Packaged drinking water pdf pritha.s14@fmsedu-faculty-of-management-studies

Marketing & Distribution of Packaged Drinking Water

Submitted by

Asif Muhammed F162

Praveen Kumar F192

Pritha Sarkar F222


We would like to express our gratitude to Ms. Garima Gupta who guided us throughout the

execution of this project and who always provided us with his valuable insights on how to do a

marketing research project both inside and outside the classroom.

We would also like to thank the consumers who took time out to fill up our survey and provided

us with deep consumer behavior patterns. Of course it is not possible to name them individually

but their contribution is valued by us.

And last but not least we thank our mentor Ms Pallavi Sinha who was there for us throughout the

successful completion of project, who guided us and provided us with valuable suggestions.


Acknowledgement 2

Abstract 5

Literature Review 6

Objective of the project 9

Introduction 10

i. About Packaged Drinking Water Industry 10

ii. Growth & Progress over the years 10

iii. Market Rulers 11

iv. Raw Materials 11

v. Process of Manufacturing 11

SWOT Analysis of Packaged Drinking Water Industry 13

i. Strengths 13

ii. Weaknesses 14

iii. Opportunities 15

iv. Threats 16

Research Methodology 17

Research Design 17

Data Collection 17

Survey Analysis of Customer Responses 18


User Preferred Brands 22

Segmentation, Target and Positioning 22

A Brief Introduction to each product: 4P Analysis 23

i. Bibo 23

ii. Bisleri 25

iii. Evian 28

Conclusion 31

References 33


We did our research with the aim of finding the marketing and distribution consumer preferences

in the packaged drinking water industry in India. We studied in detail about the Indian packaged

drinking water industry, its origin, growth and current scenario. A SWOT analysis has been

carried out on packaged drinking water industry also.

To get the consumer preferences, we conducted a market survey among different parts of India.

From the responses, we analyzed that there is significant difference in user preference among

branded water and local brands, owing to the factors like cost, awareness, ease of access etc.

Moreover from our study we understood that there are significant differences between the

various players, how they are positioning themselves in the market, what all marketing strategies

they are employed etc. So in detail we studied about 3 brands, one the most preferred brand,

turned out to be Bisleri, one, the most preferred local brand, turned out to be Bibo and the last,

the most preferred luxury brand, turned out to be Evian. We did STP as well as 4P analyses for

these 3 brands as well.

And as conclusion we analyzed in detail what all barriers that a local player is facing when

entering into the packaged drinking water industry.


1) BOTTLED & SOLD: THE STORY BEHIND OUR OBSESSION WITH BOTTLED

WATER

Peter H. Gleick, Washington, DC: Covelo/London: Island Press, 2011.

Objective

The book disciplinary boundaries and treat water problems from multiple physical, social,

political perspectives. A hydrologist, a legal scholar, and an anthropology specialist combine

their expertise in their highly engaging treatment of the past, present, and uncertain future of

the Rio Grande. The book Bottled and Sold moves easily from the physical to social aspects

of the growing problem of bottled water. Another characteristic is that the intended audiences

of the book need not have any previous knowledge about water resources, although their

contents are also instructive to specialists. The three books are also similar in their overall

high quality and commitment to innovation and change in the substance and process of water

resources decisions.

Focus Method Reasoning Insights

River

Basin

Historical/institutional analysis Historical

precedence

How and why present

conditions emerged

Approach

Bottled & Sold: The Story Behind Our Obsession With Bottled Water by Peter Gleick sets a

goal where “the world moves toward sustainably managed freshwater resources where every

person on the planet has safe and reliable drinking water, ecosystems and communities all

have their basic water needs satisfied, and water is used efficiently and carefully” (page 177).


Through policy analysis that considers the putative benefits of convenience, purity, and taste

of bottled water; the real costs of energy to manufacture and transport bottles; the added costs

to collect and dispose of used bottles; and the uncertain and inadequate regulations to protect

bottled water quality, Gleick concludes that improving public water supply systems is the

preferred pathway to the future he envisions. While the author himself relies on rational

means–ends analysis, he readily recognizes the power of framing tap water as unwholesome,

socially constructing bottled water as fashionable, and storytelling where bottled water is the

hero of weight-loss narratives. Further, analysis alone is recognized as insufficient to change

either regulatory policy or consumer demand. Political mobilization against bottled water and

the greening of some corporate brands, both of which the book documents, are processes

taking place and to which this book clearly intends to contribute.

