The 21st Global Water Drinks Congress was held in Frankfurt, Germany, from October 28th to 30th. During the Congress, industry leaders and corporate representatives from around the world exchanged ideas on cutting-edge trends and innovations in the drinking water market, with the hope of propelling the industry’s growth.

Dr. Gerrit Smit, an expert at Yili Innovation Center Europe, was invited to deliver a speech titled Meeting Evolving Needs of Chinese Consumers: A New Milestone on the Path to Greater Sustainability. During his sharing, Dr. Smit delved into the latest trends in China’s drinking water market and highlighted Yili’s innovative achievements and green development practices in the drinking water industry.

The 2024 Global Water Drinks Awards winners were announced during the Congress. Yili’s mineral water brand INIKIN was honored with the 2024 Global Water Drinks Awards for its innovative product INIKIN Brewed Tea.

Yili received the 2024 Global Water Drinks Awards

Dr. Smit showcased the award-winning INIKIN Brewed Tea at the congress. With the pursuit of “freshly prepared tea anytime, anywhere”, the brand employs a unique bottle cap that keeps freeze-dried tea powder separate from water, with no additives. With just a twist and shake, a fresh bottle of tea is ready in three seconds.

Richard Hall, chairman of Zenith Global, the event’s organizer, highlighted INIKIN Brewed Tea as a prime example of the impressive innovation coming from Chinese companies in the beverage industry.

“Yili has done amazing things in the dairy sector for many years and become a leading global player in dairy with innovation as a major factor. It’s exciting to see Yili now enter the water market and do something which is genuinely innovational,” said Hall. What impressed him was INIKIN’s unique advantages in securing ultimate purity from pristine volcanic water sources, and Yili Group’s relentless commitment to sustainable development regarding technology application and management practices.

Staying true to its corporate vision of becoming the world’s most trusted healthy food provider, Yili always strives to resonate with consumer needs. In 2019, the company launched INIKIN, a natural volcanic mineral water brand. INIKIN features premium water source locations: Arxan, known as one of the “Natural Oxygen Bars of China,” with a forest coverage rate of 95, and Changbai Mountains, a world-famous high-quality mineral water source.

Natural mineral water at the two locations is thoroughly managed under a daily water extraction limit and transported via a fully enclosed pipeline to manufacturing facilities established within the water source locations. Top-quality technologies such as biomimetic nanofiltration membranes and ozone-free sterilization are adopted to ensure the purity of the natural mineral water.

Dr. Smit also elaborated Yili’s sustainable practices. He noted that Yili integrates sustainability into its practices and aims to achieve carbon neutrality across its entire supply chain by 2050. At present, Yili is collaborating closely with all stakeholders throughout the supply chain to make this goal a reality.