Lichtenauer Mineralquellen with significant sales growth in the 2025 financial year
Mineral water and returnable glass ensure strong growth
Lichtenauer Mineralquellen successfully held its own in a challenging market environment in the 2025 financial year and achieved significant growth. Sales increased by 7.1% to a total of 174.8 million liters of natural mineral water and non-alcoholic soft drinks. The Saxon fountain company's growth was primarily driven by the mineral water segment and the strong demand for returnable glass containers.
"We are delighted with the above-average positive development of the past year - especially in the mineral water segment," says Thomas Heß, Managing Director of Lichtenauer Mineralquellen: "A key driver of our growth is the significant increase in demand for returnable glass containers. At the same time, we are observing a clear trend towards conscious nutrition, less sugar and natural products. Our sugar-free water-plus drinks are benefiting from this in particular. Last but not least, the renewed certification in accordance with the ZNU standard for sustainable management underlines our claim to combine economic growth with corporate responsibility. We are continuously investing in our site, in more efficient processes and more sustainable corporate management - as the basis for long-term, competitive growth."
Lichtenauer: most popular regional brand in eastern Germany
In the non-alcoholic beverage segment, Lichtenauer achieved a 10.1% increase in sales in eastern Germany in 2025, positioning itself as the strongest regional brand (source: Circana). Lichtenauer thus performed well above market level and set a strong example in an overall declining non-alcoholic beverage market in eastern Germany (-4.0%; source: Circana).
In the core market of Saxony, the brand maintained its clear leading position in the mineral water segment and continued to gain relevance with an increase in market share of 23.3%. The returnable glass segment was the main growth driver. The sugar-free water-plus drinks also provided further successful impetus here.
"We got off to a successful start with Lichtenauer Medium with lime, which we continued at the beginning of this year with the launch of Medium with lemon - also in 0.75 liter returnable glass containers," explains Marketing Manager Claudia Meincke. "We were also able to increase the emotional relevance of the brand with the launch of our new brand campaign in the second half of 2025. The new brand claim 'Lichtenauer. Where life is' is approachable, optimistic and future-oriented. This will strengthen Lichtenauer's positioning as a trusted and enjoyable everyday companion."
Margon grows for another year in a row
The Margon brand, which focuses on the Saxon market with natural mineral water and bitter drinks, also continued its positive trend. In the mineral water segment, Margon grew by 10.1 percent, putting it in 3rd place in Saxony in terms of sales. With a sales increase of 32.3 percent, the returnable glass container also gave Margon mineral water a strong boost last year.
Vita Cola: Distribution expansion ensures sales growth
Vita Cola also developed positively last year. The increased sales volumes are primarily the result of significantly expanded distribution in the western German market. Vita Cola is the strongest German brand in the national cola market. For another year in a row, the original product VITA COLA Original achieved the majority of sales. "Our cola with the typical citrus flavor is also at the top of consumer favor in the new sales region. This differentiating feature is a real asset with growth potential," says Claudia Meincke.
ZNU certification as an important milestone
Investments in technology, processes and resource conservation are a central component of the corporate strategy. At the end of 2025, Lichtenauer Mineralquellen reached another important milestone as part of the family-owned Hassia Group: the Hassia Group was successfully audited by TÜV Rheinland Cert GmbH in the fall of 2025 and subsequently certified according to the ZNU Standard for Sustainable Management.
Lichtenauer Mineralquellen also continues to strengthen its sustainable corporate structures with the scientifically sound and field-tested management standard of the ZNU - Center for Sustainable Leadership at Witten/Herdecke University. The standard ensures that Lichtenauer Mineralquellen at the Lichtenau site deals intensively with key sustainability issues, derives concrete goals from them, implements appropriate measures, measures their effectiveness and cultivates a transparent culture of dialog.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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