Customs and Central Excise withdraws controversial ad

http://www.cseindia.org

Issue Dealt With

The customs and central excise department gave through its advertisements that was

published in leading newspapers on February 21 gave the following message

Drink Aerated drinks and do social service

The advertisement said that the central excise duty, which is to the tune of rs 95,508 crores

(paid between April- December 2010), consumers pay on aerated drink is used to meet the

drinking water requirements of millions. It reads that 'The Central Excise Duty you pay on

aerated drinks helps quench the thirst of millions'- it almost seems that the more people drink

aerated drinks, the more they are contributing towards the society and doing a social service.

Findings

Consumption of aerated drinks is known to have long term health impacts like obesity,

osteoporosis, gastronomic distress, calcium loss and kidney stones. Obesity in India has

http://www.cseindia.org/


grown by 20 percent between 1998 and 2005 and obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart

diseases, stroke and high blood pressure.

CSEs campaign bore fruit when the government in July 2003 decided to notify new norms

for pesticide residues in bottled water. The norms state that pesticide residues considered

individually should not be more than 0.0001 mg/litre while total pesticide residues were

capped at not more than 0.0005 mg/litre.


To carry out a detailed study about Indian Packaged Drinking water industry- its origin,

growth and future scope and on the basis of this analysis, suggest innovative strategy for

new entrants.

After conducting a detailed study about the history of packaged drinking water industry, how it

has originated in India, how it has evolved over the years, the major players involved, the

changing demand and consumption statistics of the industry throughout and its projected growth

over the next decade, we go deep on the different marketing strategies employed by the local

players, the industry leaders and the niche segmented brands, how they are segmenting the

markets, what are their target segments and what differences are there in the strategies adopted

by them to position them in the targeted market.

As a part of the project, we would like to carry out a detailed survey about the usage and user

preferences of the various market players, the attitude of the Indian consumers towards them, and

predict what is next for the players; the future by analyzing the market responses. Moreover, we

visit manufacturing plants and get an insightful experience about the various day to day

operations, and challenges faced at a bottling plant, how the nature of challenges differ from an

established one to a local brand.


About Packaged Drinking Water

Water forms an essential part of life for all of us. Since it is a human necessity, it makes best

sense to do business in. As a normal human being requires an average of 2-3 liters of water every

day and Indian population is more than one billion (growing at 2-3% annually) the business

opportunity is enormous and the industry potential is largely untapped.

The bottled water industry is estimated to be a whopping 1600 crore business! It has grown at a

rate of 38-40% annually over the past four years. However the domestic packaged drinking water

industry of India is highly fragmented with more than 1000 players. The top 5 players account

just above 35% of the total market share

Growth and Progress over the Years

Packaged Drinking Water Industry in India has never looked back after the economic

liberalization process of 1991-92. In fact the fastest growth in the consumption of bottled water

in the world has been recorded in India according to a new study conducted by the US based

earth policy institute.

Earlier packaged drinking water was privileged to the high class, foreign tourist and highly

health conscious people, but the present decade has witnessed increasing popularity among

average consumers, increasing living standards, disposable income, education and awareness

among the consumers domestic and foreign tourist, sophisticated business houses and offices has

increased rapidly the sales of bottled water in recent years.

The growing demand for packaged drinking water speaks volumes of the scarcity of clean

drinking water and the quality of tap water. It has become an icon of healthy lifestyle emerging

in India. Selling – „safety‟ – i.e. pure and simple water has now become one of the fastest

growing industries in India despite the harsh truth it is build on the foundation of bad

governance, inequality and obvious exploitation. However, packaged drinking water provides the

distant advantages of convenient packing, consistent quality and is ubiquitous.


