Bisleri project for management student

120
Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri Executive Summary Package drinking water: The fountain of all life. Even a toddler will tell you it is a prime need of the body. Sixty per cent of our body weight is made up of it. Water can also be the cause of much misery. Especially in India, where contaminated water continues to bring down millions with diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid, jaundice and gastro-enteritis. Getting pure drinking water from municipal taps in cities and towns is now a luxury. At home most people are forced to either boil water or install purifiers. While traveling or eating out in restaurants, buying bottled water has become a necessity. This need has seen an explosion of companies marketing “safe drinking water” in bottles across the country. Now around 100 companies sell an estimated 424 million liters of bottled water valued at around Rs. 200 crore in the country annually. 1

description

Marketing of maineral water-BisleriExecutive SummaryPackage drinking water: The fountain of all life. Even a toddler will tell you it is a prime need of the body. Sixty per cent of our body weight is made up of it. Water can also be the cause of much misery. Especially in India, where contaminated water continues to bring down millions with diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid, jaundice and gastro-enteritis. Getting pure drinking water from municipal taps in cities and towns is now a

Transcript of Bisleri project for management student

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Executive Summary

Package drinking water

The fountain of all life Even a toddler will tell you it is a prime need of the

body Sixty per cent of our body weight is made up of it Water can also be the

cause of much misery Especially in India where contaminated water continues

to bring down millions with diseases such as diarrhea dysentery typhoid

jaundice and gastro-enteritis

Getting pure drinking water from municipal taps in cities and towns is now a

luxury At home most people are forced to either boil water or install purifiers

While traveling or eating out in restaurants buying bottled water has become a

necessity This need has seen an explosion of companies marketing ldquosafe

drinking waterrdquo in bottles across the country

Now around 100 companies sell an estimated 424 million liters of bottled water

valued at around Rs 200 crore in the country annually

The tradition of bottled water and mineral water is not very old Even in western

countries the practice of bottled drinking water started in 1950s The trend of

having mineral water gained grounds in the market

Since ancient time people have used water from mineral springs especially hot

springs for bathing due to its supposed therapeutic value for rheumatism

arthritis skin diseases and various other ailments Depending on the

temperature of the water the location the altitude and the climate at the spring

it can be used to cure different ailments This started the trend of using mineral

water for drinking purpose to exploit the therapeutic value of the water This

1

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

trend started gaining momentum in mid 1970s and since then large quantities of

bottled water from mineral springs in France and other European The concept of

bottled has been quite prevalent in western countries due to greater health

consciousness and higher awareness about health and hygiene countries are

exported every year

In INDIA with exposure of media and exposure to international life styles

deteriorating levels of potable water increase in a number of water borne cases

increase in awareness about health and hygiene and other related factors led to

acceptability of concept of mineral water The market has not looked back ever

since then and has grown leaps and bounds to such an extent that a number of

genuine as well as fly-by -night operators have entered it to milk it

2

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Table of Content

Chapt

er

PARTICULARS Pg No

1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION

11 Objective

12 Research Methodology

13 Scope Of Study

14 Limitations

15 Sample

1 - 3

2 PACKAGE DRINKING WATER

21 How is Bottle water different from Tap

water

22 Competition

23 Types Of Bottle Water

24 Growth In Bottle water Industry

4 - 9

3 BISLERI

31 Introduction

32 Expansion

33 Bisleri Today

10 - 12

3

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

4 MANUFACTURING PROCESS

41 Storing Of Water

42 6 Stages Of Water Treatment Plant

43 Blowing Process

44 Blowing Plant

45 Filling Part

12 -18

5 MARKETING MIX

51 Product

52 Price

53 Place

54 Promotion

55 Segmentation

56 Marketing Practices

57 Trade Promotion Tools

19 - 36

6 CASE

61 How Bisleri Reinvented Itself amp Stayed at

the Top even when New companies came

into the market

62 Colour Of Money

63 Market Buzz

37- 42

7 FUTURE

71 Future Plans

72 Bislerirsquos plans Of Expansion

43- 45

4

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OBJECTIVE

Through this project my objective has been to understand the following

To know about the current scenario of bottle water market

The reasons for a stunted growth in the package drinking water

brand

To know how the brand BISLERI still rules the bottle water

market

To know the marketing strategies applied by BISLERI its

manufacturing process its 4 Ps etc and what is its impact on the

consumers

To understand and realize the needs and wants of consumers and

how to fulfill them

Finally I carried out a survey to find out which is the most

preferred brand by the people amp the survey was carried on in south

Mumbai specially in areas like church gate and colaba

5

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

How is bottle water different from tap water

Consistent quality and taste are two of the principal differences between

bottled water and tap water While bottled water originates from protected

sources - largely from underground aquifers and springs - tap water comes

mostly from rivers and lakes

Another factor to consider is the distance tap water must travel and what it goes

through before it reaches the tap In compliance with international regulations

bottled water is sealed and packaged in sanitary containers If a bottled water

product is found to be substandard it can be recalled This canrsquot happen in case

of tap water

According to regulations in the US when bottled water is sourced from a

community water system the product label must state so clearly However if the

water is subject to distillation de ionization or reverse osmosis it can be

categorized that way and does not have to state on its label that it is from a

community water system or from a municipal source

Processing methods such as reverse osmosis remove most chemical and

microbiological contaminants

6

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Competition

The bottled water industry has two other industries as its biggest competitors in

from of Water purifiers industry and the soft drinks industry Though the water

purifier industry should be credited to have done the spadework for setting up

the foundation of bottled water industry but still it acts as competitors especially

in the household and institutional consumption market So the water purifier is a

strong competitor in household and institutional market the soft drinks market is

a strong rather very strong competitor in the retail consumption market

Bottled water became a product in the West during the 1920rsquos and developed

rapidly Huge market size numerous local brands and controlled price

mechanism are some of the features of the market there Consumers in the West

are quality conscious and display brand loyalty Indian consumers lack on both

the counts

In Asia Indonesia is the largest and the oldest market for bottled water In

India bottled water is still not perceived as a product for masses though the

scene is changing slowly thanks to low pricing and aggressive marketing

strategy adopted by new entrants Some surveys show that truck drivers on

highways form a major chunk of bottled water drinkers Penetration in rural

areas is another significant factor that is likely to play a key role in the

development of the bottled water trade

In comparison to global standards Indiarsquos bottled water segment is largely

unregulated Safe water is rated with a different yardstick in different countries

In India the aspect has been overlooked for long Indian consumers tend to

believe that any bottled water is safe water This may not be the case

7

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Types of Bottled Water

There are several different varieties of bottled water The product may be

labeled as bottled water drinking water or any of the following terms

Artesian Well Water Bottled water from a well that taps a confined aquifer (a

water bearing underground layer of rock or sand) in which the water level

stands at some height above the top of the aquifer

Drinking Water Drinking water is another name for bottled water

Accordingly drinking water is water that is sold for human consumption in

sanitary containers and contains no added sweeteners or chemical additives

(other than flavors extracts or essences) It must be calorie-free and sugar- free

Flavors extracts or essences may be added to drinking water but they must

comprise less than one-percent- by ndashweight of the final product or the product

will be considered a soft drink

Mineral Water Bottled water containing not less than 250 parts per million

total dissolved solids may be labeled as mineral water Mineral water is

distinguished from other types of bottled water by its constant level and relative

proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the

source No mineral can be added to this product

Purified Water Water that has been produced by distillation deionization

reverse osmosis or other suitable process can be labeled as purified bottled

water Other suitable product names for bottled water treated by one of the

above processes may include ldquodistilled waterrdquo if it is produced by distillation

ldquode-ionized waterrdquo if the water is produced by deionization or ldquoreverse osmosis

waterrdquo if the process used is reverse osmosis

8

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sparkling Water Water that after treatment and possible replacement with

carbon dioxide contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at

emergence from the source

Spring Water Bottled water derived from an underground formation from

which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth Spring water must be

collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground

formation finding the spring

Well Water Bottled water from a hole bored drilled or otherwise constructed

in the ground which taps the water of an aquifer

Growth in Bottle Water Industries

It was in 1967 that BISLERI set up a bottling plant for manufacturing and

marketing its mineral water which failed badly

In 1968-69 the brand ldquo BISLERIrdquo was sold to the ldquoParle grouprdquo by the

Italian company Parle group launched BISLERI soda and mineral water

but again the concept failed as the Indian customer was not ready to buy water

in bottled form

The market remained dormant for the next two decades (ie from 1970

to 1990) the market throughout this period was formed mainly by the

premium segment like five- star hotels

In the early 1990rsquos was the onset of liberalization policy and sell-off of

major soft drinks brands BISLERI was compelled to test the waters

again

Today the demand of bottled water is increasing at a much higher rate

that of carbonated soft drinks The market size of bottled water too is 9

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

expected to surpass the size of soft drinks market in near future HLL

which too has identified the bottled water as a growth area of future is

presently looking or some suitable brand for acquisition Britannia too

evinced some initial interest in the market but now seems to have

postponed its plans The existing players too are set to expand their

distribution network to have their presence across the country

The market is also expected to undergo a major consolidation phase As

one of the major factors that are important for success in the market is

the distribution network the players with deep pockets are expected to

go for acquisition of existing small regional players to spread their

network across the country Already Coke has tied up with Yes for

manufacturing of its brands in areas where it doesnrsquot have presence

Though Coke and Pepsi have both well established distribution network

as well as bottling amp manufacturing plants they seems to be at

advantage but players like HLL and Nestle with strong financial muscle

can easily turn the tables in their favor through acquisition route

The following table shows the growth in the package drinking

water industry10

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Year Growth rate

1996-97 3-4

1997-00 10

2000-02 50

2002-04 70

2004-09 90

Introduction of Bisleri

11

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In 1967 Bisleri an Italian company started by Signor Felice Bisleri first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India It started a company called Bisleri India In 1969 Ramesh Chauhan the Chairman of Parle Exports bought over the brand In those days Bisleri packaged drinking water was available in glass bottles

Being a returnable package owing to various other problems such as breakage and weight in 1972-73 Bisleri was made available in PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) bottles After this plastic packaging was introduced things started to change and sales increased rapidly

The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started in 1993 as Ramesh Chauhan sold off the Parle stable of brands including Thums Up Limca and Gold Spot Recognising the potential of the packaged drinking water market he then went on to concentrate on making Bisleri a top selling brand in IndiaMarketing and Brands Blog

Bisleri a brand name synonymous to mineral water in India It has approximately 60 market share in packaged drinking water in country Brand is owned by Parle Company which bought over Bisleri in 1969 from Italian company Initially Bisleri faced the problems of acceptance from consumers It was difficult to advertise for a company something as a bottled water which is colourless tasteless and odourless In mid eighties company changed its packaging to PET bottles which shows transparency and clear water to consumers This gave mineral water market a boost

In India water is scarce and quality is poor so initially the consumers were only foreigners and NRIrsquos Therefore to increase its customerrsquos base company came up with comfortable and affordable price bottle which was a great success and showed 400 growth

India bottled water market is appox is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion) Seeing this growth over the years many new players have entered the market Amongst them Kinely from Coke Aquafine from Pepsi kingfisher and now Himalayan from Tata are main players of industry There are many ups and down in last couple of years but brand recall of Bisleri is amazing which helped company In order to differentiate form other players company tries to come up with different and new campaigns on regular intervals

12

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In case of food and water whenever people are suspicious of the quality of product they donrsquot eat unhygienic food and instead of having non purified water they prefer to stay thirsty Bisleri itself seems to play on this need for safety coining the popular tag-line lsquoPlay it safersquo The advertising helped differentiate the product from its competitors who more or less communicated nothing Bislerirsquos seal was also breakaway (hence irreplaceable) even though this manufacturing process of sealing seems to be slow and could clog up the assembly line

Somewhere along the now that space was occupied by Aquafina and Kinley The ldquosaferdquo breakaway seal was replaced by a regular seal but the change wasnrsquot communicated and more variants (packaging) emerged Some of these variants were sold simultaneously They were manufactured in different parts of Delhi and one had the website wwwbislericom printed on it while the other had wwwbislericoin printed

So the mistake was a complete lack of communication on Bislerirsquos part Now they have a new product out - a mineral water brand (as opposed to a packaged drinking water brand) and they are advertising it Still there are three types of Bisleri bottles in the market in Delhi right now

Now again Bisleri changed its packaging and came up with a new bottle It has been general feeling that Kinleyrsquos new packaging is more acceptable by the people as it is easy to grip it In a packaged water market where the product is not so differentiated the company has to constantly innovate new branding techniques distribution channels advertising and in fact new packaging techniques

According to the Bureau of India [ Images ]n Standards there are 1200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu) Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1000-crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water market and are hard selling their products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers aggressive advertising catchy taglines In such a scenario The Strategist takes a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh Chauhan chairman Parle Bisleri created a market out of pure water Excerpts from a conversation with Prerna Raturi

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two

well-known men One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka 13

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

trend started gaining momentum in mid 1970s and since then large quantities of

bottled water from mineral springs in France and other European The concept of

bottled has been quite prevalent in western countries due to greater health

consciousness and higher awareness about health and hygiene countries are

exported every year

In INDIA with exposure of media and exposure to international life styles

deteriorating levels of potable water increase in a number of water borne cases

increase in awareness about health and hygiene and other related factors led to

acceptability of concept of mineral water The market has not looked back ever

since then and has grown leaps and bounds to such an extent that a number of

genuine as well as fly-by -night operators have entered it to milk it

2

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Table of Content

Chapt

er

PARTICULARS Pg No

1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION

11 Objective

12 Research Methodology

13 Scope Of Study

14 Limitations

15 Sample

1 - 3

2 PACKAGE DRINKING WATER

21 How is Bottle water different from Tap

water

22 Competition

23 Types Of Bottle Water

24 Growth In Bottle water Industry

4 - 9

3 BISLERI

31 Introduction

32 Expansion

33 Bisleri Today

10 - 12

3

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

4 MANUFACTURING PROCESS

41 Storing Of Water

42 6 Stages Of Water Treatment Plant

43 Blowing Process

44 Blowing Plant

45 Filling Part

12 -18

5 MARKETING MIX

51 Product

52 Price

53 Place

54 Promotion

55 Segmentation

56 Marketing Practices

57 Trade Promotion Tools

19 - 36

6 CASE

61 How Bisleri Reinvented Itself amp Stayed at

the Top even when New companies came

into the market

62 Colour Of Money

63 Market Buzz

37- 42

7 FUTURE

71 Future Plans

72 Bislerirsquos plans Of Expansion

43- 45

4

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OBJECTIVE

Through this project my objective has been to understand the following

To know about the current scenario of bottle water market

The reasons for a stunted growth in the package drinking water

brand

To know how the brand BISLERI still rules the bottle water

market

To know the marketing strategies applied by BISLERI its

manufacturing process its 4 Ps etc and what is its impact on the

consumers

To understand and realize the needs and wants of consumers and

how to fulfill them

Finally I carried out a survey to find out which is the most

preferred brand by the people amp the survey was carried on in south

Mumbai specially in areas like church gate and colaba

5

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

How is bottle water different from tap water

Consistent quality and taste are two of the principal differences between

bottled water and tap water While bottled water originates from protected

sources - largely from underground aquifers and springs - tap water comes

mostly from rivers and lakes

Another factor to consider is the distance tap water must travel and what it goes

through before it reaches the tap In compliance with international regulations

bottled water is sealed and packaged in sanitary containers If a bottled water

product is found to be substandard it can be recalled This canrsquot happen in case

of tap water

According to regulations in the US when bottled water is sourced from a

community water system the product label must state so clearly However if the

water is subject to distillation de ionization or reverse osmosis it can be

categorized that way and does not have to state on its label that it is from a

community water system or from a municipal source

Processing methods such as reverse osmosis remove most chemical and

microbiological contaminants

6

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Competition

The bottled water industry has two other industries as its biggest competitors in

from of Water purifiers industry and the soft drinks industry Though the water

purifier industry should be credited to have done the spadework for setting up

the foundation of bottled water industry but still it acts as competitors especially

in the household and institutional consumption market So the water purifier is a

strong competitor in household and institutional market the soft drinks market is

a strong rather very strong competitor in the retail consumption market

Bottled water became a product in the West during the 1920rsquos and developed

rapidly Huge market size numerous local brands and controlled price

mechanism are some of the features of the market there Consumers in the West

are quality conscious and display brand loyalty Indian consumers lack on both

the counts

In Asia Indonesia is the largest and the oldest market for bottled water In

India bottled water is still not perceived as a product for masses though the

scene is changing slowly thanks to low pricing and aggressive marketing

strategy adopted by new entrants Some surveys show that truck drivers on

highways form a major chunk of bottled water drinkers Penetration in rural

areas is another significant factor that is likely to play a key role in the

development of the bottled water trade

In comparison to global standards Indiarsquos bottled water segment is largely

unregulated Safe water is rated with a different yardstick in different countries

In India the aspect has been overlooked for long Indian consumers tend to

believe that any bottled water is safe water This may not be the case

7

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Types of Bottled Water

There are several different varieties of bottled water The product may be

labeled as bottled water drinking water or any of the following terms

Artesian Well Water Bottled water from a well that taps a confined aquifer (a

water bearing underground layer of rock or sand) in which the water level

stands at some height above the top of the aquifer

Drinking Water Drinking water is another name for bottled water

Accordingly drinking water is water that is sold for human consumption in

sanitary containers and contains no added sweeteners or chemical additives

(other than flavors extracts or essences) It must be calorie-free and sugar- free

