anomalies,” Mr Pugh affirms.

Brands with a backgroundOnce all of these operations have beencompleted, the bottle filling process cancommence – NMWC produces its ownPET bottles on-site. “As would be expected,bottling is carried out under cleanroomconditions, to ensure that it takes placewithin a microbiologically controlled envi-ronment,” Mr Pugh points out. “We investcontinuously in our facilities in order toensure that we are providing a premiumproduct that, being a consumer product,is able to meet or exceed the strict regu-lations that are in place with regard toprocess controls, purity and safety. We arevisited often by the relevant authorities,which have to make sure that our factoryis in premium condition, and our foodsafety management system is HACCP-and ISO 22000-certified. We have morethan 100 people working at the factory,while our general management, sales man-agement, financial management and logis-tics operations are based in Muscat.”The bottled water is then transported to

the company’s warehouse, and from thereit is distributed to retail outlets on a dailybasis. “We have seven depots and a fleetof distribution vehicles, and each of theregions we serve has its own merchan-disers and sales teams,” he continues. “Weserve not only the large retail chains, likeCarrefour, Al Fair and LuLu, but also thegeneral retail trade. We deliver six-packsof bottled water in shrink-wrap, in one-litre and 500ml bottles, as well as six-litretwin-packs and five-gallon returnable andnon-returnable containers for water coolersin both offices and residences.“Our champion brand, as it were, is

the Tanuf brand because it originates fromTanuf, which has a historical relationship ‡

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with the heritage and development ofOman. Tradition such as this has beenvery important to the longevity and con-tinued success of the company. I recentlymet the buyer for the InterContinentalHotels Group, for example, and he wasquick to inform me that when his fatherwanted a drink of water, he would ask for“a glass of Tanuf”. Indeed, the Tanuf brandis deeply rooted in Omani culture and his-tory,” Mr Pugh reports. “Our other brandsinclude El-Jabal El-Akhdar, Salsabeeland Assaha. We have a longstandingstrategic partnership with Red Bull,whereby we are responsible for routingto market and selling Red Bull-brandedproducts in Oman.”NMWC also distributes facial tissues

bearing the same brand names as its bot-tled water. “It is common in the MiddleEast for mineral water bottling companiesto also produce and sell tissues, but thatis not the result of some cultural associ-ation between water and tissues,” he clari-fies. “The branded tissue boxes simply actas a marketing tool to further reinforcethe brand name of the mineral water.”

Providing healthy beveragesHaving been appointed as NMWC’snew Managing Director late last year, MrPugh is in the process of overhauling thecompany’s product portfolio and findinginnovative ways in which to differentiateNMWC from other bottled water pro-ducers in Oman. “For example, we arelooking to add larger-sized tissues or per-fumed tissues to our product offering,”he reveals. “Unfortunately, however, if weare successful, the biggest complimentwe will receive is that our competitorswill follow suit.“Under my direction, the company is

narrowing its focus to concentrate entirelyon health-related beverages, such as nat-ural mineral water and isotonic drinksfor people taking part in sporting activi-ties,” states Mr Pugh. “We no longermarket imported soft drinks and juicesof questionable quality, for example, ordrinks containing E numbers and artifi-cial colourings. Other companies oper-ating in the Omani market tend to begeneral beverage suppliers – Coca-Colaand PepsiCo, for example, distribute softdrinks as well as bottled water in Oman– whereas we are trying to send out a mes-sage that NMWC represents healthy prod-ucts, and this is the direction in whichwe are heading.”

Part of that message is education, and to that end the company has startedreceiving visits from groups of school-children at its facilities in Tanuf. “Wehad our first visit in January, when wereceived 80 children from the BritishSchool Muscat,” he recalls. “In order toeducate young people on the preciousnature of natural water, we show themaround our facilities, explain how everything works and give them some mementos.”Mr Pugh also points out that unlike

NMWC’s products, not all bottled wateris from a natural source. “Some of ourcompetitors’ water is desalinated waterthat has previously been used in indus-tries such as hydroelectric power gener-

ation – this does not mean that it is badwater, but it is water that has been recy-cled. Our water, however, is natural waterfrom an artesian well, which is very dif-ferent from taking water from a munic-ipal source and subjecting it to the samepurification processes.”

Aiming for the topThe future is extremely bright for NMWC,with demand for bottled water expectedto continue growing strongly in Omanand throughout the Middle East. “Indeed,Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar areamong the top consumers of bottledwater in the world, which is amazingwhen you consider the relatively smallsize of the populations in those coun-

tries,” Mr Pugh remarks. “Incredibly, theUAE consumes more than 200 litres percapita, which is a phenomenal amount.Moreover, all of the Arab countries com-bined only hold about 1.1 percent of the renewable freshwater in the world,while they contain around 4.6 percent of the global population. As a result, bot-tled water sales are expected to grow sig-nificantly – possibly by as much as 20percent per annum.“Going forward, our portfolio will

include a combination of internationallyrecognised brands, like Red Bull, togetherwith a strong focus on high-quality prod-ucts that are produced locally in accor-dance with our specifications. This willlikely lead to the formation of additionalstrategic partnerships in the future.Innocent Drinks, for instance, the UK-based producer of fruit smoothies andjuices, has no interest in supplying anyof its products into the Middle Eastmarket, and I know that because I havebeen in touch with them. We are cur-rently exploring the potential demand forand benefit of providing these kinds ofproducts in the Oman market. Essentially,it is our intention to become the number one provider of health-based drinks inOman,” he concludes. o

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