According to Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), there are 1200 bottling plants and 200 brands of

packed drinking water across the country (nearly 80% of which are local) hitting over the

markets which thoroughly signifies the market is big, even by international standards. This is a

boom time for the Indian bottled water industry, because the economics are sound. India is the

tenth largest bottled water consumer in the world. The consumption of smaller units of 500 ml

has increased by around 140% perceptibly over the last 5 years. Even school children are

carrying the 500 ml packs in their school bags. The 20 liter bulk water jars have found

phenomenal acceptance in house hold and at workplace. With the growing market size, one can

imagine the employment and growth opportunities being created with the surge in bottled water

industry.

Market Rulers

The bottled water market is dominated by major player such as Coco-cola, PepsiCo (Aquafina),

Parle (Bisleri & Bailey), K.K. Beverages, Manikchand, and Tata-Mount Everest. Although we

have a large number of players, Parle was the pioneer among the major player when it was

launched in India, 35 years ago.

Raw Materials

The main raw material is water which is purified and made into finished product.

Process of Manufacturing

The water is processed with multi stage purification processes such as – sand filter, activated

carbon filter, ultraviolet disinfection, ultra filtration, Reverse Osmosis and Ozonization.

The sand filter eliminates load of total suspended solids in the raw water. Activated carbon filter

removes the organic contamination and pesticide residuals from the water. It also controls taste

and odor of water. In UV disinfection, water is exposed to UV light of wavelength 245

nanometers (nm), generally. A dosage of 16000 microwatt/sq.cm is required at 40˚ C for

effective disinfection. The Ultra filtration is a low pressure membrane process that removes

dissolved organic macro molecules, viruses, pyrogen enzymes etc. Then comes the reverse

osmosis where dissolved impurities like unwanted salts and retain minerals which are essential to


human body are eliminated. Then water will go through a process of ozonization, ozone being

the strongest oxidizer and disinfection agent which can act on a broad spectrum of

microbiological organisms. After ozonisation, water is filtered again through a microscopic filter

before final packaging.


Strengths

Growing Popularity

With the increase in mobility of people outside their region and movement from rural region to

urban region there is increment in use of packaged drinking water due to easy availability and

safe option for water

Industry growth

With the growth of industries and other corporate entities such as hotel and restaurant there is

increase in use of packaged drinking water as an option and shifting behavior from normal

drinking water to packaged drinking water in case of any gathering at higher level of functioning

Increasing use of new Bulk Segment in Household

With rising scarcity of water and increasing cases of pollution there is increase in trend of buying

Bulk Drinking water deal from dealers of Bisleri etc. As being easily available and at lower cost

than the premium packaged water of same brand, this bulk segment of big bottle is getting

popular in houses as well as offices quickly these days

Growing population

With the growing population of the country the market size for packaged drinking water is

increasing day by day due to higher consumption as well as increasing scarcity of fresh water in

surrounding.


Weaknesses

Reuse of bottles by local seller and illegal manufacturers- Manufacturer’s issue

Due to inability of destructing the bottle use after taking out water from it the same bottle is

being used by local public to sell it again with normal water in it but packed with seal. It creates

disbelief in public and they don‟t even keep faith in buying the new one due to inability to

distinguish between used one and new one affecting the sale.

Inability to find market in rural population

Due to comparatively high price and less awareness about importance of pure water, this

industry has found it difficult to cover rural market. Though at the same price cold drinks have

found its feet in the market but packaged drinking water is still something very hard to be

accepted by rural population for very long time.

Not very Economical

The price will always remain an issue for general public for quite long time as it is still compared

to the normal water available for nearly no price. This difference of price would really mke the

industry finds out a way to fill up by making public aware of the importance of pure water which

is rare to find in the free water.

Quality not maintained properly

From time to time there have been issue with the quality of processed mineral water though on

one hand it is highly expected by public to be the purest form and if something wrong is found as

was in one of the case of Bisleri having germ contents in it, really upset people and can make the

demand fall down abruptly.


Opportunities

Sustained market growth in coming years

Growing population increasing level of water pollution is going to have a great impact on growth

of the packaged water industry. With the rise in population, country is moving toward the water

crisis zone causing water bill to be added to the system decreasing the gap between normal water

and mineral water.