Flavors extracts or essences may be added to drinking water but they must

comprise less than one-percent- by ndashweight of the final product or the product

will be considered a soft drink

Mineral Water Bottled water containing not less than 250 parts per million

total dissolved solids may be labeled as mineral water Mineral water is

distinguished from other types of bottled water by its constant level and relative

proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the

source No mineral can be added to this product

Purified Water Water that has been produced by distillation deionization

reverse osmosis or other suitable process can be labeled as purified bottled

water Other suitable product names for bottled water treated by one of the

above processes may include ldquodistilled waterrdquo if it is produced by distillation

ldquode-ionized waterrdquo if the water is produced by deionization or ldquoreverse osmosis

waterrdquo if the process used is reverse osmosis

8

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sparkling Water Water that after treatment and possible replacement with

carbon dioxide contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at

emergence from the source

Spring Water Bottled water derived from an underground formation from

which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth Spring water must be

collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground

formation finding the spring

Well Water Bottled water from a hole bored drilled or otherwise constructed

in the ground which taps the water of an aquifer

Growth in Bottle Water Industries

It was in 1967 that BISLERI set up a bottling plant for manufacturing and

marketing its mineral water which failed badly

In 1968-69 the brand ldquo BISLERIrdquo was sold to the ldquoParle grouprdquo by the

Italian company Parle group launched BISLERI soda and mineral water

but again the concept failed as the Indian customer was not ready to buy water

in bottled form

The market remained dormant for the next two decades (ie from 1970

to 1990) the market throughout this period was formed mainly by the

premium segment like five- star hotels

In the early 1990rsquos was the onset of liberalization policy and sell-off of

major soft drinks brands BISLERI was compelled to test the waters

again

Today the demand of bottled water is increasing at a much higher rate

that of carbonated soft drinks The market size of bottled water too is 9

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

expected to surpass the size of soft drinks market in near future HLL

which too has identified the bottled water as a growth area of future is

presently looking or some suitable brand for acquisition Britannia too

evinced some initial interest in the market but now seems to have

postponed its plans The existing players too are set to expand their

distribution network to have their presence across the country

The market is also expected to undergo a major consolidation phase As

one of the major factors that are important for success in the market is

the distribution network the players with deep pockets are expected to

go for acquisition of existing small regional players to spread their

network across the country Already Coke has tied up with Yes for

manufacturing of its brands in areas where it doesnrsquot have presence

Though Coke and Pepsi have both well established distribution network

as well as bottling amp manufacturing plants they seems to be at

advantage but players like HLL and Nestle with strong financial muscle

can easily turn the tables in their favor through acquisition route

The following table shows the growth in the package drinking

water industry10

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Year Growth rate

1996-97 3-4

1997-00 10

2000-02 50

2002-04 70

2004-09 90

Introduction of Bisleri

11

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In 1967 Bisleri an Italian company started by Signor Felice Bisleri first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India It started a company called Bisleri India In 1969 Ramesh Chauhan the Chairman of Parle Exports bought over the brand In those days Bisleri packaged drinking water was available in glass bottles

Being a returnable package owing to various other problems such as breakage and weight in 1972-73 Bisleri was made available in PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) bottles After this plastic packaging was introduced things started to change and sales increased rapidly

The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started in 1993 as Ramesh Chauhan sold off the Parle stable of brands including Thums Up Limca and Gold Spot Recognising the potential of the packaged drinking water market he then went on to concentrate on making Bisleri a top selling brand in IndiaMarketing and Brands Blog

Bisleri a brand name synonymous to mineral water in India It has approximately 60 market share in packaged drinking water in country Brand is owned by Parle Company which bought over Bisleri in 1969 from Italian company Initially Bisleri faced the problems of acceptance from consumers It was difficult to advertise for a company something as a bottled water which is colourless tasteless and odourless In mid eighties company changed its packaging to PET bottles which shows transparency and clear water to consumers This gave mineral water market a boost

In India water is scarce and quality is poor so initially the consumers were only foreigners and NRIrsquos Therefore to increase its customerrsquos base company came up with comfortable and affordable price bottle which was a great success and showed 400 growth

India bottled water market is appox is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion) Seeing this growth over the years many new players have entered the market Amongst them Kinely from Coke Aquafine from Pepsi kingfisher and now Himalayan from Tata are main players of industry There are many ups and down in last couple of years but brand recall of Bisleri is amazing which helped company In order to differentiate form other players company tries to come up with different and new campaigns on regular intervals

12

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In case of food and water whenever people are suspicious of the quality of product they donrsquot eat unhygienic food and instead of having non purified water they prefer to stay thirsty Bisleri itself seems to play on this need for safety coining the popular tag-line lsquoPlay it safersquo The advertising helped differentiate the product from its competitors who more or less communicated nothing Bislerirsquos seal was also breakaway (hence irreplaceable) even though this manufacturing process of sealing seems to be slow and could clog up the assembly line

Somewhere along the now that space was occupied by Aquafina and Kinley The ldquosaferdquo breakaway seal was replaced by a regular seal but the change wasnrsquot communicated and more variants (packaging) emerged Some of these variants were sold simultaneously They were manufactured in different parts of Delhi and one had the website wwwbislericom printed on it while the other had wwwbislericoin printed

So the mistake was a complete lack of communication on Bislerirsquos part Now they have a new product out - a mineral water brand (as opposed to a packaged drinking water brand) and they are advertising it Still there are three types of Bisleri bottles in the market in Delhi right now

Now again Bisleri changed its packaging and came up with a new bottle It has been general feeling that Kinleyrsquos new packaging is more acceptable by the people as it is easy to grip it In a packaged water market where the product is not so differentiated the company has to constantly innovate new branding techniques distribution channels advertising and in fact new packaging techniques

According to the Bureau of India [ Images ]n Standards there are 1200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu) Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1000-crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water market and are hard selling their products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers aggressive advertising catchy taglines In such a scenario The Strategist takes a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh Chauhan chairman Parle Bisleri created a market out of pure water Excerpts from a conversation with Prerna Raturi

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two

well-known men One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka 13

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Table of Content

Chapt

er

PARTICULARS Pg No

1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION

11 Objective

12 Research Methodology

13 Scope Of Study

14 Limitations

15 Sample

1 - 3

2 PACKAGE DRINKING WATER

21 How is Bottle water different from Tap

water

22 Competition

23 Types Of Bottle Water

24 Growth In Bottle water Industry

4 - 9

3 BISLERI

31 Introduction

32 Expansion

33 Bisleri Today

10 - 12

3

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

4 MANUFACTURING PROCESS

41 Storing Of Water

42 6 Stages Of Water Treatment Plant

43 Blowing Process

44 Blowing Plant

45 Filling Part

12 -18

5 MARKETING MIX

51 Product

52 Price

53 Place

54 Promotion

55 Segmentation

56 Marketing Practices

57 Trade Promotion Tools

19 - 36

6 CASE

61 How Bisleri Reinvented Itself amp Stayed at

the Top even when New companies came

into the market

62 Colour Of Money

63 Market Buzz

37- 42

7 FUTURE

71 Future Plans

72 Bislerirsquos plans Of Expansion

43- 45

4

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OBJECTIVE

Through this project my objective has been to understand the following

To know about the current scenario of bottle water market

The reasons for a stunted growth in the package drinking water

brand

To know how the brand BISLERI still rules the bottle water

market

To know the marketing strategies applied by BISLERI its

manufacturing process its 4 Ps etc and what is its impact on the

consumers

To understand and realize the needs and wants of consumers and

how to fulfill them

Finally I carried out a survey to find out which is the most

preferred brand by the people amp the survey was carried on in south

Mumbai specially in areas like church gate and colaba

5

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

How is bottle water different from tap water

Consistent quality and taste are two of the principal differences between

bottled water and tap water While bottled water originates from protected

sources - largely from underground aquifers and springs - tap water comes

mostly from rivers and lakes

Another factor to consider is the distance tap water must travel and what it goes

through before it reaches the tap In compliance with international regulations

bottled water is sealed and packaged in sanitary containers If a bottled water

product is found to be substandard it can be recalled This canrsquot happen in case

of tap water

According to regulations in the US when bottled water is sourced from a

community water system the product label must state so clearly However if the

water is subject to distillation de ionization or reverse osmosis it can be

categorized that way and does not have to state on its label that it is from a

community water system or from a municipal source

Processing methods such as reverse osmosis remove most chemical and

microbiological contaminants

6

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Competition

The bottled water industry has two other industries as its biggest competitors in

from of Water purifiers industry and the soft drinks industry Though the water

purifier industry should be credited to have done the spadework for setting up

the foundation of bottled water industry but still it acts as competitors especially

in the household and institutional consumption market So the water purifier is a

strong competitor in household and institutional market the soft drinks market is

a strong rather very strong competitor in the retail consumption market

Bottled water became a product in the West during the 1920rsquos and developed

rapidly Huge market size numerous local brands and controlled price

mechanism are some of the features of the market there Consumers in the West

are quality conscious and display brand loyalty Indian consumers lack on both

the counts

In Asia Indonesia is the largest and the oldest market for bottled water In

India bottled water is still not perceived as a product for masses though the

scene is changing slowly thanks to low pricing and aggressive marketing

strategy adopted by new entrants Some surveys show that truck drivers on

highways form a major chunk of bottled water drinkers Penetration in rural

areas is another significant factor that is likely to play a key role in the

development of the bottled water trade

In comparison to global standards Indiarsquos bottled water segment is largely

unregulated Safe water is rated with a different yardstick in different countries

In India the aspect has been overlooked for long Indian consumers tend to

believe that any bottled water is safe water This may not be the case

7

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Types of Bottled Water

There are several different varieties of bottled water The product may be

labeled as bottled water drinking water or any of the following terms

Artesian Well Water Bottled water from a well that taps a confined aquifer (a

water bearing underground layer of rock or sand) in which the water level

stands at some height above the top of the aquifer

Drinking Water Drinking water is another name for bottled water

Accordingly drinking water is water that is sold for human consumption in

sanitary containers and contains no added sweeteners or chemical additives

(other than flavors extracts or essences) It must be calorie-free and sugar- free

Flavors extracts or essences may be added to drinking water but they must

comprise less than one-percent- by ndashweight of the final product or the product

will be considered a soft drink

Mineral Water Bottled water containing not less than 250 parts per million

total dissolved solids may be labeled as mineral water Mineral water is

distinguished from other types of bottled water by its constant level and relative

proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the

source No mineral can be added to this product

Purified Water Water that has been produced by distillation deionization

reverse osmosis or other suitable process can be labeled as purified bottled

water Other suitable product names for bottled water treated by one of the

above processes may include ldquodistilled waterrdquo if it is produced by distillation

ldquode-ionized waterrdquo if the water is produced by deionization or ldquoreverse osmosis

waterrdquo if the process used is reverse osmosis

8

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sparkling Water Water that after treatment and possible replacement with

carbon dioxide contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at

emergence from the source

Spring Water Bottled water derived from an underground formation from

which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth Spring water must be

collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground

formation finding the spring

Well Water Bottled water from a hole bored drilled or otherwise constructed

in the ground which taps the water of an aquifer

Growth in Bottle Water Industries

It was in 1967 that BISLERI set up a bottling plant for manufacturing and

marketing its mineral water which failed badly

In 1968-69 the brand ldquo BISLERIrdquo was sold to the ldquoParle grouprdquo by the

Italian company Parle group launched BISLERI soda and mineral water

but again the concept failed as the Indian customer was not ready to buy water

in bottled form

The market remained dormant for the next two decades (ie from 1970

to 1990) the market throughout this period was formed mainly by the

premium segment like five- star hotels

In the early 1990rsquos was the onset of liberalization policy and sell-off of

major soft drinks brands BISLERI was compelled to test the waters

again

Today the demand of bottled water is increasing at a much higher rate

that of carbonated soft drinks The market size of bottled water too is 9

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

expected to surpass the size of soft drinks market in near future HLL

which too has identified the bottled water as a growth area of future is

presently looking or some suitable brand for acquisition Britannia too

evinced some initial interest in the market but now seems to have

postponed its plans The existing players too are set to expand their

distribution network to have their presence across the country

The market is also expected to undergo a major consolidation phase As

one of the major factors that are important for success in the market is

the distribution network the players with deep pockets are expected to

go for acquisition of existing small regional players to spread their

network across the country Already Coke has tied up with Yes for

manufacturing of its brands in areas where it doesnrsquot have presence

Though Coke and Pepsi have both well established distribution network

as well as bottling amp manufacturing plants they seems to be at

advantage but players like HLL and Nestle with strong financial muscle

can easily turn the tables in their favor through acquisition route

The following table shows the growth in the package drinking

water industry10

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Year Growth rate

1996-97 3-4

1997-00 10

2000-02 50

2002-04 70

2004-09 90

Introduction of Bisleri

11

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In 1967 Bisleri an Italian company started by Signor Felice Bisleri first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India It started a company called Bisleri India In 1969 Ramesh Chauhan the Chairman of Parle Exports bought over the brand In those days Bisleri packaged drinking water was available in glass bottles

Being a returnable package owing to various other problems such as breakage and weight in 1972-73 Bisleri was made available in PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) bottles After this plastic packaging was introduced things started to change and sales increased rapidly

The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started in 1993 as Ramesh Chauhan sold off the Parle stable of brands including Thums Up Limca and Gold Spot Recognising the potential of the packaged drinking water market he then went on to concentrate on making Bisleri a top selling brand in IndiaMarketing and Brands Blog

Bisleri a brand name synonymous to mineral water in India It has approximately 60 market share in packaged drinking water in country Brand is owned by Parle Company which bought over Bisleri in 1969 from Italian company Initially Bisleri faced the problems of acceptance from consumers It was difficult to advertise for a company something as a bottled water which is colourless tasteless and odourless In mid eighties company changed its packaging to PET bottles which shows transparency and clear water to consumers This gave mineral water market a boost

In India water is scarce and quality is poor so initially the consumers were only foreigners and NRIrsquos Therefore to increase its customerrsquos base company came up with comfortable and affordable price bottle which was a great success and showed 400 growth

India bottled water market is appox is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion) Seeing this growth over the years many new players have entered the market Amongst them Kinely from Coke Aquafine from Pepsi kingfisher and now Himalayan from Tata are main players of industry There are many ups and down in last couple of years but brand recall of Bisleri is amazing which helped company In order to differentiate form other players company tries to come up with different and new campaigns on regular intervals

12

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In case of food and water whenever people are suspicious of the quality of product they donrsquot eat unhygienic food and instead of having non purified water they prefer to stay thirsty Bisleri itself seems to play on this need for safety coining the popular tag-line lsquoPlay it safersquo The advertising helped differentiate the product from its competitors who more or less communicated nothing Bislerirsquos seal was also breakaway (hence irreplaceable) even though this manufacturing process of sealing seems to be slow and could clog up the assembly line

Somewhere along the now that space was occupied by Aquafina and Kinley The ldquosaferdquo breakaway seal was replaced by a regular seal but the change wasnrsquot communicated and more variants (packaging) emerged Some of these variants were sold simultaneously They were manufactured in different parts of Delhi and one had the website wwwbislericom printed on it while the other had wwwbislericoin printed

So the mistake was a complete lack of communication on Bislerirsquos part Now they have a new product out - a mineral water brand (as opposed to a packaged drinking water brand) and they are advertising it Still there are three types of Bisleri bottles in the market in Delhi right now

Now again Bisleri changed its packaging and came up with a new bottle It has been general feeling that Kinleyrsquos new packaging is more acceptable by the people as it is easy to grip it In a packaged water market where the product is not so differentiated the company has to constantly innovate new branding techniques distribution channels advertising and in fact new packaging techniques

According to the Bureau of India [ Images ]n Standards there are 1200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu) Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1000-crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water market and are hard selling their products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers aggressive advertising catchy taglines In such a scenario The Strategist takes a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh Chauhan chairman Parle Bisleri created a market out of pure water Excerpts from a conversation with Prerna Raturi

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two

well-known men One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka 13

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

4 MANUFACTURING PROCESS

41 Storing Of Water

42 6 Stages Of Water Treatment Plant

43 Blowing Process

44 Blowing Plant

45 Filling Part

12 -18

5 MARKETING MIX

51 Product

52 Price

53 Place

54 Promotion

55 Segmentation

56 Marketing Practices

57 Trade Promotion Tools

19 - 36

6 CASE

61 How Bisleri Reinvented Itself amp Stayed at

the Top even when New companies came

into the market

62 Colour Of Money

63 Market Buzz

37- 42

7 FUTURE

71 Future Plans

72 Bislerirsquos plans Of Expansion

43- 45

4

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OBJECTIVE

Through this project my objective has been to understand the following

To know about the current scenario of bottle water market

The reasons for a stunted growth in the package drinking water

brand

To know how the brand BISLERI still rules the bottle water

market

To know the marketing strategies applied by BISLERI its

manufacturing process its 4 Ps etc and what is its impact on the

consumers

To understand and realize the needs and wants of consumers and

how to fulfill them

Finally I carried out a survey to find out which is the most

preferred brand by the people amp the survey was carried on in south

Mumbai specially in areas like church gate and colaba

5

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

How is bottle water different from tap water

Consistent quality and taste are two of the principal differences between

bottled water and tap water While bottled water originates from protected

sources - largely from underground aquifers and springs - tap water comes

mostly from rivers and lakes

Another factor to consider is the distance tap water must travel and what it goes

through before it reaches the tap In compliance with international regulations

bottled water is sealed and packaged in sanitary containers If a bottled water

product is found to be substandard it can be recalled This canrsquot happen in case

of tap water

According to regulations in the US when bottled water is sourced from a

community water system the product label must state so clearly However if the

water is subject to distillation de ionization or reverse osmosis it can be

categorized that way and does not have to state on its label that it is from a

community water system or from a municipal source

Processing methods such as reverse osmosis remove most chemical and

microbiological contaminants

6

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Competition

The bottled water industry has two other industries as its biggest competitors in

from of Water purifiers industry and the soft drinks industry Though the water

purifier industry should be credited to have done the spadework for setting up

the foundation of bottled water industry but still it acts as competitors especially

in the household and institutional consumption market So the water purifier is a

strong competitor in household and institutional market the soft drinks market is

a strong rather very strong competitor in the retail consumption market

Bottled water became a product in the West during the 1920rsquos and developed

rapidly Huge market size numerous local brands and controlled price

mechanism are some of the features of the market there Consumers in the West

are quality conscious and display brand loyalty Indian consumers lack on both

the counts

In Asia Indonesia is the largest and the oldest market for bottled water In

India bottled water is still not perceived as a product for masses though the

scene is changing slowly thanks to low pricing and aggressive marketing

strategy adopted by new entrants Some surveys show that truck drivers on

highways form a major chunk of bottled water drinkers Penetration in rural

areas is another significant factor that is likely to play a key role in the

development of the bottled water trade

In comparison to global standards Indiarsquos bottled water segment is largely

unregulated Safe water is rated with a different yardstick in different countries

