Honorary Georgian Consul Thelmo Cunanan Jr paid a formal visit to the Borjomi water company in Borjomi, Georgia. He was accompanied by Borjomi CEO Levan Bagdavadze. Borjomi is Georgia’s world-famous mineral water. Consul Cunanan will facilitate the export of Borjomi water to the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
Consul Cunanan earlier met with Borjomi General Director Zaza Kikvadze to discuss the possibility of exports to the Philippines and Asia. Consul Cunanan, who is with one of the boards of San Miguel Corporation, a major Philippines beverage company, with subsidiaries all over Asia. He and Mr Kikvadze will look into the possibility of bringing the famous Georgian water to the Philippines.
Consul Cunanan toured Borjomi’s large production facility in the beautiful region of Georgia, which it takes its name after. He was able to see the world-class, state-of-the-art equipment that is used to bottle the water, under the strictest, most sanitary conditions.
Borjomi sources its water from artesian springs in the Borjomi valley that are fed by water that filters from glaciers covering the peaks of the Bakuriani mountains at altitudes of up to 2,300 m (7,500 ft). The water rises to the surface without pumping and is transported by pipes to two bottling plants in the town of Borjomi.
The Borjomi springs were discovered by the Imperial Russian military in the 1820s. They were made famous throughout the Russian Empire, making Borjomi a popular tourist destination. The history of the brand is closely associated with the Russian imperial dynasty of Romanov. By the 1890s, Borjomi was bottled in the Georgian estates of Grand Duke Mikhail of Russia. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and subsequent Soviet takeover of Georgia, the Borjomi enterprise was nationalized and the water was made into a top Soviet export.[1]
Borjomi is exported to over 40 countries, but none so far in Southeast Asia. Since 1995, Borjomi has been trademarked and produced by the Georgian Glass and Mineral Water Company (GG&MW), belonging to the Russian Alfa Group Consortium. The use of Borjomi water has been suggested by the Georgian and Russian researchers for complex treatment of several digestive diseases and diabetes mellitus.