Increased awareness among people regarding the use of clean water

As literacy rate is increasing more people are getting to know the need of pure water and status

of present water cleanliness scenario. Rather than a luxury packaged drinking water in big bottle

is considered as a regular need for the family need considering risk of having impure water from

tap.

Launch of premier packaging for hotels etc

With the increasing use of packaged drinking water in hotels and restaurants there is increase in

demand for the product and considered as a status mark during meal outside home. Also it is

being offered at residential inn and motels as only source of drinking water to show more

concern for health of costumers.

Threats

Increased Competition

Being market of high growth rate i.e. 40%, this industry is being used as an entry by many

players. Leaving Bisleri & Aquafina there are many local players who rise very easily and its

difficult for them to tackle this new competition arising by their brand value as the main material

is water which is available very well in all form.

Entry of big players like Coke, Pepsi to the industry


Entry of big player like coke & Pepsi is taking competition to new level and by decreasing the

profit margin and better market reach they are able to attract more customer thus making it

difficult for old players to continue their dominance.

Availability of too many substitutes

Substitute in terms of cold drink or juice are creating a great competition for the packaged water

industry. Bringing taste with fulfilling thirst of people has been USP for them and really hit hard

packaged drinking water most of the time. The beverages industry has been above packaged

drinking water industry and packaged bottle are chosen only in case of real need of water by

general public.

Entry of Purifying Machines

Brands like Eureka & Swach are bringing up a new and better solution for customers to purify

water by their own rather than depending on the purified water available in bottle thus decreasing

the demand of packaged water. Being more convenient for the customers, this industry is rising

rapidly leaving very little market for packaged water industry to cover


Research Design

The objective of the project was to identify the customer preferences over different brands across

the country, how often they are taking packaged drinking water and how much customers are

willing to pay. Is there is any significant difference in the user preferences across brands or

consumers really prefer some brands over others? Is price a crucial factor altogether in deciding

consumer choices? How much an Indian consumer is willing to pay for a bottle of drinking

water?

We followed a model of conclusive research. We surveyed close to 150 persons, majority being

working professionals and students, as they forms the largest consumer group of packaged

drinking water. We asked them about the frequency of consumption, the price range they are

willing to pay, brand awareness etc. Based on the analysis of responses we formulated the

consumer perceptions.

Apart from consumer survey, we visited bottling plants, retail stores and local dealers to get a

clear picture of how packaged drinking water is manufactured, is there any differences in the

processes followed by national players and regional players, how well different brands are doing

in market etc.

Data Collection

Survey

We surveyed 154 persons throughout the country. A large part of the survey had done through

internet and other social media tools; however a significant part was covered by the researchers

themselves. In the second case, the survey was orally administered and respondents were

explained about technical things.


Observation

The major target group was students and professionals who form the largest consumer groups.

They had difference in attitude towards different products. Based on their responses, we chose 3

different brands, one being the market leader i.e.; Bisleri, one, a niche segmented product i.e.;

Evian and one a local brand i.e.; Bibo. We analyzed the different marketing techniques followed

by these 3, how they differ? How they are positioning themselves in the market?


We got 154 responses from different category of occupation and age group to get an overall view

of what exactly is the view of market toward packaged drinking water in term of preference and

their convenience of getting to the product. We got a well distributed customer response in terms


of occupation as well as age group giving more authentication to our work.

There was a requirement to analyze how frequently people are in habit of buying packaged

drinking water. That would give us a rough idea about the demand rate of consumers. By the

response we realized that still packaged drinking water is considered to be a incidental buy and

not a regular need for most of the consumers in India.

We wanted to have an idea of the buying potential of consumers in respect to packaged drinking

water in the sense how much are the willing to pay for packaged drinking bottle (1 litre ). We


observed that the maximum numbers of people are ready to pay more than Rs. 30 for a bottle of

water.

On the other hand looking into the minimum amount which people are willing to pay for a bottle

and the most preferred value came up to be Rs 15 or less. It shows clear response of people to

pay lesser amount due to the price gap between the normal water and packaged water bottle.

Overall idea that we can obtain from the response is that though the price is a big concern for

consumers but at the same time it can be handle in reference to the importance of pure water in

daily life system.