In India the aspect has been overlooked for long Indian consumers tend to

believe that any bottled water is safe water This may not be the case

7

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Types of Bottled Water

There are several different varieties of bottled water The product may be

labeled as bottled water drinking water or any of the following terms

Artesian Well Water Bottled water from a well that taps a confined aquifer (a

water bearing underground layer of rock or sand) in which the water level

stands at some height above the top of the aquifer

Drinking Water Drinking water is another name for bottled water

Accordingly drinking water is water that is sold for human consumption in

sanitary containers and contains no added sweeteners or chemical additives

(other than flavors extracts or essences) It must be calorie-free and sugar- free

Flavors extracts or essences may be added to drinking water but they must

comprise less than one-percent- by ndashweight of the final product or the product

will be considered a soft drink

Mineral Water Bottled water containing not less than 250 parts per million

total dissolved solids may be labeled as mineral water Mineral water is

distinguished from other types of bottled water by its constant level and relative

proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the

source No mineral can be added to this product

Purified Water Water that has been produced by distillation deionization

reverse osmosis or other suitable process can be labeled as purified bottled

water Other suitable product names for bottled water treated by one of the

above processes may include ldquodistilled waterrdquo if it is produced by distillation

ldquode-ionized waterrdquo if the water is produced by deionization or ldquoreverse osmosis

waterrdquo if the process used is reverse osmosis

8

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sparkling Water Water that after treatment and possible replacement with

carbon dioxide contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at

emergence from the source

Spring Water Bottled water derived from an underground formation from

which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth Spring water must be

collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground

formation finding the spring

Well Water Bottled water from a hole bored drilled or otherwise constructed

in the ground which taps the water of an aquifer

Growth in Bottle Water Industries

It was in 1967 that BISLERI set up a bottling plant for manufacturing and

marketing its mineral water which failed badly

In 1968-69 the brand ldquo BISLERIrdquo was sold to the ldquoParle grouprdquo by the

Italian company Parle group launched BISLERI soda and mineral water

but again the concept failed as the Indian customer was not ready to buy water

in bottled form

The market remained dormant for the next two decades (ie from 1970

to 1990) the market throughout this period was formed mainly by the

premium segment like five- star hotels

In the early 1990rsquos was the onset of liberalization policy and sell-off of

major soft drinks brands BISLERI was compelled to test the waters

again

Today the demand of bottled water is increasing at a much higher rate

that of carbonated soft drinks The market size of bottled water too is 9

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

expected to surpass the size of soft drinks market in near future HLL

which too has identified the bottled water as a growth area of future is

presently looking or some suitable brand for acquisition Britannia too

evinced some initial interest in the market but now seems to have

postponed its plans The existing players too are set to expand their

distribution network to have their presence across the country

The market is also expected to undergo a major consolidation phase As

one of the major factors that are important for success in the market is

the distribution network the players with deep pockets are expected to

go for acquisition of existing small regional players to spread their

network across the country Already Coke has tied up with Yes for

manufacturing of its brands in areas where it doesnrsquot have presence

Though Coke and Pepsi have both well established distribution network

as well as bottling amp manufacturing plants they seems to be at

advantage but players like HLL and Nestle with strong financial muscle

can easily turn the tables in their favor through acquisition route

The following table shows the growth in the package drinking

water industry10

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Year Growth rate

1996-97 3-4

1997-00 10

2000-02 50

2002-04 70

2004-09 90

Introduction of Bisleri

11

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In 1967 Bisleri an Italian company started by Signor Felice Bisleri first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India It started a company called Bisleri India In 1969 Ramesh Chauhan the Chairman of Parle Exports bought over the brand In those days Bisleri packaged drinking water was available in glass bottles

Being a returnable package owing to various other problems such as breakage and weight in 1972-73 Bisleri was made available in PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) bottles After this plastic packaging was introduced things started to change and sales increased rapidly

The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started in 1993 as Ramesh Chauhan sold off the Parle stable of brands including Thums Up Limca and Gold Spot Recognising the potential of the packaged drinking water market he then went on to concentrate on making Bisleri a top selling brand in IndiaMarketing and Brands Blog

Bisleri a brand name synonymous to mineral water in India It has approximately 60 market share in packaged drinking water in country Brand is owned by Parle Company which bought over Bisleri in 1969 from Italian company Initially Bisleri faced the problems of acceptance from consumers It was difficult to advertise for a company something as a bottled water which is colourless tasteless and odourless In mid eighties company changed its packaging to PET bottles which shows transparency and clear water to consumers This gave mineral water market a boost

In India water is scarce and quality is poor so initially the consumers were only foreigners and NRIrsquos Therefore to increase its customerrsquos base company came up with comfortable and affordable price bottle which was a great success and showed 400 growth

India bottled water market is appox is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion) Seeing this growth over the years many new players have entered the market Amongst them Kinely from Coke Aquafine from Pepsi kingfisher and now Himalayan from Tata are main players of industry There are many ups and down in last couple of years but brand recall of Bisleri is amazing which helped company In order to differentiate form other players company tries to come up with different and new campaigns on regular intervals

12

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In case of food and water whenever people are suspicious of the quality of product they donrsquot eat unhygienic food and instead of having non purified water they prefer to stay thirsty Bisleri itself seems to play on this need for safety coining the popular tag-line lsquoPlay it safersquo The advertising helped differentiate the product from its competitors who more or less communicated nothing Bislerirsquos seal was also breakaway (hence irreplaceable) even though this manufacturing process of sealing seems to be slow and could clog up the assembly line

Somewhere along the now that space was occupied by Aquafina and Kinley The ldquosaferdquo breakaway seal was replaced by a regular seal but the change wasnrsquot communicated and more variants (packaging) emerged Some of these variants were sold simultaneously They were manufactured in different parts of Delhi and one had the website wwwbislericom printed on it while the other had wwwbislericoin printed

So the mistake was a complete lack of communication on Bislerirsquos part Now they have a new product out - a mineral water brand (as opposed to a packaged drinking water brand) and they are advertising it Still there are three types of Bisleri bottles in the market in Delhi right now

Now again Bisleri changed its packaging and came up with a new bottle It has been general feeling that Kinleyrsquos new packaging is more acceptable by the people as it is easy to grip it In a packaged water market where the product is not so differentiated the company has to constantly innovate new branding techniques distribution channels advertising and in fact new packaging techniques

According to the Bureau of India [ Images ]n Standards there are 1200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu) Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1000-crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water market and are hard selling their products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers aggressive advertising catchy taglines In such a scenario The Strategist takes a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh Chauhan chairman Parle Bisleri created a market out of pure water Excerpts from a conversation with Prerna Raturi

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two

well-known men One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka 13

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OBJECTIVE

Through this project my objective has been to understand the following

To know about the current scenario of bottle water market

The reasons for a stunted growth in the package drinking water

brand

To know how the brand BISLERI still rules the bottle water

market

To know the marketing strategies applied by BISLERI its

manufacturing process its 4 Ps etc and what is its impact on the

consumers

To understand and realize the needs and wants of consumers and

how to fulfill them

Finally I carried out a survey to find out which is the most

preferred brand by the people amp the survey was carried on in south

Mumbai specially in areas like church gate and colaba

5

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

How is bottle water different from tap water

Consistent quality and taste are two of the principal differences between

bottled water and tap water While bottled water originates from protected

sources - largely from underground aquifers and springs - tap water comes

mostly from rivers and lakes

Another factor to consider is the distance tap water must travel and what it goes

through before it reaches the tap In compliance with international regulations

bottled water is sealed and packaged in sanitary containers If a bottled water

product is found to be substandard it can be recalled This canrsquot happen in case

of tap water

According to regulations in the US when bottled water is sourced from a

community water system the product label must state so clearly However if the

water is subject to distillation de ionization or reverse osmosis it can be

categorized that way and does not have to state on its label that it is from a

community water system or from a municipal source

Processing methods such as reverse osmosis remove most chemical and

microbiological contaminants

6

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Competition

The bottled water industry has two other industries as its biggest competitors in

from of Water purifiers industry and the soft drinks industry Though the water

purifier industry should be credited to have done the spadework for setting up

the foundation of bottled water industry but still it acts as competitors especially

in the household and institutional consumption market So the water purifier is a

strong competitor in household and institutional market the soft drinks market is

a strong rather very strong competitor in the retail consumption market

Bottled water became a product in the West during the 1920rsquos and developed

rapidly Huge market size numerous local brands and controlled price

mechanism are some of the features of the market there Consumers in the West

are quality conscious and display brand loyalty Indian consumers lack on both

the counts

In Asia Indonesia is the largest and the oldest market for bottled water In

India bottled water is still not perceived as a product for masses though the

scene is changing slowly thanks to low pricing and aggressive marketing

strategy adopted by new entrants Some surveys show that truck drivers on

highways form a major chunk of bottled water drinkers Penetration in rural

areas is another significant factor that is likely to play a key role in the

development of the bottled water trade

In comparison to global standards Indiarsquos bottled water segment is largely

unregulated Safe water is rated with a different yardstick in different countries

In India the aspect has been overlooked for long Indian consumers tend to

believe that any bottled water is safe water This may not be the case

7

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Types of Bottled Water

There are several different varieties of bottled water The product may be

labeled as bottled water drinking water or any of the following terms

Artesian Well Water Bottled water from a well that taps a confined aquifer (a

water bearing underground layer of rock or sand) in which the water level

stands at some height above the top of the aquifer

Drinking Water Drinking water is another name for bottled water

Accordingly drinking water is water that is sold for human consumption in

sanitary containers and contains no added sweeteners or chemical additives

(other than flavors extracts or essences) It must be calorie-free and sugar- free

Flavors extracts or essences may be added to drinking water but they must

comprise less than one-percent- by ndashweight of the final product or the product

will be considered a soft drink

Mineral Water Bottled water containing not less than 250 parts per million

total dissolved solids may be labeled as mineral water Mineral water is

distinguished from other types of bottled water by its constant level and relative

proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the

source No mineral can be added to this product

Purified Water Water that has been produced by distillation deionization

reverse osmosis or other suitable process can be labeled as purified bottled

water Other suitable product names for bottled water treated by one of the

above processes may include ldquodistilled waterrdquo if it is produced by distillation

ldquode-ionized waterrdquo if the water is produced by deionization or ldquoreverse osmosis

waterrdquo if the process used is reverse osmosis

8

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sparkling Water Water that after treatment and possible replacement with

carbon dioxide contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at

emergence from the source

Spring Water Bottled water derived from an underground formation from

which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth Spring water must be

collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground

formation finding the spring

Well Water Bottled water from a hole bored drilled or otherwise constructed

in the ground which taps the water of an aquifer

Growth in Bottle Water Industries

It was in 1967 that BISLERI set up a bottling plant for manufacturing and

marketing its mineral water which failed badly

In 1968-69 the brand ldquo BISLERIrdquo was sold to the ldquoParle grouprdquo by the

Italian company Parle group launched BISLERI soda and mineral water

but again the concept failed as the Indian customer was not ready to buy water

in bottled form

The market remained dormant for the next two decades (ie from 1970

to 1990) the market throughout this period was formed mainly by the

premium segment like five- star hotels

In the early 1990rsquos was the onset of liberalization policy and sell-off of

major soft drinks brands BISLERI was compelled to test the waters

again

Today the demand of bottled water is increasing at a much higher rate

that of carbonated soft drinks The market size of bottled water too is 9

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

expected to surpass the size of soft drinks market in near future HLL

which too has identified the bottled water as a growth area of future is

presently looking or some suitable brand for acquisition Britannia too

evinced some initial interest in the market but now seems to have

postponed its plans The existing players too are set to expand their

distribution network to have their presence across the country

The market is also expected to undergo a major consolidation phase As

one of the major factors that are important for success in the market is

the distribution network the players with deep pockets are expected to

go for acquisition of existing small regional players to spread their

network across the country Already Coke has tied up with Yes for

manufacturing of its brands in areas where it doesnrsquot have presence

Though Coke and Pepsi have both well established distribution network

as well as bottling amp manufacturing plants they seems to be at

advantage but players like HLL and Nestle with strong financial muscle

can easily turn the tables in their favor through acquisition route

The following table shows the growth in the package drinking

water industry10

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Year Growth rate

1996-97 3-4

1997-00 10

2000-02 50

2002-04 70

2004-09 90

Introduction of Bisleri

11

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In 1967 Bisleri an Italian company started by Signor Felice Bisleri first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India It started a company called Bisleri India In 1969 Ramesh Chauhan the Chairman of Parle Exports bought over the brand In those days Bisleri packaged drinking water was available in glass bottles

Being a returnable package owing to various other problems such as breakage and weight in 1972-73 Bisleri was made available in PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) bottles After this plastic packaging was introduced things started to change and sales increased rapidly

The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started in 1993 as Ramesh Chauhan sold off the Parle stable of brands including Thums Up Limca and Gold Spot Recognising the potential of the packaged drinking water market he then went on to concentrate on making Bisleri a top selling brand in IndiaMarketing and Brands Blog

Bisleri a brand name synonymous to mineral water in India It has approximately 60 market share in packaged drinking water in country Brand is owned by Parle Company which bought over Bisleri in 1969 from Italian company Initially Bisleri faced the problems of acceptance from consumers It was difficult to advertise for a company something as a bottled water which is colourless tasteless and odourless In mid eighties company changed its packaging to PET bottles which shows transparency and clear water to consumers This gave mineral water market a boost

In India water is scarce and quality is poor so initially the consumers were only foreigners and NRIrsquos Therefore to increase its customerrsquos base company came up with comfortable and affordable price bottle which was a great success and showed 400 growth

India bottled water market is appox is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion) Seeing this growth over the years many new players have entered the market Amongst them Kinely from Coke Aquafine from Pepsi kingfisher and now Himalayan from Tata are main players of industry There are many ups and down in last couple of years but brand recall of Bisleri is amazing which helped company In order to differentiate form other players company tries to come up with different and new campaigns on regular intervals

12

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In case of food and water whenever people are suspicious of the quality of product they donrsquot eat unhygienic food and instead of having non purified water they prefer to stay thirsty Bisleri itself seems to play on this need for safety coining the popular tag-line lsquoPlay it safersquo The advertising helped differentiate the product from its competitors who more or less communicated nothing Bislerirsquos seal was also breakaway (hence irreplaceable) even though this manufacturing process of sealing seems to be slow and could clog up the assembly line

Somewhere along the now that space was occupied by Aquafina and Kinley The ldquosaferdquo breakaway seal was replaced by a regular seal but the change wasnrsquot communicated and more variants (packaging) emerged Some of these variants were sold simultaneously They were manufactured in different parts of Delhi and one had the website wwwbislericom printed on it while the other had wwwbislericoin printed

So the mistake was a complete lack of communication on Bislerirsquos part Now they have a new product out - a mineral water brand (as opposed to a packaged drinking water brand) and they are advertising it Still there are three types of Bisleri bottles in the market in Delhi right now

Now again Bisleri changed its packaging and came up with a new bottle It has been general feeling that Kinleyrsquos new packaging is more acceptable by the people as it is easy to grip it In a packaged water market where the product is not so differentiated the company has to constantly innovate new branding techniques distribution channels advertising and in fact new packaging techniques

According to the Bureau of India [ Images ]n Standards there are 1200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu) Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1000-crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water market and are hard selling their products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers aggressive advertising catchy taglines In such a scenario The Strategist takes a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh Chauhan chairman Parle Bisleri created a market out of pure water Excerpts from a conversation with Prerna Raturi

