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Talking Point – Point Of Use Coolers – November 2007
Ebac Chairman John Elliott was recently interviewed by Cooler Innovations - the industry leading Watercooler magazine. The topic of discussion was the rise of POU coolers, and how this might impact the industry in the future – see below for a full run down...
How would you describe the state of the POU water cooler market at the moment?
”Ebac, John Elliott MBE, Chairman (JE): "We have seen significant growth in the number of POU customers in the European market. Demand is growing from both distributor and end customer sides. Distributors are looking at ways of growing their business, perhaps accessing parts of the market they are not already reaching, and end customers are looking to POU for cost, environmental and convenience reasons."
Why do you think POU has increased in popularity?
JE: "Obviously there are a number of reasons why POU is becoming more popular. The environmental factors are major drivers. Cost is another driver, especially for multi-users. The convenience of POU is also a major factor; you don’t need to take deliveries and store bottles."
What are the main benefits of POU?
JE: "The main benefit of POU is that there is always water available without the need to change bottles, which saves time, money and space."
Which benefit do you make most clear to your customers?
JE: "It depends upon the customer, but the real benefit of a cooler is that more water is consumed, which is very good for the wellbeing of those that drink it. A POU cooler can literally be fitted and forgotten about. It will deliver cool filtered water day after day, only requiring the filters to be changed about twice a year."
Do you think customers should be given the choice between POU and bottled coolers, or is POU the best option for everyone?
JE: "We are definitely pro-choice. Always let the customer choose as different people put different values on bottled water and filtered water. A large user might want to give staff the benefits of water access, but might not want to pay for the cost of bottled mineral water. Another user might not like the inconvenience of installing a cooler into the mains supply. Some prefer the taste of mineral water over mains water, despite the fact that it is very well filtered. Give customers choice and you will get the best of both worlds."
What is your newest POU water cooler?
JE: "The EMax POU is based on the most popular bottled water cooler in Western Europe - the EMax! The EMax is a very durable, robust fleet cooler and we have sold over hundreds of thousands of units. Available now, the EMax POU gives all the benefits of a low maintenance, reliable cooler at an attractive price point. However in mid 2008 we will launch a new POU cooler that will have some new features."
What are its main features and benefits?
JE: "The biggest benefit is obviously Ebac’s patented WaterTrail that offers 100% sanitisation every time - this is especially important in the POU market. It also has an 'Easy Fit' Carbon Block Water Filter, which can be easily changed. Like the EMax bottled, the POU version has a non rust ABS polymer body and chassis, and as if that wasn’t enough it also has our award winning vacuum insulated hot tank, which gives significant energy savings."
Which POU feature are distributors and customers asking for most at the moment?
JE: "It is a little early to identify trends, but one trend that is covering both segments of the market is the desire for distributors to realise greater rental income from their coolers. We are assisting them through differentiation and design, with the aim of creating better coolers that their customers will value and pay more for. In continental Europe there are some indications that CO2 will be popular with POU customers, but it's still early days."
How would you describe the look of your newest POU cooler?
JE: "Our latest POU cooler will be launched in summer 2008. It will include some innovations, but its overriding feature will be reliability. It will be robust enough to handle the most difficult children in a classroom and will have the durability to sit on the factory floor. Our challenge is to make it strong, but pleasing on the eye."
Which kind of location would it suit?
JE: "The cooler has been designed specifically to fit into almost any environment - it will have discrete, stylish looks and be equally adaptable in a wide range of locations. The requirements of a classroom are very different to that of an office for example, but we have engineered it to meet the requirements of all of these markets."
Which factors do you have to consider when deciding which materials to use for POU coolers?
JE: "Reliability, cost and the environment. We wanted to design a cooler that was very robust, but we also wanted to make it a mainstream fleet cooler that would be accessible to all distributors for their customers. Finally, we used technology to reduce the impact on the environment - our famous insulated stainless steel hot tank is more energy efficient when compared with ordinary coolers."
How do you deal with POU hygiene and sanitisation issues?
JE: "Sanitisation in the POU market is very important to most water cooler businesses and distributors. We have developed a patented system that will revolutionise the way sanitisation is handled in the POU business. Until the new POU cooler is launched, we cannot say too much. So, watch this space."
How important do you think cooler filters are to improving the scent, look and taste of mains fed water?
JE: "The heart of any POU cooler must be the filtration system. A good filtration system will return the water as near as is possible to its 'natural' state. The system must also be reliable, constant and at a realistic cost. Two people can drink the same water and they will taste different things - the human tongue has over 10,000 taste buds, so taste is very subjective."
Are you currently developing any new POU coolers or features?
JE: "Our new cooler will be launched in summer 2008 and will include a range of features that we have been working on for over two years. We wanted to develop a product that will overtake the competition, as well as being totally reliable with proven features that customers will value. We want to differentiate our product to give our customers a competitive advantage over their competitors."
What does the future hold for the POU cooler industry?
JE: "POU will continue to grow, but we believe most of this growth will come from customers that would never buy a cooler. It will also take some customers that currently use bottled coolers, because when they got their bottled cooler, POU was not available to them. The awareness of the benefits of drinking more water increases every year, hence we believe that both coolers will experience good growth rates. We are very optimistic about the future of the market and our position in it."