The response we got from consumers made a clear distinction between various points from

where they would like to buy packaged drinking water. Even the industry has a good idea of the

consumers‟ preference and very well distributed the product at different places. From the

response it is found that nearby grocery shops and local vendors are more preferred to the

consumers when it comes to buying the product showing their need of convenience in term of

distance travelled to get to the product.


The most important response that was needed from the consumers was regarding the preference

of Brands. What was found from the consumers‟ response is a set of 3 brands well distincted in

term of their distribution, existence and price range. Bisleri comes out to be the most preferred

brand when it comes to the normal ranged product whereas a local brand Bibo is most preferred

one among certain region of the country. Evian rises to be the most preferred brand when it

comes to premium brand being used in luxurious hotels and big corporate houses.


USER PREFERRED BRANDS

Segmentation, Target & Positioning

Based on income groups, we can classify consumers as Higher Income Group with annual

income greater than 500000 per annum, Middle Income Group with annual income between

300000 and 500000 and lower income groups with annual income less than 300000. Also the

customers residing in different parts of India have different attitude towards the market leader.

Also, the people with better education are more aware of the safety and security aspect of a

market leader.

We can divide our customer base as health conscious people, who are very lesser concern about

safety and purity/highly concern about standard of water/averagely concerned. Also, if the brand

is used only by travelers or if there is 24 hour requirement, or even irregular water requirement.

On the basis of income group – Lower income group/ higher income group/ middle income

group. Bibo focuses on high health conscious people, with 24 hour of regular water requirement,

falling in lower and middle class income group. The brand is positioned as ever transforming and

never compromising product. It offers “Flexi” Quote prices- Offers water supply service on the

quoted price. Bibo Water provides door delivery service to the corporate & domestic customers

365 days, with delivery timing for 12 hours! It also offers retail packs in all sizes, 1 litre, 2 litre,

500 ml, and 300 ml.

It has been noticed, based on frequency of travelling that travelers are better and frequent

consumers of Bisleri than home birds. Bisleri is sold in huge quantities in MNCs. So, it targets

Middle and high income group individuals living in urban and semi-urban areas, and

organizations, particularly MNCs. Bisleri has positioned itself as the first brand to sell bottled

water in India, with bottled mineral water known as “Bisleri” for a long time - Has the first

mover advantage. And the first brand to advertise its secure seal packing- considered sign of

purity.

As Evian has positioned itself as “natural water that comes from the Alps, not touched by man”,

it targets only niche segment of population that belongs to a high income group. As a part of its

restructuring plan Evian started to sell the major five star hotels in Mumbai and Delhi, and posh


café like “Just around the corner” in Bandra. Evian has positioned itself as a product that

compares water with life, hence making it equally important for mother, baby, children, etc.

Evian boasts of Stay well hydrated day and night with Evian's natural mineral water, State-of-

the-art bottling techniques to retain the essence of pristine water, Source of Evian gives it's taste

a unique character.


A Brief Introduction to each product: 4P Analysis

Bibo

Bibo water, established in 1997, has strong presence across the state of Andhra Pradesh and has

been consistently recorded a growth rate of over 18% for last few years. The Bibo water is the

brand of Acer Engineers Pvt. Ltd, basically a Water Treatment Technology company having

executed various industrial water treatment and drinking water plants, the company diversified

into manufacturing of Mineral Water in 1996 and as a result Bibo got originated. Currently Bibo

expanded to Chennai also and plans to establish itself as a key player across the South India.

The product is available in 20 Liters, 10 litres, 2, 1, 500ml and 300ml. The 20 litre packs are

catered through wide spread distribution network across the twin cities of Hyderabad and

Secundarabad, the 20 Liters BIBO Water is delivered to the doorsteps of over 3200 customers

while the 10 litres are catered through the prime retail outlets in these cities. The other packs are

distributed through normal distribution channels. BIBO Water in different packs is distributed

through 720 retail outlets across the twin cities. The 1 Ltr BIBO Water is also a preferred Indian

Railway approved brand.