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two

well-known men One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka 13

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

How is bottle water different from tap water

Consistent quality and taste are two of the principal differences between

bottled water and tap water While bottled water originates from protected

sources - largely from underground aquifers and springs - tap water comes

mostly from rivers and lakes

Another factor to consider is the distance tap water must travel and what it goes

through before it reaches the tap In compliance with international regulations

bottled water is sealed and packaged in sanitary containers If a bottled water

product is found to be substandard it can be recalled This canrsquot happen in case

of tap water

According to regulations in the US when bottled water is sourced from a

community water system the product label must state so clearly However if the

water is subject to distillation de ionization or reverse osmosis it can be

categorized that way and does not have to state on its label that it is from a

community water system or from a municipal source

Processing methods such as reverse osmosis remove most chemical and

microbiological contaminants

6

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Competition

The bottled water industry has two other industries as its biggest competitors in

from of Water purifiers industry and the soft drinks industry Though the water

purifier industry should be credited to have done the spadework for setting up

the foundation of bottled water industry but still it acts as competitors especially

in the household and institutional consumption market So the water purifier is a

strong competitor in household and institutional market the soft drinks market is

a strong rather very strong competitor in the retail consumption market

Bottled water became a product in the West during the 1920rsquos and developed

rapidly Huge market size numerous local brands and controlled price

mechanism are some of the features of the market there Consumers in the West

are quality conscious and display brand loyalty Indian consumers lack on both

the counts

In Asia Indonesia is the largest and the oldest market for bottled water In

India bottled water is still not perceived as a product for masses though the

scene is changing slowly thanks to low pricing and aggressive marketing

strategy adopted by new entrants Some surveys show that truck drivers on

highways form a major chunk of bottled water drinkers Penetration in rural

areas is another significant factor that is likely to play a key role in the

development of the bottled water trade

In comparison to global standards Indiarsquos bottled water segment is largely

unregulated Safe water is rated with a different yardstick in different countries

In India the aspect has been overlooked for long Indian consumers tend to

believe that any bottled water is safe water This may not be the case

7

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Types of Bottled Water

There are several different varieties of bottled water The product may be

labeled as bottled water drinking water or any of the following terms

Artesian Well Water Bottled water from a well that taps a confined aquifer (a

water bearing underground layer of rock or sand) in which the water level

stands at some height above the top of the aquifer

Drinking Water Drinking water is another name for bottled water

Accordingly drinking water is water that is sold for human consumption in

sanitary containers and contains no added sweeteners or chemical additives

(other than flavors extracts or essences) It must be calorie-free and sugar- free

Flavors extracts or essences may be added to drinking water but they must

comprise less than one-percent- by ndashweight of the final product or the product

will be considered a soft drink

Mineral Water Bottled water containing not less than 250 parts per million

total dissolved solids may be labeled as mineral water Mineral water is

distinguished from other types of bottled water by its constant level and relative

proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the

source No mineral can be added to this product

Purified Water Water that has been produced by distillation deionization

reverse osmosis or other suitable process can be labeled as purified bottled

water Other suitable product names for bottled water treated by one of the

above processes may include ldquodistilled waterrdquo if it is produced by distillation

ldquode-ionized waterrdquo if the water is produced by deionization or ldquoreverse osmosis

waterrdquo if the process used is reverse osmosis

8

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sparkling Water Water that after treatment and possible replacement with

carbon dioxide contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at

emergence from the source

Spring Water Bottled water derived from an underground formation from

which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth Spring water must be

collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground

formation finding the spring

Well Water Bottled water from a hole bored drilled or otherwise constructed

in the ground which taps the water of an aquifer

Growth in Bottle Water Industries

It was in 1967 that BISLERI set up a bottling plant for manufacturing and

marketing its mineral water which failed badly

In 1968-69 the brand ldquo BISLERIrdquo was sold to the ldquoParle grouprdquo by the

Italian company Parle group launched BISLERI soda and mineral water

but again the concept failed as the Indian customer was not ready to buy water

in bottled form

The market remained dormant for the next two decades (ie from 1970

to 1990) the market throughout this period was formed mainly by the

premium segment like five- star hotels

In the early 1990rsquos was the onset of liberalization policy and sell-off of

major soft drinks brands BISLERI was compelled to test the waters

again

Today the demand of bottled water is increasing at a much higher rate

that of carbonated soft drinks The market size of bottled water too is 9

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

expected to surpass the size of soft drinks market in near future HLL

which too has identified the bottled water as a growth area of future is

presently looking or some suitable brand for acquisition Britannia too

evinced some initial interest in the market but now seems to have

postponed its plans The existing players too are set to expand their

distribution network to have their presence across the country

The market is also expected to undergo a major consolidation phase As

one of the major factors that are important for success in the market is

the distribution network the players with deep pockets are expected to

go for acquisition of existing small regional players to spread their

network across the country Already Coke has tied up with Yes for

manufacturing of its brands in areas where it doesnrsquot have presence

Though Coke and Pepsi have both well established distribution network

as well as bottling amp manufacturing plants they seems to be at

advantage but players like HLL and Nestle with strong financial muscle

can easily turn the tables in their favor through acquisition route

The following table shows the growth in the package drinking

water industry10

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Year Growth rate

1996-97 3-4

1997-00 10

2000-02 50

2002-04 70

2004-09 90

Introduction of Bisleri

11

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In 1967 Bisleri an Italian company started by Signor Felice Bisleri first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India It started a company called Bisleri India In 1969 Ramesh Chauhan the Chairman of Parle Exports bought over the brand In those days Bisleri packaged drinking water was available in glass bottles

Being a returnable package owing to various other problems such as breakage and weight in 1972-73 Bisleri was made available in PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) bottles After this plastic packaging was introduced things started to change and sales increased rapidly

The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started in 1993 as Ramesh Chauhan sold off the Parle stable of brands including Thums Up Limca and Gold Spot Recognising the potential of the packaged drinking water market he then went on to concentrate on making Bisleri a top selling brand in IndiaMarketing and Brands Blog

Bisleri a brand name synonymous to mineral water in India It has approximately 60 market share in packaged drinking water in country Brand is owned by Parle Company which bought over Bisleri in 1969 from Italian company Initially Bisleri faced the problems of acceptance from consumers It was difficult to advertise for a company something as a bottled water which is colourless tasteless and odourless In mid eighties company changed its packaging to PET bottles which shows transparency and clear water to consumers This gave mineral water market a boost

In India water is scarce and quality is poor so initially the consumers were only foreigners and NRIrsquos Therefore to increase its customerrsquos base company came up with comfortable and affordable price bottle which was a great success and showed 400 growth

India bottled water market is appox is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion) Seeing this growth over the years many new players have entered the market Amongst them Kinely from Coke Aquafine from Pepsi kingfisher and now Himalayan from Tata are main players of industry There are many ups and down in last couple of years but brand recall of Bisleri is amazing which helped company In order to differentiate form other players company tries to come up with different and new campaigns on regular intervals

12

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In case of food and water whenever people are suspicious of the quality of product they donrsquot eat unhygienic food and instead of having non purified water they prefer to stay thirsty Bisleri itself seems to play on this need for safety coining the popular tag-line lsquoPlay it safersquo The advertising helped differentiate the product from its competitors who more or less communicated nothing Bislerirsquos seal was also breakaway (hence irreplaceable) even though this manufacturing process of sealing seems to be slow and could clog up the assembly line

Somewhere along the now that space was occupied by Aquafina and Kinley The ldquosaferdquo breakaway seal was replaced by a regular seal but the change wasnrsquot communicated and more variants (packaging) emerged Some of these variants were sold simultaneously They were manufactured in different parts of Delhi and one had the website wwwbislericom printed on it while the other had wwwbislericoin printed

So the mistake was a complete lack of communication on Bislerirsquos part Now they have a new product out - a mineral water brand (as opposed to a packaged drinking water brand) and they are advertising it Still there are three types of Bisleri bottles in the market in Delhi right now

Now again Bisleri changed its packaging and came up with a new bottle It has been general feeling that Kinleyrsquos new packaging is more acceptable by the people as it is easy to grip it In a packaged water market where the product is not so differentiated the company has to constantly innovate new branding techniques distribution channels advertising and in fact new packaging techniques

According to the Bureau of India [ Images ]n Standards there are 1200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu) Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1000-crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water market and are hard selling their products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers aggressive advertising catchy taglines In such a scenario The Strategist takes a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh Chauhan chairman Parle Bisleri created a market out of pure water Excerpts from a conversation with Prerna Raturi

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two

well-known men One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka 13

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Competition

The bottled water industry has two other industries as its biggest competitors in

from of Water purifiers industry and the soft drinks industry Though the water

purifier industry should be credited to have done the spadework for setting up

the foundation of bottled water industry but still it acts as competitors especially

in the household and institutional consumption market So the water purifier is a

strong competitor in household and institutional market the soft drinks market is

a strong rather very strong competitor in the retail consumption market

Bottled water became a product in the West during the 1920rsquos and developed

rapidly Huge market size numerous local brands and controlled price

mechanism are some of the features of the market there Consumers in the West

are quality conscious and display brand loyalty Indian consumers lack on both

the counts

In Asia Indonesia is the largest and the oldest market for bottled water In

India bottled water is still not perceived as a product for masses though the

scene is changing slowly thanks to low pricing and aggressive marketing

strategy adopted by new entrants Some surveys show that truck drivers on

highways form a major chunk of bottled water drinkers Penetration in rural

areas is another significant factor that is likely to play a key role in the

development of the bottled water trade

In comparison to global standards Indiarsquos bottled water segment is largely

unregulated Safe water is rated with a different yardstick in different countries

In India the aspect has been overlooked for long Indian consumers tend to

believe that any bottled water is safe water This may not be the case

7

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Types of Bottled Water

There are several different varieties of bottled water The product may be

labeled as bottled water drinking water or any of the following terms

Artesian Well Water Bottled water from a well that taps a confined aquifer (a

water bearing underground layer of rock or sand) in which the water level

stands at some height above the top of the aquifer

Drinking Water Drinking water is another name for bottled water

Accordingly drinking water is water that is sold for human consumption in

sanitary containers and contains no added sweeteners or chemical additives

(other than flavors extracts or essences) It must be calorie-free and sugar- free

Flavors extracts or essences may be added to drinking water but they must

comprise less than one-percent- by ndashweight of the final product or the product

will be considered a soft drink

Mineral Water Bottled water containing not less than 250 parts per million

total dissolved solids may be labeled as mineral water Mineral water is

distinguished from other types of bottled water by its constant level and relative

proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the

source No mineral can be added to this product

Purified Water Water that has been produced by distillation deionization

reverse osmosis or other suitable process can be labeled as purified bottled

water Other suitable product names for bottled water treated by one of the

above processes may include ldquodistilled waterrdquo if it is produced by distillation

ldquode-ionized waterrdquo if the water is produced by deionization or ldquoreverse osmosis

waterrdquo if the process used is reverse osmosis

8

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sparkling Water Water that after treatment and possible replacement with

carbon dioxide contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at

emergence from the source

Spring Water Bottled water derived from an underground formation from

which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth Spring water must be

collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground

formation finding the spring

Well Water Bottled water from a hole bored drilled or otherwise constructed

in the ground which taps the water of an aquifer

Growth in Bottle Water Industries

It was in 1967 that BISLERI set up a bottling plant for manufacturing and

marketing its mineral water which failed badly

In 1968-69 the brand ldquo BISLERIrdquo was sold to the ldquoParle grouprdquo by the

Italian company Parle group launched BISLERI soda and mineral water

but again the concept failed as the Indian customer was not ready to buy water

in bottled form

The market remained dormant for the next two decades (ie from 1970

to 1990) the market throughout this period was formed mainly by the

premium segment like five- star hotels

In the early 1990rsquos was the onset of liberalization policy and sell-off of

major soft drinks brands BISLERI was compelled to test the waters

again

Today the demand of bottled water is increasing at a much higher rate

that of carbonated soft drinks The market size of bottled water too is 9

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

expected to surpass the size of soft drinks market in near future HLL

which too has identified the bottled water as a growth area of future is

presently looking or some suitable brand for acquisition Britannia too

evinced some initial interest in the market but now seems to have

postponed its plans The existing players too are set to expand their

distribution network to have their presence across the country

The market is also expected to undergo a major consolidation phase As

one of the major factors that are important for success in the market is

the distribution network the players with deep pockets are expected to

go for acquisition of existing small regional players to spread their

network across the country Already Coke has tied up with Yes for

manufacturing of its brands in areas where it doesnrsquot have presence

Though Coke and Pepsi have both well established distribution network

as well as bottling amp manufacturing plants they seems to be at

advantage but players like HLL and Nestle with strong financial muscle

can easily turn the tables in their favor through acquisition route

The following table shows the growth in the package drinking

water industry10

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Year Growth rate

1996-97 3-4

1997-00 10

2000-02 50

2002-04 70

2004-09 90

Introduction of Bisleri

11

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In 1967 Bisleri an Italian company started by Signor Felice Bisleri first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India It started a company called Bisleri India In 1969 Ramesh Chauhan the Chairman of Parle Exports bought over the brand In those days Bisleri packaged drinking water was available in glass bottles

Being a returnable package owing to various other problems such as breakage and weight in 1972-73 Bisleri was made available in PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) bottles After this plastic packaging was introduced things started to change and sales increased rapidly

The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started in 1993 as Ramesh Chauhan sold off the Parle stable of brands including Thums Up Limca and Gold Spot Recognising the potential of the packaged drinking water market he then went on to concentrate on making Bisleri a top selling brand in IndiaMarketing and Brands Blog

Bisleri a brand name synonymous to mineral water in India It has approximately 60 market share in packaged drinking water in country Brand is owned by Parle Company which bought over Bisleri in 1969 from Italian company Initially Bisleri faced the problems of acceptance from consumers It was difficult to advertise for a company something as a bottled water which is colourless tasteless and odourless In mid eighties company changed its packaging to PET bottles which shows transparency and clear water to consumers This gave mineral water market a boost

In India water is scarce and quality is poor so initially the consumers were only foreigners and NRIrsquos Therefore to increase its customerrsquos base company came up with comfortable and affordable price bottle which was a great success and showed 400 growth

India bottled water market is appox is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion) Seeing this growth over the years many new players have entered the market Amongst them Kinely from Coke Aquafine from Pepsi kingfisher and now Himalayan from Tata are main players of industry There are many ups and down in last couple of years but brand recall of Bisleri is amazing which helped company In order to differentiate form other players company tries to come up with different and new campaigns on regular intervals

12

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In case of food and water whenever people are suspicious of the quality of product they donrsquot eat unhygienic food and instead of having non purified water they prefer to stay thirsty Bisleri itself seems to play on this need for safety coining the popular tag-line lsquoPlay it safersquo The advertising helped differentiate the product from its competitors who more or less communicated nothing Bislerirsquos seal was also breakaway (hence irreplaceable) even though this manufacturing process of sealing seems to be slow and could clog up the assembly line

Somewhere along the now that space was occupied by Aquafina and Kinley The ldquosaferdquo breakaway seal was replaced by a regular seal but the change wasnrsquot communicated and more variants (packaging) emerged Some of these variants were sold simultaneously They were manufactured in different parts of Delhi and one had the website wwwbislericom printed on it while the other had wwwbislericoin printed

So the mistake was a complete lack of communication on Bislerirsquos part Now they have a new product out - a mineral water brand (as opposed to a packaged drinking water brand) and they are advertising it Still there are three types of Bisleri bottles in the market in Delhi right now

Now again Bisleri changed its packaging and came up with a new bottle It has been general feeling that Kinleyrsquos new packaging is more acceptable by the people as it is easy to grip it In a packaged water market where the product is not so differentiated the company has to constantly innovate new branding techniques distribution channels advertising and in fact new packaging techniques

According to the Bureau of India [ Images ]n Standards there are 1200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu) Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1000-crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water market and are hard selling their products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers aggressive advertising catchy taglines In such a scenario The Strategist takes a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh Chauhan chairman Parle Bisleri created a market out of pure water Excerpts from a conversation with Prerna Raturi

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two

well-known men One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka 13

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Types of Bottled Water

There are several different varieties of bottled water The product may be

labeled as bottled water drinking water or any of the following terms

Artesian Well Water Bottled water from a well that taps a confined aquifer (a

water bearing underground layer of rock or sand) in which the water level

stands at some height above the top of the aquifer

Drinking Water Drinking water is another name for bottled water

Accordingly drinking water is water that is sold for human consumption in

sanitary containers and contains no added sweeteners or chemical additives

(other than flavors extracts or essences) It must be calorie-free and sugar- free

Flavors extracts or essences may be added to drinking water but they must

comprise less than one-percent- by ndashweight of the final product or the product

will be considered a soft drink

Mineral Water Bottled water containing not less than 250 parts per million

total dissolved solids may be labeled as mineral water Mineral water is

distinguished from other types of bottled water by its constant level and relative

proportions of mineral and trace elements at the point of emergence from the

source No mineral can be added to this product

Purified Water Water that has been produced by distillation deionization

reverse osmosis or other suitable process can be labeled as purified bottled

water Other suitable product names for bottled water treated by one of the

above processes may include ldquodistilled waterrdquo if it is produced by distillation

ldquode-ionized waterrdquo if the water is produced by deionization or ldquoreverse osmosis

waterrdquo if the process used is reverse osmosis

8

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sparkling Water Water that after treatment and possible replacement with

carbon dioxide contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at

emergence from the source

Spring Water Bottled water derived from an underground formation from

which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth Spring water must be

collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground

formation finding the spring

Well Water Bottled water from a hole bored drilled or otherwise constructed

in the ground which taps the water of an aquifer

Growth in Bottle Water Industries

It was in 1967 that BISLERI set up a bottling plant for manufacturing and

marketing its mineral water which failed badly

In 1968-69 the brand ldquo BISLERIrdquo was sold to the ldquoParle grouprdquo by the

