Nestlé Waters Direct Polska Dar Natury won the title “QUALITY OF THE YEAR 2008”

Warsaw, 13 February 2009 – Yesterday, during a festive event, Nestlé Waters Polska Dar Natury Division in Warsaw received a prestigious title "QUALITY OF THE YEAR 2008". The title in the Product category was awarded to DAR NATURY brand. The prize is granted by the Editorial Team of the Business Report of Gazeta Prawna and the Polish Centre for Testing and Certification. As many as 130 participants took part in the third edition of the contest.

Nestlé Waters Direct Polska Dar Natury Division has produced and distributed natural spring water in gallon bottles of 18.9 and 11 liters on the Polish market for 15 years. The two leading brands are DAR NATURY awarded the title "QUALITY OF THE YEAR 2008", and exceptionally popular among individual consumers - NESTLÉ AQUAREL in DAR NATURY System. For years, Nestlé Waters Direct has been a market leader in terms of the volume of water deliveries to offices and households. From now, owing to the title “QUALITY OF THE YEAR 2008”, the company is also the example of quality to follow and sets high standards for the competitive products in its industry.

The initiators and organizers of the contest were, like every year, the Editorial Team of the Business Report of Gazeta Prawna and the Polish Centre for Testing and Certification, which is the oldest scientific body dealing with quality research in Poland. This partnership guaranteed high level and professional evaluation of the participants of the contest. The poll "QUALITY OF THE YEAR 2008", being a part of the Polish Programme for Quality Promotion among the in-country companies, was organized for the third time: The great success of the 1st and 2nd edition of the Programme and over 130 participants every year strengthened our belief that the title QUALITY OF THE YEAR is not only a valuable prize for companies but also a quality programme desired by the market, said Marcin Kałużny, Managing Editor of Business Report, We would still like to promote management through quality and advise the participants of the programme how to follow the path of pro-quality thinking, he added. The success of the programme proves how important it is for the Polish producers to maintain the high level of production and the highest labour standards. This is highly valued not only by the companies themselves but also by the consumers who choose products and more often focus on their quality confirmed by opinion-forming institutions and independent expert organizations.

The prize proves that Nestlé Waters Direct Polska Dar Natury meets the highest quality standards, says Marlena Szymańska, Quality and Production Director at Nestlé Waters Direct Polska Dar Natury It confirms our professional attitude towards quality management issues which was one of the key criteria affecting the decision on awarding the prize. We are proud of the fact that Nestlé Waters Direct Polska Dar Natury Division proved to be a leader in the implementation of food quality and safety systems ISO 22000, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.

Nestlé Waters Direct is a leader which sets the direction for the development of the whole segment of gallon waters not only in Poland but also in Europe. In 2007, the activities of Nestlé Waters Direct Polska Dar Natury Division were recognized owing to the eco-friendly strategy of the company. It was awarded the prize AQUA AWARD 2007 in the category Best Environmental Initiative granted by the jury of the International Fair EBWA for acting to the benefit of promoting eco-friendly attitude among the employees within the programme "Committed to Nature".

The title "QUALITY OF THE YEAR 2008" for Nestlé Waters Direct Polska Dar Natury Division confirms the continuous high quality of products and firm position of the company as the leader and expert in the field of gallon waters on the market.