The conception of idea Bibo was a breakthrough. Acer from their previous experiences

understood the market needs and responded accordingly. They understood the needs of low cost

pure water. The 20 liter Pack was charged at Rs. 50, 10 litre packs at Rs 30, 2 litre at Rs 25, 1

litre at Rs 16, 500 ml at Rs 10 and 300 ml at Rs 7. The 20 litre and 10 litre packs had a huge

demand across the metros owing to the sudden industrialization and subsequent development

which lead to shortage of space as well as pure water. Moreover the distribution network was

also very good. They being local player had the advantage of that too. Excellent network along

with efficient distribution and proper focus made them the player to beat in their areas.

Bisleri

Bisleri was originally an Italian company created by Felice Bisleri, who first brought the idea of

selling bottled water in India. Subsequently Bisleri was introduced in Mumbai in 1965. Parle

bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd. in 1969 and started bottling water in glass bottles under the

brand name „Bisleri‟. All shares of Parle (and therefore Bisleri) are held by Mr Ramesh J

Chauhan and his family. In 1995 Ramesh J. Chauhan started expanding Bisleri operations and in

2003 Bisleri announced its venture to Europe.

The brand name Bisleri is so popular in India that it is used as generic name for bottled water. It

almost has 60% market share in packaged drinking water in India.

The product is available in 8 pack sizes: 250ml cups, 250ml bottles, 500ml, 1 litre, 1.5 litre, 2

litre, 5 litre, and 20 litre with price starts from Rs 3 for 250ml cups, Rs 3 for 250mi bottles, Rs 10

for 1 litre bottle, Rs 30 for 5 litre bottle and Rs 60 for 20 litres.

The product is available virtually in all the places in India, ranges from shopping malls to college

canteens to streets.

Bisleri became the household name in India, thanks to the aggressive promotional activities it

carried out throughout its time. Till 1990, it was the only major player, enjoyed a sort of

monopoly in the market. But things changed from 1991. The Indian consumer market which

once was an iron curtain to the MNC‟s became as open as sky. Parle began to feel the pressure.


Threats started to come in the form of Pepsi, Coca Cola and Nestle through its brands. To cope

as early as up , in the late 1990‟s Bisleri aggressively campaigned to create a distinct brand

image- 'There is just one Bisleri. The entire campaign was built around the tamper proof seals.

The campaign focused on the safety provided by the "breakaway" seal, by illustrating the ease

with which conventionally sealed bottles could be refilled and recycled. Hoardings and point-of-

sale promotion material backed an aggressive print-and-TV campaign, and every interaction with

the consumer was used as an opportunity to reinforce the message that Bisleri was "pure and

safe.” The campaign was instrumental in putting bisleri as the market leader. However problems

were pertaining in the distribution channels of bisleri. Even though, Bisleri followed the same

setup like others i.e; from manufacturing plant to distributors to retailers, there were and there

are some shortcomings. The company doesn‟t give any credit schemes to the Distributors. The

Distributor either have to make Advance Payment or else the day on which company delivers

stock to them the company people collects the payment. But the distributor offers credit of a

maximum period of 3 days to the retailers. Moreover the margins are also low compared to

others. This has become a major weakness for Bisleri for over a decade.

By early 2000‟s Aquafina and Kinley began to step into the once dominated Bisleri market. With

the strong support from their parent brands Pepsico and Coca Cola, superior international

technology, established brand names and the already excellent distribution channels, they began

to outscore Bisleri in every domain. With identifying the huge opportunities lying in Indian

packaged drinking water industry, both Pepsi and Coca Cola doubled the manufacturing plants in

a very short span. This lead Bisleri to shift its marketing strategies.

They begin to move into unconventional means. They were responsible for popularizing the bulk

water bottles like 5 litres and 20 litres. The understanding of needs of Indian middle class for

safe and pure water became a key in the rejuvenation of Bisleri. Bisleri was investing heavily on

marketing and distribution of bulk segment and it gave an upper edge. Even though Coca cola

also targeted the bulk segment via Kinley, it couldn‟t match to Bisleri‟s already established

name. Aquafina however concentrated only in small and medium segments and restricted itself

from entering into bulk segment.