Italian company Parle group launched BISLERI soda and mineral water

but again the concept failed as the Indian customer was not ready to buy water

in bottled form

The market remained dormant for the next two decades (ie from 1970

to 1990) the market throughout this period was formed mainly by the

premium segment like five- star hotels

In the early 1990rsquos was the onset of liberalization policy and sell-off of

major soft drinks brands BISLERI was compelled to test the waters

again

Today the demand of bottled water is increasing at a much higher rate

that of carbonated soft drinks The market size of bottled water too is 9

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

expected to surpass the size of soft drinks market in near future HLL

which too has identified the bottled water as a growth area of future is

presently looking or some suitable brand for acquisition Britannia too

evinced some initial interest in the market but now seems to have

postponed its plans The existing players too are set to expand their

distribution network to have their presence across the country

The market is also expected to undergo a major consolidation phase As

one of the major factors that are important for success in the market is

the distribution network the players with deep pockets are expected to

go for acquisition of existing small regional players to spread their

network across the country Already Coke has tied up with Yes for

manufacturing of its brands in areas where it doesnrsquot have presence

Though Coke and Pepsi have both well established distribution network

as well as bottling amp manufacturing plants they seems to be at

advantage but players like HLL and Nestle with strong financial muscle

can easily turn the tables in their favor through acquisition route

The following table shows the growth in the package drinking

water industry10

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Year Growth rate

1996-97 3-4

1997-00 10

2000-02 50

2002-04 70

2004-09 90

Introduction of Bisleri

11

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In 1967 Bisleri an Italian company started by Signor Felice Bisleri first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India It started a company called Bisleri India In 1969 Ramesh Chauhan the Chairman of Parle Exports bought over the brand In those days Bisleri packaged drinking water was available in glass bottles

Being a returnable package owing to various other problems such as breakage and weight in 1972-73 Bisleri was made available in PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) bottles After this plastic packaging was introduced things started to change and sales increased rapidly

The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started in 1993 as Ramesh Chauhan sold off the Parle stable of brands including Thums Up Limca and Gold Spot Recognising the potential of the packaged drinking water market he then went on to concentrate on making Bisleri a top selling brand in IndiaMarketing and Brands Blog

Bisleri a brand name synonymous to mineral water in India It has approximately 60 market share in packaged drinking water in country Brand is owned by Parle Company which bought over Bisleri in 1969 from Italian company Initially Bisleri faced the problems of acceptance from consumers It was difficult to advertise for a company something as a bottled water which is colourless tasteless and odourless In mid eighties company changed its packaging to PET bottles which shows transparency and clear water to consumers This gave mineral water market a boost

In India water is scarce and quality is poor so initially the consumers were only foreigners and NRIrsquos Therefore to increase its customerrsquos base company came up with comfortable and affordable price bottle which was a great success and showed 400 growth

India bottled water market is appox is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion) Seeing this growth over the years many new players have entered the market Amongst them Kinely from Coke Aquafine from Pepsi kingfisher and now Himalayan from Tata are main players of industry There are many ups and down in last couple of years but brand recall of Bisleri is amazing which helped company In order to differentiate form other players company tries to come up with different and new campaigns on regular intervals

12

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In case of food and water whenever people are suspicious of the quality of product they donrsquot eat unhygienic food and instead of having non purified water they prefer to stay thirsty Bisleri itself seems to play on this need for safety coining the popular tag-line lsquoPlay it safersquo The advertising helped differentiate the product from its competitors who more or less communicated nothing Bislerirsquos seal was also breakaway (hence irreplaceable) even though this manufacturing process of sealing seems to be slow and could clog up the assembly line

Somewhere along the now that space was occupied by Aquafina and Kinley The ldquosaferdquo breakaway seal was replaced by a regular seal but the change wasnrsquot communicated and more variants (packaging) emerged Some of these variants were sold simultaneously They were manufactured in different parts of Delhi and one had the website wwwbislericom printed on it while the other had wwwbislericoin printed

So the mistake was a complete lack of communication on Bislerirsquos part Now they have a new product out - a mineral water brand (as opposed to a packaged drinking water brand) and they are advertising it Still there are three types of Bisleri bottles in the market in Delhi right now

Now again Bisleri changed its packaging and came up with a new bottle It has been general feeling that Kinleyrsquos new packaging is more acceptable by the people as it is easy to grip it In a packaged water market where the product is not so differentiated the company has to constantly innovate new branding techniques distribution channels advertising and in fact new packaging techniques

According to the Bureau of India [ Images ]n Standards there are 1200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu) Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1000-crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water market and are hard selling their products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers aggressive advertising catchy taglines In such a scenario The Strategist takes a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh Chauhan chairman Parle Bisleri created a market out of pure water Excerpts from a conversation with Prerna Raturi

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two

well-known men One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka 13

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sparkling Water Water that after treatment and possible replacement with

carbon dioxide contains the same amount of carbon dioxide that it had at

emergence from the source

Spring Water Bottled water derived from an underground formation from

which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth Spring water must be

collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground

formation finding the spring

Well Water Bottled water from a hole bored drilled or otherwise constructed

in the ground which taps the water of an aquifer

Growth in Bottle Water Industries

It was in 1967 that BISLERI set up a bottling plant for manufacturing and

marketing its mineral water which failed badly

In 1968-69 the brand ldquo BISLERIrdquo was sold to the ldquoParle grouprdquo by the

Italian company Parle group launched BISLERI soda and mineral water

but again the concept failed as the Indian customer was not ready to buy water

in bottled form

The market remained dormant for the next two decades (ie from 1970

to 1990) the market throughout this period was formed mainly by the

premium segment like five- star hotels

In the early 1990rsquos was the onset of liberalization policy and sell-off of

major soft drinks brands BISLERI was compelled to test the waters

again

Today the demand of bottled water is increasing at a much higher rate

that of carbonated soft drinks The market size of bottled water too is 9

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

expected to surpass the size of soft drinks market in near future HLL

which too has identified the bottled water as a growth area of future is

presently looking or some suitable brand for acquisition Britannia too

evinced some initial interest in the market but now seems to have

postponed its plans The existing players too are set to expand their

distribution network to have their presence across the country

The market is also expected to undergo a major consolidation phase As

one of the major factors that are important for success in the market is

the distribution network the players with deep pockets are expected to

go for acquisition of existing small regional players to spread their

network across the country Already Coke has tied up with Yes for

manufacturing of its brands in areas where it doesnrsquot have presence

Though Coke and Pepsi have both well established distribution network

as well as bottling amp manufacturing plants they seems to be at

advantage but players like HLL and Nestle with strong financial muscle

can easily turn the tables in their favor through acquisition route

The following table shows the growth in the package drinking

water industry10

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Year Growth rate

1996-97 3-4

1997-00 10

2000-02 50

2002-04 70

2004-09 90

Introduction of Bisleri

11

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In 1967 Bisleri an Italian company started by Signor Felice Bisleri first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India It started a company called Bisleri India In 1969 Ramesh Chauhan the Chairman of Parle Exports bought over the brand In those days Bisleri packaged drinking water was available in glass bottles

Being a returnable package owing to various other problems such as breakage and weight in 1972-73 Bisleri was made available in PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) bottles After this plastic packaging was introduced things started to change and sales increased rapidly

The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started in 1993 as Ramesh Chauhan sold off the Parle stable of brands including Thums Up Limca and Gold Spot Recognising the potential of the packaged drinking water market he then went on to concentrate on making Bisleri a top selling brand in IndiaMarketing and Brands Blog

Bisleri a brand name synonymous to mineral water in India It has approximately 60 market share in packaged drinking water in country Brand is owned by Parle Company which bought over Bisleri in 1969 from Italian company Initially Bisleri faced the problems of acceptance from consumers It was difficult to advertise for a company something as a bottled water which is colourless tasteless and odourless In mid eighties company changed its packaging to PET bottles which shows transparency and clear water to consumers This gave mineral water market a boost

In India water is scarce and quality is poor so initially the consumers were only foreigners and NRIrsquos Therefore to increase its customerrsquos base company came up with comfortable and affordable price bottle which was a great success and showed 400 growth

India bottled water market is appox is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion) Seeing this growth over the years many new players have entered the market Amongst them Kinely from Coke Aquafine from Pepsi kingfisher and now Himalayan from Tata are main players of industry There are many ups and down in last couple of years but brand recall of Bisleri is amazing which helped company In order to differentiate form other players company tries to come up with different and new campaigns on regular intervals

12

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In case of food and water whenever people are suspicious of the quality of product they donrsquot eat unhygienic food and instead of having non purified water they prefer to stay thirsty Bisleri itself seems to play on this need for safety coining the popular tag-line lsquoPlay it safersquo The advertising helped differentiate the product from its competitors who more or less communicated nothing Bislerirsquos seal was also breakaway (hence irreplaceable) even though this manufacturing process of sealing seems to be slow and could clog up the assembly line

Somewhere along the now that space was occupied by Aquafina and Kinley The ldquosaferdquo breakaway seal was replaced by a regular seal but the change wasnrsquot communicated and more variants (packaging) emerged Some of these variants were sold simultaneously They were manufactured in different parts of Delhi and one had the website wwwbislericom printed on it while the other had wwwbislericoin printed

So the mistake was a complete lack of communication on Bislerirsquos part Now they have a new product out - a mineral water brand (as opposed to a packaged drinking water brand) and they are advertising it Still there are three types of Bisleri bottles in the market in Delhi right now

Now again Bisleri changed its packaging and came up with a new bottle It has been general feeling that Kinleyrsquos new packaging is more acceptable by the people as it is easy to grip it In a packaged water market where the product is not so differentiated the company has to constantly innovate new branding techniques distribution channels advertising and in fact new packaging techniques

According to the Bureau of India [ Images ]n Standards there are 1200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu) Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1000-crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water market and are hard selling their products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers aggressive advertising catchy taglines In such a scenario The Strategist takes a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh Chauhan chairman Parle Bisleri created a market out of pure water Excerpts from a conversation with Prerna Raturi

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two

well-known men One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka 13

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

expected to surpass the size of soft drinks market in near future HLL

which too has identified the bottled water as a growth area of future is

presently looking or some suitable brand for acquisition Britannia too

evinced some initial interest in the market but now seems to have

postponed its plans The existing players too are set to expand their

distribution network to have their presence across the country

The market is also expected to undergo a major consolidation phase As

one of the major factors that are important for success in the market is

the distribution network the players with deep pockets are expected to

go for acquisition of existing small regional players to spread their

network across the country Already Coke has tied up with Yes for

manufacturing of its brands in areas where it doesnrsquot have presence

Though Coke and Pepsi have both well established distribution network

as well as bottling amp manufacturing plants they seems to be at

advantage but players like HLL and Nestle with strong financial muscle

can easily turn the tables in their favor through acquisition route

The following table shows the growth in the package drinking

water industry10

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Year Growth rate

1996-97 3-4

1997-00 10

2000-02 50

2002-04 70

2004-09 90

Introduction of Bisleri

11

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In 1967 Bisleri an Italian company started by Signor Felice Bisleri first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India It started a company called Bisleri India In 1969 Ramesh Chauhan the Chairman of Parle Exports bought over the brand In those days Bisleri packaged drinking water was available in glass bottles

Being a returnable package owing to various other problems such as breakage and weight in 1972-73 Bisleri was made available in PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) bottles After this plastic packaging was introduced things started to change and sales increased rapidly

The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started in 1993 as Ramesh Chauhan sold off the Parle stable of brands including Thums Up Limca and Gold Spot Recognising the potential of the packaged drinking water market he then went on to concentrate on making Bisleri a top selling brand in IndiaMarketing and Brands Blog

Bisleri a brand name synonymous to mineral water in India It has approximately 60 market share in packaged drinking water in country Brand is owned by Parle Company which bought over Bisleri in 1969 from Italian company Initially Bisleri faced the problems of acceptance from consumers It was difficult to advertise for a company something as a bottled water which is colourless tasteless and odourless In mid eighties company changed its packaging to PET bottles which shows transparency and clear water to consumers This gave mineral water market a boost

In India water is scarce and quality is poor so initially the consumers were only foreigners and NRIrsquos Therefore to increase its customerrsquos base company came up with comfortable and affordable price bottle which was a great success and showed 400 growth

India bottled water market is appox is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion) Seeing this growth over the years many new players have entered the market Amongst them Kinely from Coke Aquafine from Pepsi kingfisher and now Himalayan from Tata are main players of industry There are many ups and down in last couple of years but brand recall of Bisleri is amazing which helped company In order to differentiate form other players company tries to come up with different and new campaigns on regular intervals

12

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In case of food and water whenever people are suspicious of the quality of product they donrsquot eat unhygienic food and instead of having non purified water they prefer to stay thirsty Bisleri itself seems to play on this need for safety coining the popular tag-line lsquoPlay it safersquo The advertising helped differentiate the product from its competitors who more or less communicated nothing Bislerirsquos seal was also breakaway (hence irreplaceable) even though this manufacturing process of sealing seems to be slow and could clog up the assembly line

Somewhere along the now that space was occupied by Aquafina and Kinley The ldquosaferdquo breakaway seal was replaced by a regular seal but the change wasnrsquot communicated and more variants (packaging) emerged Some of these variants were sold simultaneously They were manufactured in different parts of Delhi and one had the website wwwbislericom printed on it while the other had wwwbislericoin printed

So the mistake was a complete lack of communication on Bislerirsquos part Now they have a new product out - a mineral water brand (as opposed to a packaged drinking water brand) and they are advertising it Still there are three types of Bisleri bottles in the market in Delhi right now

Now again Bisleri changed its packaging and came up with a new bottle It has been general feeling that Kinleyrsquos new packaging is more acceptable by the people as it is easy to grip it In a packaged water market where the product is not so differentiated the company has to constantly innovate new branding techniques distribution channels advertising and in fact new packaging techniques

According to the Bureau of India [ Images ]n Standards there are 1200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu) Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1000-crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water market and are hard selling their products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers aggressive advertising catchy taglines In such a scenario The Strategist takes a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh Chauhan chairman Parle Bisleri created a market out of pure water Excerpts from a conversation with Prerna Raturi

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two

well-known men One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka 13

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Year Growth rate

1996-97 3-4

1997-00 10

2000-02 50

2002-04 70

2004-09 90

Introduction of Bisleri

11

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In 1967 Bisleri an Italian company started by Signor Felice Bisleri first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India It started a company called Bisleri India In 1969 Ramesh Chauhan the Chairman of Parle Exports bought over the brand In those days Bisleri packaged drinking water was available in glass bottles

Being a returnable package owing to various other problems such as breakage and weight in 1972-73 Bisleri was made available in PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) bottles After this plastic packaging was introduced things started to change and sales increased rapidly

The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started in 1993 as Ramesh Chauhan sold off the Parle stable of brands including Thums Up Limca and Gold Spot Recognising the potential of the packaged drinking water market he then went on to concentrate on making Bisleri a top selling brand in IndiaMarketing and Brands Blog

Bisleri a brand name synonymous to mineral water in India It has approximately 60 market share in packaged drinking water in country Brand is owned by Parle Company which bought over Bisleri in 1969 from Italian company Initially Bisleri faced the problems of acceptance from consumers It was difficult to advertise for a company something as a bottled water which is colourless tasteless and odourless In mid eighties company changed its packaging to PET bottles which shows transparency and clear water to consumers This gave mineral water market a boost

In India water is scarce and quality is poor so initially the consumers were only foreigners and NRIrsquos Therefore to increase its customerrsquos base company came up with comfortable and affordable price bottle which was a great success and showed 400 growth

India bottled water market is appox is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion) Seeing this growth over the years many new players have entered the market Amongst them Kinely from Coke Aquafine from Pepsi kingfisher and now Himalayan from Tata are main players of industry There are many ups and down in last couple of years but brand recall of Bisleri is amazing which helped company In order to differentiate form other players company tries to come up with different and new campaigns on regular intervals

12

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In case of food and water whenever people are suspicious of the quality of product they donrsquot eat unhygienic food and instead of having non purified water they prefer to stay thirsty Bisleri itself seems to play on this need for safety coining the popular tag-line lsquoPlay it safersquo The advertising helped differentiate the product from its competitors who more or less communicated nothing Bislerirsquos seal was also breakaway (hence irreplaceable) even though this manufacturing process of sealing seems to be slow and could clog up the assembly line

Somewhere along the now that space was occupied by Aquafina and Kinley The ldquosaferdquo breakaway seal was replaced by a regular seal but the change wasnrsquot communicated and more variants (packaging) emerged Some of these variants were sold simultaneously They were manufactured in different parts of Delhi and one had the website wwwbislericom printed on it while the other had wwwbislericoin printed

So the mistake was a complete lack of communication on Bislerirsquos part Now they have a new product out - a mineral water brand (as opposed to a packaged drinking water brand) and they are advertising it Still there are three types of Bisleri bottles in the market in Delhi right now

Now again Bisleri changed its packaging and came up with a new bottle It has been general feeling that Kinleyrsquos new packaging is more acceptable by the people as it is easy to grip it In a packaged water market where the product is not so differentiated the company has to constantly innovate new branding techniques distribution channels advertising and in fact new packaging techniques

According to the Bureau of India [ Images ]n Standards there are 1200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu) Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1000-crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water market and are hard selling their products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers aggressive advertising catchy taglines In such a scenario The Strategist takes a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh Chauhan chairman Parle Bisleri created a market out of pure water Excerpts from a conversation with Prerna Raturi

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two

well-known men One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka 13

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In 1967 Bisleri an Italian company started by Signor Felice Bisleri first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India It started a company called Bisleri India In 1969 Ramesh Chauhan the Chairman of Parle Exports bought over the brand In those days Bisleri packaged drinking water was available in glass bottles

