Stéphane Burgatt / Photo credit: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP 09:20, April 23, 2023

For several weeks, consumers and restaurateurs have been finding it increasingly difficult to find bottles of Perrier or San Pellegrino sparkling water. Fewer bottles are produced, mainly because of a shortage of carbon dioxide, but also because of the weather.

Bad luck for the brand of mineral sparkling water Perrier, which sees its production of bottles decrease. The Perrier absent from the shelves for several months, the green bottle is more discreet. Made in Vergèze, in the Gard, its production is affected by several headwinds.

"I had to fall back on the Badoit"

Bad surprise for Enzo in his neighborhood supermarket: "I looked for Perrier and there was no more. I had to fall back on the Badoit. It was the only brand left in that convenience store." Break also among catering professionals, such as Jean-Philippe Carmona, of the Victory agency, which organizes catering buffets in the event industry. "We try to do things differently, we go to other brands, but it goes beyond Perrier. It also applies to the San Pellegrino, to name but a few."

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This applies to water that is mechanically carbonated, as a result of a shortage among suppliers of food carbon dioxide. But in the case of Perrier, there is also the weather factor. "This simply concerns the source of Perrier, which is located between Montpellier and Nîmes," explains Frédéric Guyard, editor-in-chief of the magazine Rayon boissons.

"The real difficulty is extracting the water because the water tables are low. On the scale of mineral waters, in France, it is a real tremor because Perrier represents 25% of the market share." Especially since the prospects of a return to normal are still not known.