By 2000, Bisleri decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by introducing more

pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy packaging. In 2000, Bisleri launched


the 1.2 litre pack. This added to the five pack sizes that Bisleri had (500 ml, one, two, five and 20

litres). The new pack was priced at Rs 12. This pack was targeted at the regular mineral water

consumer who is accompanied by a friend and also restaurants and hotels. In the long run, Bisleri

planned to replace the standard one litre pack with the 1.2 litre pack. The company felt that

although the one litre pack accounted for 35% of sales in terms of volume, it had problems in the

form of leakages, loose caps and foreign particles in the water. Bisleri thought that a heavier 1.2

litre bottle would solve most of these problemsThe extra margin obtained through the 1.2 litre

pack went only for campaigning Bisleri.

After this the whole brand has reshaped. They moved from the classic blue to a more eco

friendly green color in packaging. In place of the round ringed bottles, Bisleri would be available

in hexagonal flat sleeved bottles, owing to the consumer perception that the old Bisleri was not

trendy enough.


Moreover they be begin to campaign aggressively. In place of safe and pure, by late 2000‟s

Bisleri launched its Play Safe ad campaign. The campaign targeted the youth and hoped to

convey a social message: young people need to make sure they are safe even when they are

having fun. The ad campaign saw a shift in positioning from "pure and safe" to "play safe."

According to Ambience D'Arcy, the shift had been necessitated by the fact that every new

entrant in the mineral water market adopted the purity. As a result of all these Bisleri could

reestablish itself as a brand, however the competition has increased manifold and Bisleri is not a

player now as it was in the retail sector once due to the improved business strategies of Pepsico

and Coca cola. The focus has been shifted to the bulk water segment to reinvent itself was a key

decision along with the promotion. But still it‟s the brand to beat in Indian packaged drinking

water reaffirming the quote “Early Bird catches the worm”.

Evian

Evian, the iconic French mineral water brand, owned by Danone Group entered the Indian

market in 1999. Evian was pure water collected from Alps and not mineral water. The product

Evian is portrayed as a luxury and expensive bottled water. Evian Company entered India in

partnership with Radhakrishna Foodland for the distribution of Evian, as Radhakrishna Foodland

provided all supply chain solutions for Evian. The product Evian was branded as a luxury one,

available only to the upper class in selected stores. The price was set to be around Rs70 initially

for a 1 litre bottle and Rs25 for a 330 ml bottle. The initial promotional activities were limited

and only the distribution network of Radhakrishna Foodland was the main promotional aspect as

such.


As a result, the brand couldn‟t do well in initial years in India. The Indian consumer was not

willing to pay for the luxury of Evian and Evian was also not able to get a place in the mind of

Indian consumer mainly owing to the price, as Indian consumer was always skeptical about the

price than any other parameter. By 2003, Evian understood that it has to undergo some radical

changes for survival in Indian packaged drinking water industry. As a result the entire Evian

brand has been restructured.

The product remained the same, price too. In fact due to the variations in Euro, the price

increased to Rs 92 per litre at one point but later came down and settled at Rs 80 per litre. The

entire supply chain distribution channels were the next to undergo changes. The partnership has

moved from Radhakrishna Foodland to Narangs Hospitality Services (distributor of Red Bull).

The Danone India even went into a joint venture to Narangs Hospitality Services, called

Quarisma Beverages allowing Narang to take a great stake. Narang was much superior in closing

down the supply chain faults as they proved their expertise on that through a variety of products

like Red Bull, Illy coffee etc. Next Danone concentrated on the promotion of Evian as a brand.

The company introduced certain innovative strategies while remaining as a luxury brand. As a

part of universal detox campaigns (Detoxification is the process of removing toxins from the

body), they had conducted campaigns in India too. The new Evian detox campaign offered Evian

as the ubiquitous antidote to all your indulgences. Soon they began to partner with all the 5 star

hotels in the metros to create special detox menus, gyms and skin clinics for special Evian

related offers along with partnering with Mercedez Benz came next. All the Benz cars came

stashed with an Evian detox kit. As a part of rebranding, Evian began to differentiate itself from


safe drinking water; it positioned itself as a “natural mineral water from the Alps, untouched by

man". Moreover as an extension to the detox activities Evian also plans to start a spa soon in

India. The strategy paid off. Evian begin to get into the minds of Indian consumers. It became an

icon of luxury water in India. The sales has increased manifold over the years. It begins to

distinguish itself to a lifestyle, which the Indian consumer is always aspiring for.