Being a returnable package owing to various other problems such as breakage and weight in 1972-73 Bisleri was made available in PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) bottles After this plastic packaging was introduced things started to change and sales increased rapidly

The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started in 1993 as Ramesh Chauhan sold off the Parle stable of brands including Thums Up Limca and Gold Spot Recognising the potential of the packaged drinking water market he then went on to concentrate on making Bisleri a top selling brand in IndiaMarketing and Brands Blog

Bisleri a brand name synonymous to mineral water in India It has approximately 60 market share in packaged drinking water in country Brand is owned by Parle Company which bought over Bisleri in 1969 from Italian company Initially Bisleri faced the problems of acceptance from consumers It was difficult to advertise for a company something as a bottled water which is colourless tasteless and odourless In mid eighties company changed its packaging to PET bottles which shows transparency and clear water to consumers This gave mineral water market a boost

In India water is scarce and quality is poor so initially the consumers were only foreigners and NRIrsquos Therefore to increase its customerrsquos base company came up with comfortable and affordable price bottle which was a great success and showed 400 growth

India bottled water market is appox is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion) Seeing this growth over the years many new players have entered the market Amongst them Kinely from Coke Aquafine from Pepsi kingfisher and now Himalayan from Tata are main players of industry There are many ups and down in last couple of years but brand recall of Bisleri is amazing which helped company In order to differentiate form other players company tries to come up with different and new campaigns on regular intervals

12

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In case of food and water whenever people are suspicious of the quality of product they donrsquot eat unhygienic food and instead of having non purified water they prefer to stay thirsty Bisleri itself seems to play on this need for safety coining the popular tag-line lsquoPlay it safersquo The advertising helped differentiate the product from its competitors who more or less communicated nothing Bislerirsquos seal was also breakaway (hence irreplaceable) even though this manufacturing process of sealing seems to be slow and could clog up the assembly line

Somewhere along the now that space was occupied by Aquafina and Kinley The ldquosaferdquo breakaway seal was replaced by a regular seal but the change wasnrsquot communicated and more variants (packaging) emerged Some of these variants were sold simultaneously They were manufactured in different parts of Delhi and one had the website wwwbislericom printed on it while the other had wwwbislericoin printed

So the mistake was a complete lack of communication on Bislerirsquos part Now they have a new product out - a mineral water brand (as opposed to a packaged drinking water brand) and they are advertising it Still there are three types of Bisleri bottles in the market in Delhi right now

Now again Bisleri changed its packaging and came up with a new bottle It has been general feeling that Kinleyrsquos new packaging is more acceptable by the people as it is easy to grip it In a packaged water market where the product is not so differentiated the company has to constantly innovate new branding techniques distribution channels advertising and in fact new packaging techniques

According to the Bureau of India [ Images ]n Standards there are 1200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu) Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1000-crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water market and are hard selling their products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers aggressive advertising catchy taglines In such a scenario The Strategist takes a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh Chauhan chairman Parle Bisleri created a market out of pure water Excerpts from a conversation with Prerna Raturi

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two

well-known men One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka 13

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In case of food and water whenever people are suspicious of the quality of product they donrsquot eat unhygienic food and instead of having non purified water they prefer to stay thirsty Bisleri itself seems to play on this need for safety coining the popular tag-line lsquoPlay it safersquo The advertising helped differentiate the product from its competitors who more or less communicated nothing Bislerirsquos seal was also breakaway (hence irreplaceable) even though this manufacturing process of sealing seems to be slow and could clog up the assembly line

Somewhere along the now that space was occupied by Aquafina and Kinley The ldquosaferdquo breakaway seal was replaced by a regular seal but the change wasnrsquot communicated and more variants (packaging) emerged Some of these variants were sold simultaneously They were manufactured in different parts of Delhi and one had the website wwwbislericom printed on it while the other had wwwbislericoin printed

So the mistake was a complete lack of communication on Bislerirsquos part Now they have a new product out - a mineral water brand (as opposed to a packaged drinking water brand) and they are advertising it Still there are three types of Bisleri bottles in the market in Delhi right now

Now again Bisleri changed its packaging and came up with a new bottle It has been general feeling that Kinleyrsquos new packaging is more acceptable by the people as it is easy to grip it In a packaged water market where the product is not so differentiated the company has to constantly innovate new branding techniques distribution channels advertising and in fact new packaging techniques

According to the Bureau of India [ Images ]n Standards there are 1200 bottled water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil Nadu) Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1000-crore (Rs 10 billion) bottled water market and are hard selling their products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers aggressive advertising catchy taglines In such a scenario The Strategist takes a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh Chauhan chairman Parle Bisleri created a market out of pure water Excerpts from a conversation with Prerna Raturi

Western Express Highway in Mumbai has been the route to success for two

well-known men One was the make-believe super biker cum thief Kabir aka 13

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

John Abraham in the Bollywood flick Dhoom and the other is the crafty

Ramesh Chauhan who has masterminded the runaway success of the Rs500

crore bottled water brand BISLERI in the country from his 1st floor office in

the sparkling green aqua fill BISLERI building

BISLERI was originally an Italian Company created by Signor Felice BISLERI

who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India BISLERI then was

introduced in Mumbai in glass bottles in two varieties ndash bubbly amp still in 1965

Parle bought over BISLERI (India) Ltd in 1969 amp started bottling Mineral

water in glass bottles under the brand name lsquoBISLERIrsquo Later Parle switched

over to PVC non-returnable bottles amp finally advanced to PET containers Since

1995 Mr Ramesh J Chauhan has started expanding BISLERI operations In

2003 BISLERI announced its venture to Europe

For over 30 years BISLERI has been the pioneer in the bottled water industry

with its innovations and an eye for perfection And ever since it was established

in 1969 BISLERI has constantly searched for inspiration in nature

14

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The journey till now

1969 Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company Felice Bisleri It was bottled in glass bottles then

Early-1980s Shifts to PVC bottles Sales surge

Mid-1980s Switches to PET bottles which meant more transparency and life for water

1993 Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs 400 crore

1995 Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent

2000 Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre

1998 Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal

2000 BIS cancels Bisleris licence of a water bottling in Delhi [ Images ] since some of the bottles did not carry ISI label the licence is restored one-and-a-half months later

2002 Kinley overtakes Bisleri The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinleys marketshare at 351 per cent compared to Bisleris 344 per cent

15

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

EXPANSION

Chauhan may be short stocky and nearing 70 but his enthusiasm and vibrancy over the years has not diminished an iota After all despite the entry of a slew of MNCs (including Coca- Cola with KINLEY and PepsiCo with AQUAFINA and their cutting edge marketing gimmicks Chauhan has not lost his first mover advantage in the segment He has been able to sustain and grow his market share in the over Rs2000 crore Indian bottled water mart ldquoWe have no competitor Our biggest competition is our own incompetencerdquo he grins describing how it is the unorganized sector which is presently walking away with the largest chunk of their potential consumers BISLERI claims 66 market share of the organized segment ldquoIf we were present where the unorganized players are selling they would not be there at allrdquo grimaces Chauhan

Parle Bisleri Limited Expansion plans

Parle Bisleri Limited is undertaking a major expansion to increase its manufacturing facility as also to widen the distribution network The total project cost is estimated around Rs 260 crore Of this Rs 60 crore will be utilised to expand the existing manufacturing facilities wherein the bottling capacity would be doubled to 200 million cases per day Around Rs 200 crore will be spent on increasing its distribution network five-fold over the next two years As a result the company will have 10-lakh retail outlets backed by a fleet over 5000 vehicles

Parle Bisleri also plans to procure recycling plants from Japan for its PET bottles and set up at least two such plants in Chennai and Delhi at a cost of Rs five crore each by this year-end Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants and a better part of the compacted PET will go into manufacturing polyester yarn

Though the company plans to come out with an IPO two years down the line the present capital expenditure plan will be financed entirely through internal accruals

16

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Under the leadership and vision of Mr Ramesh J Chauhan BISLERI has

undergone significant expansion in their operations The company has

witnessed an exponential growth with their turnover multiplying more than

twenty times in a short span of 10 years The average growth rate over this

period has been around 40 with BISLERI enjoying more than 60 of the

market share

Currently BISLERI has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of

setting up 4 new plants on water industry in India which has made it

Synonymous to Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you

think of bottled water you think BISLERI

17

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BISLERI TODAY

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore has developed 8 unique pack sizes to

suit the need of every individual We are present in 250ml cups 250ml bottles

500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L which are

the returnable packs Till date the Indian consumer has been offered BISLERI

water however in our effort to bring to you something refreshingly new we

have introduced BISLERI Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from

the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh Hence our product

range now comprises of two variants BISLERI with added minerals amp

BISLERI Mountain water

It is capturing its market in India as well as other continents BISLERI has been

no 1 and is capturing Indian market by providing best quality over a period of

long time None of the water products in line are able to compete with BISLERI

and thus BISLERI stand unique in the market

Bislerirsquos commitment is to offer every Indian pure amp clean drinking water

BISLER water is put through multiple stages of purification ozonised amp finally

packed for consumption Rigorous RampD amp stringent quality controls has made

BISLERI a market leader in the bottled water segment

BISLERIrsquoS endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases

performs amp caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces their own

bottles in-house amp have recently procured the latest world class state of the art

machineries that puts them at par with International standards This has not only

helped them improve packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

18

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

Manufacturing Process

BISLERI manufacturers its own products and has its own manufacturing unit

which includes various machines the whole manufacturing process is carried on

by BISLERI at its plant The whole manufacturing process is divided into

different parts and it consists of different activities like water purification

treatment blowing of the bottles filling of the bottles packing of the bottles

etc

The manufacturing process of BISLERI is carried on in different parts

Storing Of Water

The water is taken from the boring well and then is stored in huge tanks

BISLERI has 6 tanks of 50000 litres each and water is first taken from the

boring well and stored in these tanks

19

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Tanks in which water is Stored

6 STAGES OF WATER TREATMENT PLANT

1 OZONATION

2 FILTERATION

3 CARBON FILTERATION

4 RESERVE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

5 MICRO FILTERATION

6 OZONE TREATMENT

20

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

1) OZONATION

The process of ozonation ensures that the water remains free from

bacteria so that the water can have a longer life and the machine used for

this process of ozonation is called ozonator

2) FILTERATION

The process of filteration removes suspended particles from the water by

sand filteration

3) CARBON FILTERATION

The stage of carbon filteration removes bad odour and colour from water

and purifies it

4) REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM

This stage of reserve osmosis system controls all the dissolves solid

particles and it converts hard water into soft water

5) MICRO FILTERATION

Under this stage of micro filteration additional safety measures are taked

to guarantee purity of water In this stage addition of mineral magnesium

sulphate and potassium bicarbonate is processed

6) OZONE TREATMENT

The ozone treatment increases the shelf life of water To ensure mineral water is

held safe free from contamination ultraviolet treatment and ozonisation process

is carried out Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen a very powerful bactericide

with no side effect as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours

21

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even after water is packaged

thereby ensuring safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing To ensure high

quality of packing materials components like caps and bottles are manufactured

in-house from resins of quality suppliers

Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times Processing

is religiously monitored at every stage Testing source water processing

parameters microbial quality packaging material integrity and finally shelf life

studies forms an integral part of quality and safety assurance plan

22

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri to have own distribution network

Sudha Menon

PUNE April 4

PARLE Drinks plans to put up its own distribution network across the country for the Bisleri mineral water brand

The company will invest approximately Rs 200 crores to procure 2000 trucks and hire the same number of sales people by end-2000 to extend the penetration of the brand

Mr Ramesh Chauhan Chairman Parle Drinks said he expects an almost 400 per cent growth in business when the number of trucks transporting Bisleri mineral water doubles from the current 1000

Predicting that he expects his companys turnover to touch Rs 1000 crores within the next two years he said the idea is to ensure that the Bisleri brand reaches every nook and cranny of the country He said ``The key to success in any business is the distribution and if you have that in your control you have won more than half the battle

Meanwhile Mr Chauhan who puts Parles 1999-2000 turnover at Rs 350 crores (up from Rs 160 crores last fiscal) also plans to grow the market with the five-litre value pack targeted mainly at homes and institutions

This bottle priced at Rs 25 essentially makes mineral water available to the consumer at Rs 5 a litre The one-litre bottle is available at Rs 12 while the half-litre one is priced at Rs 5 Mr Chauhan is now on the look-out for high-quality cups to make the water available in smaller quantities

Consumers who buy the five-litre value pack have to pay a Re 1 deposit to the retailer which can be redeemed once the bottle is returned The five-litre packs

23

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

launched last December in Goa are currently available in six cities including Delhi Bomba y and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day according to Mr Chauhan

``The company hopes to make the value packs available across India in the next couple of months he added

He is meanwhile dispatching people to Japan this week to procure a recycling plant for the PET bottles and said at least two such plants would be set up in Chennai and Delhi at the cost of Rs 5 crores each by the end of the year

Crushed and compacted bottles from other parts of the country will be transported to the two plants Mr Chauhan said adding that a better part of the compacted PET will go into the manufacture of polyester yarn ``I have already discussed _ with Relian ce and a couple of other manufacturers _ the possibility of selling the polyester yarn thus manufactured He hopes to ensure that all used Bisleri bottles come back to retailers by offering incentives

The company plans to double its advertising budget from the Rs 3 crores of last year to Rs 6 crores next year according to Mr Chauhan who said it will also promote the five-litre pack with events and PoP displays

With business growing exponentially Mr Chauhan is convinced that water is

the business to be in ``Bisleri is almost a generic name the No 2 in the

business is way behind me and I hope to keep it that way

24

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PROCESS

A small tube like plastic which is known as lsquoPRE-FORMrsquo is blown with the

help of a machine called SIDEL which has a temperature of about 80 to 90

degree Celsius when this PRE-FORM is put into the SIDEL machine it is

blown up by its heat and turns out into a bottle in a specific shape according to

the mould plates available in the SIDEL machines which gives the bottles a

specific shape

PRE-FORM

25

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BLOWING PART

The small tube made from plastic known as PRE-FORM initially was

manufactured but due to hygienic reasons it was stopped and now it is got from

outside and is out sourced The SIDEL machine is only used for blowing the

empty bottles Even the caps of the bottles are outsourced as the manufacturing

of the caps would involve a lot of time So the SIDEL machine only helps in the

blowing of the bottle according to mould plates available in it which give it a

perfect shape and the PRE-FORM and the bottle caps are outsourced

SIDEL

26

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

FILLING PART

Once the empty bottles are made and blown up the water is filled into it The

machine used for filling the water in the blown bottle is called Dynathronic

The speed of this Dynathronic machine is that in one minute 110 bottles can be

filled

There are 7 stages to the filling process they are

1) The bottle is sterilized with air pressure

2) Then the bottle is filled with water

3) The bottle is sealed with a cap

4) Labeling of the bottle takes place

5) All mandatory information such as marking the batch number

manufacturing date expiry date and MRP

6) Inspection of the bottle such as checking sealing printing and filling

7) Lastly the bottle is packed

27

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Marketing Mix

According to Philip kotler ldquomarketing mix is the mixture of controllable

marketing variables that the firm uses to pursue the sought level of sales in the

targeted marketrdquo

In simple words marketing mix is the combination of four basic elements

ingredients under one head The 4Ps ie Product Place Price and Promotion

PRODUCT

Types of products

BISLERI values their customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack

sizes to suit the need of every individual They presently have 250ml cups

28

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

250ml bottles 500ml 1L 15L and 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp

5L 20L which are the returnable packs

Products Produced by BISLERI

BISLERI with added Minerals BISLERI Mineral Water contains minerals such

as magnesium sulphate and potassium bicarbonate which are essential minerals

for healthy living They not only maintain the pH balance of the body but also

help in keeping you fit and energetic at all times

Bisleri Mountain WaterBISLERI Natural Mountain emanates from a natural spring located in

Uttaranchal and Himachal nestled in the vast Shivalik Mountain ranges Lauded

as todays fountain of youth BISLERI Natural Mountain Water resonates with

the energy and vibrancy capable of taking you back to nature BISLERI Natural

Water is bottled in its two plants in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh and is

29

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

available in six different pack sizes of 250ml 500ml 1 litre 15 litre 2 litre and

5 litres

Himalayan Water The water that almost descends from the Gods

The Himalayas the abode of the Gods where the earth meets the heavens and

where in lies natures untouched bounty White glaciers snow-capped

mountains and a plethora of exotic herbs and other flora that have therapeutic

properties This is where youll find a treasure trove of hidden natural spring

water that flows through natural purifying filters mineral rich rocks and herbs

from which it absorbs many healing properties We bottle this pristine spring

water directly at source at the foothills of the Himalayas

And now the customers will get every drop of purity right here in this bottle

BISLERI Mountain Water is available in 500ml bottles amp 1 litre bottles

Quality

In endeavor to maintain strict quality controls each unit purchases pre-forms amp

caps only from approved vendors BISLERI produces its own bottles in-house

they have recently procured the latest world class state of the art machineries

that put them at par with International standards This has not only helped

BISLERI improve its packaging quality but has also reduced raw material

wastage amp doubled production capacity You can be rest assured that you are

drinking safe amp pure water when you consume BISLERI BISLERI is free of

impurities amp 100 safe Enjoy the Sweet taste of Purity

30

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made

BISLERI market leaders in the bottled water segment BISLERI has always

been committed to offering every Indian pure and clean drinking water Hence

BISLERI water is put through multiple stages of purification Ozonisation and

is hygienically packed for final consumption

The machines which are used for the blowing and filling of the bottles are also

cleaned twice a month All the tanks are also cleaned by the use of chemicals

There is an online monitoring system where the batches of bottles are shown

and once the batch crosses a certain limit an alarm is heard Everyday almost

one lakh bottles are passed through the monitoring system Moreover in case

there is a problem regarding the batch for example the cap seal of a particular

bottle is not there or labeling is not done properly the system records that and

immediately the production is halted This is followed as per the Bureau

Standards and if any mistake occurs then the whole batch is discarded

This shows that the whole batch is replaced and stopped which indicates high

quality control Even practically every 2 days testing and sampling of the water

and its bottles are done in the market and in their Quality Department to check

in case anything is wrong or not In fact there is a quality checker under the

quality department for the final checking done of the water before it is entered

the market

There is also a warehouse where the 20 litre bottles are kept for 48 hours to

allow the ozone to settle in it This helps in prevention of any germs or harmful

chemicals and also purifies the water The cost of quality undoubtedly is very

efficiently taken care of in BISLERI there are times when the cost of quality

increases ie in the rainy seasons the cost increases because the water is purified