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Ebac Chairman John Elliott was recently interviewed by Cooler Innovations - the industry leading Watercooler magazine. The topic of discussion was the rise of POU coolers, and how this might impact the industry in the future – see below for a full run down...
How would you describe the state of the POU water cooler market at the moment?”Ebac, John Elliott MBE, Chairman (JE): "We have seen significant growth in the number of POU customers in the European market. Demand is growing from both distributor and end customer sides. Distributors are looking at ways of growing their business, perhaps accessing parts of the market they are not already reaching, and end customers are looking to POU for cost, environmental and convenience reasons."
Why do you think POU has increased in popularity?JE: "Obviously there are a number of reasons why POU is becoming more popular. The environmental factors are major drivers. Cost is another driver, especially for multi-users. The convenience of POU is also a major factor; you don’t need to take deliveries and store bottles."
What are the main benefits of POU?JE: "The main benefit of POU is that there is always water available without the need to change bottles, which saves time, money and space."
Which benefit do you make most clear to your customers?JE: "It depends upon the customer, but the real benefit of a cooler is that more water is consumed, which is very good for the wellbeing of those that drink it. A POU cooler can literally be fitted and forgotten about. It will deliver cool filtered water day after day, only requiring the filters to be changed about twice a year."
Do you think customers should be given the choice between POU and bottled coolers, or is POU the best option for everyone?JE: "We are definitely pro-choice. Always let the customer choose as different people put different values on bottled water and filtered water. A large user might want to give staff the benefits of water access, but might not want to pay for the cost of bottled mineral water. Another user might not like the inconvenience of installing a cooler into the mains supply. Some prefer the taste of mineral water over mains water, despite the fact that it is very well filtered. Give customers choice and you will get the best of both worlds."
What is your newest POU water cooler?JE: "The EMax POU is based on the most popular bottled water cooler in Western Europe - the EMax! The EMax is a very durable, robust fleet cooler and we have sold over hundreds of thousands of units. Available now, the EMax POU gives all the benefits of a low maintenance, reliable cooler at an attractive price point. However in mid 2008 we will launch a new POU cooler that will have some new features."
What are its main features and benefits?JE: "The biggest benefit is obviously Ebac’s patented WaterTrail that offers 100% sanitisation every time - this is especially important in the POU market. It also has an 'Easy Fit' Carbon Block Water Filter, which can be easily changed. Like the EMax bottled, the POU version has a non rust ABS polymer body and chassis, and as if that wasn’t enough it also has our award winning vacuum insulated hot tank, which gives significant energy savings."
Which POU feature are distributors and customers asking for most at the moment?JE: "It is a little early to identify trends, but one trend that is covering both segments of the market is the desire for distributors to realise greater rental income from their coolers. We are assisting them through differentiation and design, with the aim of creating better coolers that their customers will value and pay more for. In continental Europe there are some indications that CO2 will be popular with POU customers, but it's still early days."
How would you describe the look of your newest POU cooler?JE: "Our latest POU cooler will be launched in summer 2008. It will include some innovations, but its overriding feature will be reliability. It will be robust enough to handle the most difficult children in a classroom and will have the durability to sit on the factory floor. Our challenge is to make it strong, but pleasing on the eye."
Which kind of location would it suit?JE: "The cooler has been designed specifically to fit into almost any environment - it will have discrete, stylish looks and be equally adaptable in a wide range of locations. The requirements of a classroom are very different to that of an office for example, but we have engineered it to meet the requirements of all of these markets."
Which factors do you have to consider when deciding which materials to use for POU coolers?JE: "Reliability, cost and the environment. We wanted to design a cooler that was very robust, but we also wanted to make it a mainstream fleet cooler that would be accessible to all distributors for their customers. Finally, we used technology to reduce the impact on the environment - our famous insulated stainless steel hot tank is more energy efficient when compared with ordinary coolers."
How do you deal with POU hygiene and sanitisation issues?JE: "Sanitisation in the POU market is very important to most water cooler businesses and distributors. We have developed a patented system that will revolutionise the way sanitisation is handled in the POU business. Until the new POU cooler is launched, we cannot say too much. So, watch this space."
How important do you think cooler filters are to improving the scent, look and taste of mains fed water?JE: "The heart of any POU cooler must be the filtration system. A good filtration system will return the water as near as is possible to its 'natural' state. The system must also be reliable, constant and at a realistic cost. Two people can drink the same water and they will taste different things - the human tongue has over 10,000 taste buds, so taste is very subjective."
Are you currently developing any new POU coolers or features?JE: "Our new cooler will be launched in summer 2008 and will include a range of features that we have been working on for over two years. We wanted to develop a product that will overtake the competition, as well as being totally reliable with proven features that customers will value. We want to differentiate our product to give our customers a competitive advantage over their competitors."
What does the future hold for the POU cooler industry?JE: "POU will continue to grow, but we believe most of this growth will come from customers that would never buy a cooler. It will also take some customers that currently use bottled coolers, because when they got their bottled cooler, POU was not available to them. The awareness of the benefits of drinking more water increases every year, hence we believe that both coolers will experience good growth rates. We are very optimistic about the future of the market and our position in it."
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