After analysing each of the 3 brands in detail, particularly the local brand, which included

visiting the plant, and conducting telephonic interviews with BIBO water users, and conducting a

data analysis, we found that the local brand required innovative communication strategy and

more flexibility in govt regulations regarding setting up plants. Many manufacturers and factory

owners were reluctant to set up plants in states due to strict state regulations. While the consumer

preference survey was conducted at the very beginning to decide on the 3 brands to study, it was

decided that a detailed brand study on local brand was required due to lack of consumer

preference. We found that although the local brand had a strong distribution network and local

loyalists, they face the hurdles like being a well established industry with only a few rulers and

emerging market leaders with well defined parent companies, many customers are not ready to

trust new entrants on the market due to purity and safety concerns, cheap price strategy adopted

by numerous smaller not working for them as consumers are ready to pay as much provided

water safety and purity is guaranteed within a reasonable price range, a large share of buyers

include corporate companies that go for well established brands due to status factor, and

unwilling to try new brands.

We conclude further that packaged drinking water has a lot of scope in establishing itself. As no.

of middle class people are growing and more and more consumer oriented products are moving

to rural customers, it has a scope in all demographic regions. Tracing the huge potential in this

industry, water purifiers like Eureka Forbes has decided to enter into bottles drinking water

industry making an investment of 2 crore in purification and bottling set-up itself.

We note that the industry has only a few counted rulers and only one or 2 emerging brands, but a

fairly large no. of smaller companies. Our analysis show that brands like aquafina has marketed

itself on both purity as well as taste. Its parent brand PepsiCo has taken water conservation

initiatives which have built brand awareness among masses. Not just the water, PepsiCo has

spent handsome amount to highlight the design of the body of bottle itself. So, a strong

marketing campaign would be required to build a brand image. The recent increase in price of

water bottle (w.e.f May 1, 2012) did not have a significant effect on regular consumer base of

packaged drinking water industry.

From the survey, we concluded that many local packaged drinking water industries are growing

in southern India, and for the customers in that region ( Andhra Pradesh), the local packaged

manufacturing industry is as popular among the localities as the market leader, unlike in a city

like New Delhi.


We infer that before starting a packed drinking water pant, a few important things to be kept in

mind is capacity of the packaged drinking water plant, procedure or documentation, subsidies by

the government, water source required.

After telephonic interaction with a manufacturer in Thane, we boiled down to following

difficulties it can face, hardness of water tested in that area, as that would decide the cost of

purifier ( RO process manufacturer), Norms of Bureau of Indian Standard to be followed, The

requirement of funds in setting up your own brand in a conservative lending scenario.

For any new entrant, with limitation in working capital restricts it to bottle for others rather than

selling one‟s own brands. Also, it would also be necessary to get a BIS certification and a testing

lab approved by BIS before you start bottling. We also found that the source of water is equally

important, as if it stops yielding water, it can affect the business.

We also conclude that it is a good decision not to market and sell your own brand but instead to

bottle for others. It is a 'cut throat' business where you have to give credit and find it is extremely

difficult to collect money, so we would suggest it would be better to assess the market situation.

A new entrant must also be aware of, as well as get a BIS certification and a testing lab approved

by BIS before it start packaging.


1) Reinventing Bisleri

URL: http://www.icmrindia.org/free%20resources/casestudies/reinventing-bisleri2.htm

2) Bottled loot: By Chandra Bushan

URL: http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2307/stories/20060421006702300.htm

3) Coke's plans hold water: By Neha Kaushik

URL:http://www.hinduonnet.com/businessline/catalyst/2001/11/29/stories/1929f05b.htm

4) Business: Kinley‟s packaging revamp

URL: http://spoonfeedin.blogspot.com/2008/07/business-kinleys-packaging-revamp.html

5) Managing your salesforce: A Motivational Approach, by P.Venugopal

Packaged drinking water pdf pritha.s14@fmsedu-faculty-of-management-studies

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