31

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

twice than the normal seasons as sometimes the water might be dirty due to the

rains bisleri doesnrsquot take any risks and does not compromise with their quality

Online Monitoring System

Design

Creativity

BISLERI has a separate creative department which promotes the different sizes

of the bottles They have introduced new mountain water which is in hexagon

shaped bottle and is a new up gradation done by them This helps in attracting

new customers and creates a new sensation in the market Also 2 years ago a

32

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new soda bottle was introduced which was named as BISLERI Fizzy bringing a

huge demand among customers

Moreover the creative department has an expansion scheme which was

introduced in October 2008 which was a compact and ideal gift for the

customer This includes a 20litre bottle 2 fridge bottles 15 litre bottle and a

250 ml bottle with a fridge stand This was experimented for a month and which

resulted in the lot of demand

Value Engineering is redesigning the product already existing The redesigning

of the bottle has definitely taken place in BISLERI Earlier they had a blue

coloured bottle and then to bring in a different change BISLERI decided to

redesign the bottle to green colour

Old Bottle New Bottle

33

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Labeling

Labeling plays a very important role BISLERI takes good care about the

labeling as it tries to create and come up with an exciting and attractive label as

it will attract the customers also labeling plays an important role as it gives a

lot of information about the product like what are the contents of a bottle how

is it made what does it consist etc Also labeling gives a lot of information

about the product ie the price of the product manufacturing date expiry date

etc

PRICE

Price plays as very important role as it is the only P which helps in getting

revenue

Firstly one can explain the factors which affect the pricing

decision ie

- Price is directly related to

1 Demand

2 Competition

3 Break-even Point

Secondly if there is a novel product or almost no competition one can

Go for higher price in the beginning make good profits to face

Competition and innovations at a latter date

- However if you are entering a competitive market your entry price

should be low to ensure big volumes to earn reasonable profits

34

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the beginning BISLERI had no competition so the price of BISLERI

was high gradually the promoters dropped the price

- Buy Huge quantity at cheap rate after confirming demand and sell at

cheap price make them addictive then gradually increase price)

BRAND PACKAGINGS PRICE (in Rs)

Per bottle

BISLERI

20 litre 70

5 litre 50

15 litre 22

1 litre 18

500 ml 10

330ml 8

250 ml cup 5

Customer Delight

BISLERI is in the business to serve the customer It deserves the best quality

and presentation at a worth of the price They have world class quality at the

lowest production amp distribution cost This makes them unbeatable leaders and

helps them in having satisfied loyal customers

BISLERI values its customers amp therefore have developed 8 unique pack sizes

to suit the need of every individual At present they provide 250ml cups 250ml

bottles 500ml 1L 15L 2L which are the non-returnable packs amp 5L 20L

which are the returnable packs For the customers bisleri has come up with a

35

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

new scheme called the ldquoREDUMTIONrdquo scheme designed specially for the

customers In the Redumtion scheme BISLERI provides for Rs 300 a 20lt

BISLERI bottle 2 fridge bottles a 15l bottle a 250ml bottle and a fridge stand

PLACE

BISLERI has a specific distribution channel which they follow

Distribution Channel

From the manufacturing plant the bottles will come directly to the stockiest

Taking out the CampF agent from the distribution channel so as to increase the

margin to other elements in the chain

36

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

The whole MUMBAI area is been divided into 4 zones SOUTH WEST

CENTRAL and NORTH

The total number of stockiest would be 12

In the area of SOUTH MUMBAI there would be 2 stockists one in the area of

FORT and other in the area of MUMBAI CENTRAL In the case of FORT it

will require 5 distributors covering the area from DADAR to CST and

WADALA to CST The other stockiest at MUMBAI CENTRAL will require 2

distributors to cover the area from DADAR to CHURCHGATE

In the area of west MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists in the area of

ANDHERI BORIVALI amp VIRAR Covering the area from MAHIM to

DHANU road In the area of Mahim to Andheri 5 distributor would be there In

the area of Jogeshwari to Dahisar 5 distributor would be there in the area of

DAHISAR to DAHANU road 4 distributor would be there

In the area of CENTRAL MUMBAI 4 stockists would be needed The stockist

would be in GHATKOPAR KALYAN AMBERNATH and TITWALA The

stockist in the GHATKOPAR would cover the area between MATUNGA to

MULUND The stockiest in KALYAN would cover the area between THANA

to KALYAN and it would require 3 distributors The stockist in AMBERNATH

would cover the area from KALYAN to KARJAT A stockiest in TITWALA

would cover the area from KALYAN to KASARA and would require 3

distributors

In the case of NORTH MUMBAI there would be 3 stockists It would cover

area of PANVEL URAN ALIBAUG PENN MAHAD and VASHI In the

37

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

area of PANVEL stockiest 3 distributor would be needed and in the area of

MAHAD stockist it would require 3 distributor and same is the case with Vashi

In the case of KHOPOLI and ALIBAUG direct water would be supplied to the

distributors

Promotion

Positioning Playing Safe

Target audience Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality Guardian Authoritative Reliable

Punch Line ldquoPlay Saferdquo

To keep your company humming with profitable work itrsquos vital to advertise

your services Your company is going to require the maximum exposure you

can afford This constant exposure will alert potential customers who you are

and where you are when they need a sign By positioning YOUR name at their

fingertips and even literally displaying it in front of their eyes theyrsquoll call YOU

for identification products and services

There are all types of promotion They range from direct mail word of mouth

advertising in newspapers and telephone directories to radio and TV spots

cold calls and telemarketing Whatever the medium consider the cost

Advertising will usually is an expense that remains in your budget

38

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri follows different promotion strategies and uses different ways to

promote their product like

Advertisements

Advertisements are paid and and electronic way of communication ie to convey

the message to the customers bisleri comes up with different and attractive

advertisements on televisions and cinema halls to attract customers today

advertisements really attract the customers and by looking at the attractive

advertisement people buy the product more

Direct Mail

Direct mail is an avenue of promotion that targets a definite audience with a

specific letter brochure or offer Different potential customer groups have

various needs that can be ldquobullrsquos-eyedrdquo with a distinct service or product For

instance we can draft a personalized letter to hotels gyms canteens and a

different message to offices In hotels where consumption of water is more as

compare to the office so we can give them additional discount and better

services compare to the office In the case of the office where we there is less

consumption of water and less availability of space we can promote our 5-litre

jar 10 litres jar and 20 litre jars

The brochure or letter should contain information about our product which we

want to target and which is different and better than other product In case of

bottled water we can differentiate our product than other through the quality of

water price packaging service that is very important

39

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In a country like India where religion and festival play an important role in

onersquos life we can send post cards or greeting cards to not only our own

customer but also to the prospective customer

Building and Vehicle Identification

Our OWN signs are an advertisement in them For example a van or a tempo

which is green in color than all know that it is BISLERI cargo servicersquos van or

tempo same in the case of coca- cola it is red color and blue in case of Pepsi

Price packs

A banded pack is two related products banded together for example toothpaste

and toothbrush In the case of summer where in India the climate is very humid

and hot and consumption of water is also high so in that case with the purchase

of every one 1 litre bottle a free cold tissue paper can be provided

Tie-in-promotions

In this case where two or more brands or companies team up to increase pulling

power Nowadays there is a craze of Sikkim super lotto so with a purchase of

every 20 litre jar the ticket will be available at RS5

But today frankly bisleri is recognized by the punch line lsquoPURE N SAFErsquo

it has established itself so well that there is no need of any promotion as

whenever a person goes to buy a bottle of mineral water he says lsquoGIVE ME

A BISLERIrsquo and does not say give me a bottle or mineral water 40

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

SEGMENTATION

The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers

Foreign Tourists

Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face

a lot of digestion problems due to different food habits

Domestic Tourists

Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and

hygiene factors

Fashion Conscious

Like soft drinks drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some

people

The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an

educated middle class person This is also the segment of fruit drinks which

have usually been positioned as fun and health drink for young adults The

mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes

One litre bottle

This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers It is positioned on a

prestige platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion

statement by drinking mineral water This segment gets the maximum sales

500ml bottle

This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local

travelers

41

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

PET bottles

The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres These are mainly for

institutional sales (Wedding parties Hotels Corporate etc)

CONSUMER HABITS AND PRACTICES

Consumers are growing more health conscious and are more careful of their

drinking habits

Brand loyalty is very low as all the products taste the same so they can buy

just any product which is on the shelf same as that of soft drinks and fruit

beverages

Availability in the chilled form and brand awareness plays a crucial role in

purchase decisions

While there is no aversion to consumption of mineral water by any age

group this product is mainly consumed by the people in the age group of 20-

35 years who have less attraction of soft drinks or other synthetic drinks

whereas youngsters look in for soft drinks and fruit beverages to quench

their thirst

Visibility is another factor that should be taken care of by the companies as

consumers are not very brand loyal and consume whatever is in front of

them

42

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Consumers often drink bottled water as an alternative to tap water They think it

tastes better (no chlorine taste) and perceive it to be safer and of better quality

They also look for security food scandals in industrialized countries and water-

borne diseases in developing countries greatly influence consumersrsquo attitudes

Consumers buy bottled water to feel well and to lose weight Bottled water is

perceived as a healthy alternative to other beverages Thus for the aerated

beverages bottled water offers a potential threat

Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can

also explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is

perceived as ldquonaturalrdquo by city dwellers looking for genuine products Higher

living standards and auto usage enable people to easily bring home more and

heavier bottles of water At the office a bottle of water is now a common sight

on the desk next to the computer and the telephone Drinking bottled water is a

sign of a rise in the social scale Above all bottled water has become a huge

marketing success

43

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

STRENGTH

1 QUALITY STANDARD-

Every bottle of BISLERI is put through a rigorous Multi

stage purification processes which includes micron filtration

and ozonisation

It acquires 6 stages of purification processes which ensure

quality water which is pure and safe for drinking purpose Good

manufacturing are the strength all the time processing in

religiously monitored at every stage

2 TRUST FOR BRAND-

More than 50 lakhs people trust the BISLERI They

buy only BISLERI water because it has became generic name

for mineral water For example - When people go to buy the

mineral water many of them ask for BISLERI even though they

get other brand

3 LARGE RANGE OF PRODUCTS-

BISLERI offers a large range of products which

attracts consumer of all categories For example - 1 litre or 500

ml pack is useful for individual buyers 12 litres or 20 litres is

44

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

useful for organization Therefore it attracts large number of

customer

4 MARKETING-

BISLERI is promoted by an aggressive print amp TV TV

is backed by a Hoarding amp point ndash of ndash sale material Every

interface with customer is used as an opportunity to reinforce

For example - All vehicles used for supply have been painted in

light green bears the BISLERI logo amp sport catchy baseline likes

ldquodrink and driverdquo

5 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

With little belief in the distributor system the

company leverage its large fleet of truck to supply bottled

water directly to retailers through a system called lsquoRoute

Sellingrsquo where the driver of truck is trained to be a service

person This ensures that water supplied is fresh and bottles

are in good shape BISLERI has more than 80000 outlets in the

country

45

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

6 EXPERIENCE OF MRCHAUHAN (MD OF BISLERI)

From the vast experience of marketing Gold Spot

and Thums Up Mr Chauhan knows that distribution plays a

crucial role in the successful marketing of bottled drinks He

knows that making fresh water available within a particular

period of time is crucial for its success He is pursuing a multi-

pack and multi- price strategy

7 BULK ndash SEGMENT IS USEFUL FOR HOUSEHOLDS ALSO-

Households in certain parts of the country spend a

huge amount of money on fuel in order to purify the water

They are supposed to buy the impure water and then they have

to spend money to purify it

For instance the water scarce south people spend large some of

money to buy water and still more to purify it The 12 litre

product is hit in various cities of south

8 GROWING POPULARITY-

The popularity of BISLERI is increasing rapidly

day by day People in the market when it comes to mineral

water a person goes to any shop and asks for BISLERI as hisher

first preference BISLERI is seeing a growth of almost 50 per

year With the small pack being popular among individuals user

46

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

its bulk pack is also generating the huge demand which is

capturing the market for BISLERI Today 60-70 of total

income of BISLERI comes from its bulk segment and the

company is planning to increase it up to 80

9 THE BREAK AWAY SEAL-

Keeping in mind the consumers need to recognize

a genuine product that cannot be tempered with The unique

cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated This technical

strength ensures that the consumer will only get a high safe

product when they will drink BISLERI

MISSION STATEMENT

ldquoTo provide the highest

quality product keeping in mind all

aspect including freshness purity and

47

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

safety and making it easy available to

the consumer at very affordable pricerdquo

48

RAMESH CHAUHAN

(MD OF BISLERI INTERNATIONAL PVT LTD)

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

WEAKNESS

1METHOD ADOPTED FOR DISTRIBUTION-

THE lsquoROUTESELLINGrsquo policy adopted by BISLERI

for distribution is more expensive than more commonly

followed method of appointing distributors in different towns

This reduces the profit of company The dealer margin is

reduced due to this therefore not many dealer keeps

BISLERI in many areas Indirectly this is reducing the

coverage of BISLERI

2 REUSE OF BOTTLE BY LOCAL SELLERS AND ILLEGAL

MANUFACTURERS-

Market research conducted by BISLERI revealed

that the other overriding concern for this set of buyers is the

tampering of seal and the reuse of bottles Many have

witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations This

deteriorates the brand image of BISLERI

For example - local sellers fill the bottle of BISLERI with

impure water and the bottles are purchased by illiterate

customers as BISLERI water but they buy water of low

quality In this way brand of BISLERI gets affected

49

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 FAULTS IN PRODUCTION-

Tests conducted by various authorities shows that

it contains pesticides In 2002 the 2cm long insect was found

in the bottle of BISLERI This has affected its sales and

reputation The license of its two factories one at Noida and

other at Bangalore has been cancelled because of fault in

production

4 PRESSURE BY GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY-

After insect was found in the bottles FDA (Food amp

Drug Adulteration) has cancelled the production of BISLERI

Afterwards it was allowed to resume it but in this period its

customer were moved towards other products It is

constantly under check by various authorities

5 NOT MEETING THE DEMAND OF THE CUSTOMER-

In certain parts of south in our country big

bottles of BISLERI are in huge demand but the company is

unable to meet the demand of the consumers This is

affecting the demand for the product So People are forced

to use other brands of mineral water

50

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

OPPORTUNITY

1 FAST GROWING FIELD-

The best beverage for India in the new

millennium seems to be water In recent years the bottled

drinking water market has been witnessing high decibel level

of activity with a host of new entrants The bottled water

market which worth Rs 1000 crore is expected to be Rs

5000 crore by 2010 This will increase a lot of scope for

bottled water market

2 BISLERI CAN UTILISE ITS DISTRIBUTION CHAIN-

51

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

With BISLERI becoming a generic name for

bottled drinking water If company can manage the

distribution chain of the product to make it available where

the consumer needs it the most the company may well

succeed in his gamble with water For this the company can

connect it with dealers and other distributors who will market

the products for them all around the world

3 EXPANSION IN EUROPE-

The launch of BISLERI in the European market

on 4th September 2003 has created a lot of scope for BISLERI

in the field This will also compensate the deterioration of

image BISLERI has suffered after insect was found in the

bottle It will silence the critics and it will also increase the

faith of the customer for the brand It will create an

international brand image and the quality will increase

4 LAUNCH OF PREMIUM PACK-

The company also has its premium product

range This is prepared keeping 5-star hotels and other

premium customer This pack will be sold at Rs 20 per litre

This will give a tough competition to the EVIAN the biggest

player in the premium water range which sells its 1 litre

water at a hefty of Rs85 per litre

52

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

5 CHANGE OF IMAGE-

The company has changed the colour of the

product It has changed from blue to green By changing the

colour the company has provided a new product to the

consumers they will be getting a new and a refreshing

product

6INCREASE IN PRODUCTION-

BISLERI is eyeing the Market and is in the

process of increasing the production by setting 4 new plants

adding to its 23plants This will increase the production

capacity of the company

THREAT

1 MARKET IS EYED BY THE BIG PLAYERS-

The growth of the market indicates the

need for the mineral water Due to this the heavy weights are

eyeing the market Coke Pepsi Britannia Nestle Auswatermdashis 53

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

keen on raising their stakes in this market With the cut throat

competition between Coke and Pepsi BISLERI is not safe

2 ENTERING OF NEW PLAYERS-

To get some share in the market many

new players are entering in the market Among them major

names are Godrej which is launching its product AQUA-PURE

and Tata-Tea is looking forward to but Himalayan this will

increase the competition Also Britannia which is distributing

EVIAN is planning to launch its own brand There are also new

entrants ATCO with BRILLIANT water DS FOODS with CATCH

are also coming Even Hindustan lever is planning to enter into

the market This is give a tough competition to the current

water brands including BISLERI

3 WATER FILTER MANUFACTURERS-

BISLERI is not only getting competition

from mineral water maker but is also facing a tough

competition from various water filter manufacturers such as

Eureka Forbes (Aqua guard) They have been marketing there

purifiers in the market which has decreased the sales of bottled

water supply to homely customers

4 ILLEGAL MANUFACTURERS-

54

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Company is facing a tough competition

from illegal manufacturers in the rural areas The illegal

manufacturers provide water at a very cheaper rate then the

branded manufacturers There are 1000rsquos of illegal

manufacturers which are providing the water at a very cheaper

rate This is a serious problem for branded manufacturers This

companies also use the fake name of branded bottled water ie

BISLERI and supply their products in the market

5 STRONG DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL OF THE OTHER

MANUFACTURERS-

Analysts feel that BISLERIrsquoS break

away seal will not at all be effective the company having

strong distribution channel will only survive This rings the

warning bell for BISLERI because among other players Kinley

and Aquafina are having a strong distribution network of Coke

and Pepsi Nestle will be banking on its chocolate distribution

network Even though the BISLERI has a strong networks but

its concentration on bulk segment can lead to improper

network

For example - A chemist who is selling the 1 litre pack may not

sell the 20 litre pack This could disturb the network

6 NEW GOVERNMENT POLICY-

55

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

For preparing 1 litre of mineral water 3

litre of ground water is required Government was not charging

tax on the extraction of the ground water Now by introducing

the new policy government is going to impose tax on the

extraction of the ground water this will increase the

production cost because of which the companies will be forced

to increase the price which all consumersrsquo of all categories can

not afford The companies can compensate the high production

cost by reducing their marketing expenses but this will keep

the consumer unaware about the product This is also effect

the quality of the bottled water

MARKETING PRACTICES

Presently most of the players in the Indian market are selling their product

claiming it to be mineral water All the players are vying to grab a few points of

market share and they are trying to get their brands endorsed by some or other

authority Recently Coca-Cola has got its brand Kinley endorsed by the

Federation of Family Physicians Associations of India (FFPAI) to create an

image of being recommended by doctors and thus of the product being safe and

healthy Similarly other companies to claim to have purified their water ldquonrdquo

number of times to show the superiority of their product Many players are

56

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

pitching their product against water purifier industry by claiming their product

to be superior to that purified by these water purifiers Many players are

marketing on the price factor as well as the size factor While others are

focusing on particular target segment

Overall different players are playing different tunes in order to establish their

brands in the market

57

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bisleri Feels The Heat Continued

In 1998 the branded mineral water market had grown to a 424 million litre business valued at Rs 4 billion There were 200 brands available in the country In their bid to garner greater market share many companies including Parle Bisleri tried to make quality and the purification processes they used their unique selling proposition (USP)

In 2000 the branded water market had grown to Rs 7 billion New players like Pepsis Aquafina Coca-Colas Kinley and Nestles Pure Life entered the market The market was segmented into premium popular and bulk segments (Refer Table I for the price range in different segments)

The premium segment was the least crowded with just four brands French transnational-Danones Evian and Ferrarelle and Nestles Perrier and San Pellagrino The popular segment was where most of the action was

Bisleri Bailley Aquafina and Kinley were some of the dominant brands in this segment In the bulk segment (5 12 amp 20 litres) Bisleri was a major player with Kinley and Aquafina staying out of this segment

As product differentiation on the basis of quality became increasingly difficult with each company claiming that its brand was safe and pure companies began to use packaging to differentiate their products Bisleri introduced a tamper proof seal in the 500 ml bottle

However analysts felt that Bisleris efforts to reinforce its pure and safe image with a tamper proof seal may not be all that effective as competitors also had similar tamper proof sealed bottles They felt that it was companies with strong distribution channels that would do well in the long run Pepsis Aquafina was

58

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

strongly placed because it had the backing of Pepsis distribution network in the country

In August 2000 Coca-Cola India launched its bottled water brand Kinley Some analysts said that it would be difficult for Kinley to make a dent in the branded water market in India because it was already overcrowded and highly competitive Commenting on Kinleys launch Ramesh Chauhan (Chauhan) CEO of Parle Bisleri Ltd said It will be tough for anyone to beat us in this game We will remain market leaders4

By 2001 the mineral water market was worth Rs 10 billion and was growing at the rate of 40 a year Kinley and Aquafina made inroads into the market and by March 2001 Kinley had a 10 market share Aquafina had 4 and the share of Bisleri had come down to 51 By June 2001 Bisleris market share was 47 and Aquafina and Kinley together accounted for over a third of the market (Refer Table II)

In 2001 both Kinley and Aquafina were making huge investments in bottling plants and distribution By 2002 Coca-Cola India planned to double the number of water bottling plants to 16 and Pepsi announced that it would add seven more plants to the existing five In contrast Bisleri had only 15 bottling plants and three franchisees Kinley had 500000 outlets compared to Bisleris 350000 Analysts felt that Kinley and Aquafina had an edge over Bisleri because of their strong distribution network

59

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

TRADE PROMOTION TOOLS

Price ndashoff (off- invoice)

A straight discount off the list price on each case purchased during a stated time

period For instance if a new bottled jar is introduced than this promotional tool

will encourage them to buy the mew product

Sales contests

It aims at inducing the sales force or dealers to increases their sales results over

stated period with prizes going to those who succeed

Specialty advertising

This type of advertising consist of useful low-cost items bearing the companyrsquos

name or brand name with their contact number this items are ball- pens

calendars memo pads which are used by dealers and sales people very often

BISLERI reinventing itself and staying at the top even when many new

companies came in the packaged drinking water market

This is a simple case which talks about the various marketing strategies adopted

by Parle BISLERI Ltd to arrest the sliding market share of its branded water

brandmdashBISLERI

BISLERI tried to regain its share by repositioning its brand The case discusses

in detail the ad campaigns and other marketing strategies used by BISLERI to

reposition the brand

60

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Old cola rivals Coke and Pepsi are discovering there is more money in water

than coloured water Things are warming up in the Rs 10 billion bottled-

drinking water market and competitors including Parles Ramesh Chauhan

face the threat of a whitewash

In the early 1990s Parle BISLERI Ltds (Parle BISLERI) Bisleri1 had become

synonymous with branded water and had a market share of 70 In the late

1990s BISLERIrsquoS market share began to erode with new players entering the

market The new players also positioned their products on the purity platform

and BISLERI felt the need to differentiate itself from the crowd

In the late 1990s BISLERI launched its Pure and Safe ad campaign to convince

the consumers that it was the only pure and safe branded water in the market

However in 2000-01 BISLERI faced another challenge The Cola majors

Pepsi and Coca-Cola and the confectionery giant Nestle also entered the

branded water market in India

Pepsi and Coca-Cola had an established distribution network BISLERI realized

that with the new players also clambering on to the purity plank it had to

reposition itself to arrest its declining market share In September 2000 Parle

BISLERI launched its Play Safe ad campaign The company tried to add a fun

element to BISLERI to rejuvenate the brand The ultimate aim was to increase

BISLERIrsquoS turnover from Rs 4 billion2 in 2000 to Rs 10 billion by 2003

In the early 1990s the branded mineral water industry was worth Rs 3 billion

producing around 95 million litres in 1992 Parlersquos BISLERI brand launched in

1971 was the leader with 70 market share After 1993 the branded mineral

water industry saw some hectic activity

On an average every three months a new brand was launched and another died

61

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

In the late 1990s many international brands were planning to enter the branded

mineral water market

In the late 1990s Parle BISLERI launched an ad campaign to create a distinct

brand imagemdashThere is just one BISLERI 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 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 Said

Ashok Kurien CEO Ambience DArcy BISLERIrsquoS ad agency Our objective

with the campaign was to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in

the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands That is BISLERI the only

one that guarantees purity In 2000 in the face of competition from the new

entrants BISLERI decided to penetrate every possible segment of the market by

introducing more pack sizes and to establish the brand strongly with trendy

packaging

62

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Comprision of Kinley and Bisleri

KINLEY moved it off the No1 slot a couple of years ago but BISLERI

brand recall is eyebrow-raising -- the 38-year-old brand is still generic to bottled

water in India which is worth Rs 1000-1200 crore (Rs 10-12billion)

And that is in spite of the more than 1200 bottled water factories and 100

brands scampering for their share of the Rs 1800-crore (Rs 18 billion) bottled

water market (Source Technopak Advisors)

Still 100 competitors means you cant sit back and relax even if the market is

surging ahead at 40 per cent a year you need to keep up the buzz around your

brand Which is why in October last year Parle Bisleri changed the look and

feel of its flagship product introduced a new variant (natural mountain water)

and announced its plans to launch the

brand in the US -- a huge market for designer waters

BISLERI has ambitious plans to invest Rs 220 crore (Rs 22 billion) in its new

variant manufacturing planets and distribution it will invest Rs 100 crore (Rs 1

billion) -- funded through internal accruals -- in the natural mountain water

business including Rs 40 crore (Rs 40 million) for two plants in Uttaranchal

and Himachal Pradesh and Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) for infrastructure development -- increasing the existing

manufacturing facility as well as widening the distribution network

Over the next two years the company will also spend more than Rs 60 crore (Rs

600 million) on aggressive marketing It also plans to launch branded ice and

flavoured and vitamin-enriched water But laughs Parle BISLERI chairman

Ramesh Chauhan Those may have to wait I am still overwhelmed by the

current changes

63

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

To be sure the changes are noteworthy For decades now BISLERI has been

sold in conical bottles -- a legacy from the 1960s when the water was sold in

glass beer bottles Although it switched to PET in the 1980s the shape didnt

change

Instead the company just added some more shapes conical one-litre bottles

hexagonal half-litre ones and rectangular two-litre bottles

We were just bumbling along admits Chauhan Now both regular bottled

water and the mountain water variant are sold in a streamlined round shape

while the ubiquitous blue of the logo has given way to a more international

looking aqua green

It takes courage for a generic brand like BISLERI to make such a major

change says Ashok Kurien CMD Ambience Publicis Advertising the agency

that has been associated with Parle BISLERI for over 20 years

The Colour of Money

64

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Chauhan claims the changes are already bearing results -- apparently sales are

up 50 per cent on a month-on-month basis Equally importantly the packaging

changes have helped Parle BISLERI shave costs

Earlier fixing labels on differently shaped bottles -- especially the ones that are

tapered at the neck -- was difficult and time consuming Labeling round bottles

has increased the speed 10 times

Eight months ago the company also launched the prototype of a rounded bottle

with slightly wider necks (Alaska neck in industry terminology) The change

in design meant using 2-3 grams less of plastic in every bottle which added up

to an annual saving of Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million)

Even the new label helped the company cut costs -- by up to Rs 6 crore (Rs 60

million) a year The earlier shrink label has been replaced with one made of

superior biaxially-oriented polypropylene film that can not only take more

colours but costs half of shrink labels

Now Chauhan is hoping the new bottle design will help improve the output as

well Earlier the quality of the bottles wasnt consistent - some were thicker

than others some were bent around the bottom and so on All this hampered our

efforts to increase productivity he says

With a uniform design for all product sizes the company aims to double

bottling capacity in its 23 plants to 200 million cases a day by the first half of

2007

Market buzz

65

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

By and large most brand analysts approve of BISLERIrsquoS attempt to reinvent

itself

Says Harish Bijoor CEO Harish Bijoor Consult Inc The aqua green is

representative of freshness and health two qualities you associate with water

The changed colour scheme also helps the brand stand out in a sea of almost-

uniformly blue-toned bottles of water the colour that was brought into India by

BISLERI Aqua green connects with the images of water agrees A G

Krishnamurthy chairman AGK Brand Consulting and former chairman and

MD of Mudra

The extension into mountain water though has taken some market watchers by

surprise especially since it carries the same brand name (which is virtually

synonymous in India with plain bottled water)

I did not expect them to use the same name since BISLERI is generic to

packaged water emphasises Arvind Singhal chairman Technopak Advisors

He adds that while building a new brand from scratch would have meant huge

costs for the company (perhaps up to half the present turnover of the company)

the opportunity it afforded would have been worth the investment

Theres another potential problem with the new launch it looks the same as the

regular version has the same brand name and is just another type of water --

but costs Rs 8 more Isnt there a risk in that strategy of confusing customers

who may think their retailer is trying to rip them off

Look at the label closely before you jump to conclusions warns Kurien Well

the mountain water bottles do show a mountain in the green label background

and also clearly state what kind of water it is with the cap bearing the same

image

66

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Kurien adds that even the crates for the new variant look different because of

the clear image of mountains on them We tried to create a family colour for all

BISLERI brands as well as make the difference clear he defends

Chauhan too feels that people demanding mountain water are a select few

who will know what they are buying Natural mineral water is a very niche

category at present accounting for just 2-5 per cent of the packaged water

industry

Still BISLERI will have to deal with entrenched competition - Himalaya and

Catch have been present in this category for some time now And BISLERI is

prepared for a battle

In November it kicked off a high-decibel print outdoor and television

campaign anchored by Ambience The company has been targeting malls

multiplexes five-star hotels and premium restaurants to stock the variant in a

bid to reach out to its target customer -- affluent urban and health conscious

It will probably do well predicts Bijoor We are entering a generation that is

more concerned about health and wellness than ever before he points out

Chauhan is equally optimistic about the success of his new ventures He is

counting on natural water sales crossing Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in the next

two years

Meanwhile the market is buzzing with talks that the action surrounding Bisleri

is a dress-up to impress potential buyers for the brand -- speculation has

extended to the level that the brand has been valued at close to Rs 150 crore (Rs

15 billion)

67

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Future Plans

Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market

with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad

In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take

on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water

space

ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a

lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3

months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan

Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first

year

However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos

too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand

The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water

both in the domestic and the international markets

ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every

kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats

the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep

Poddar says

BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the

year

68

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to

Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers

makes great business sense

BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion

BISLERI International Private Limited Indiarsquos largest selling mineral water

company has announced plans to establish 25 new bottling plants across India

to meet growing consumer demand The company is aiming to achieve a 40

growth rate in the current fiscal year

Speaking in Mumbai BISLERI International Chairman and Managing Director

Ramesh Chauhan said With the additional plants it will now be easier to reach

every corner of the country Besides with every new plant there would be

would be increased capacity

The company which already has 52 bottling plants is planning to invest Rs 500

million ($104million) in setting up these new bottling plants in Maharashtra

Kerala Jammu and Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Tamil Nadu Karnataka UP

Orissa Jharkhand and north Bengal states

With a 60 share in the Rs12billion ($250 million) mineral water category

BISLERI is also venturing into flavored water later this year having already

launched BISLERI Fizzy Soda and BISLERI Mountain mineral water

The company has outlined an aggressive market penetration strategy a dual-

distribution plan reaching newer markets including townships and rural India

The company is also setting up dedicated channels for its 20 litre jars to ensure

that every household and company gets service at their door step

69

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Anjana Ghosh Director BISLERI International Private Limited said The

unavailability of clean drinking water increase in water contamination and

health awareness among consumers has led to the growth of mineral water

segment In the wake of rising consumption of mineral water even in the rural

hinterland there is a huge growth opportunity in India

BISLERI has become a strong consumer brand over the years and today we

have a long-standing relationship with our distributors and consumersrdquo she

added

The companyacutes distribution network is being expanded to meet the increasing

retail and consumer demands On a national level there are 2000 trucks on call

for BISLERI while the number of trucks averages 300 and 250 in the Mumbai

and Delhi market alone Every day some 5000 delivery vans drive out of the

52 strategically located BISLERI bottling plants carrying over 1 million units of

pure drinking water to replenish the stocks of 2500 distributors and nearly

600000 retail outlets

70

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

DATA ANALYSIS

Packaged drinking water BISLERI

One significant observation made from the study was that the number of players

in the market are increasing at a very fast pace especially the entry of

multinationals

Thus it is believed that a research to find out the awareness level and recall level

of the brand ldquoBISLERIrdquo vis-agrave-vis other major brands will give an idea about

where does the brand exists in the mind of the consumers This might help the

brand to identify the reason for the decreasing market share

Survey objective

The Primary objective of the survey is to find out how does BISLERI fair

in the Awareness and recall level as compared to the major competitorrdquo

The Secondary objective is to find out the advertising medium by which

the Bottled water consumers are most influenced with

Scope of Survey

The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially

Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai

specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba

71

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Survey was done in three parts

1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package

drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people

2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling

package water brand at their shop

3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands

72

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

ANEXURES

Questionnaire

Dear respondent I am a student doing my TYBMS This Questionnaire is a

part of an academic project on ldquoBottled water Industryrdquo A few minutes of yours

to fill the questionnaire will be of immense help Thank you

1 Which Brands of Mineral water are you aware of

________________

________________

________________

________________

________________

2 Which Brands do you prefer

________________

3 Why do you prefer this particular Brand

________________________________________________________

4 What influences your decision to buy a particular Brand

Brand Image

Advertising

Price

Availability

73

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Size Package

5 From which media did you come to know about the various brands

Television

Magazines

Newspapers

Retail outlets

Others

6 Are you aware of the brand BISLERI

Yes

No

7 Have seen any advertisements of ldquoBISLERIrdquo

Yes

No

8 If yes where

9 How do you rate the following brands

G for Good ----------------- A for Average ---------------- P for Poor

74

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

BRANDS Price Availability Convenience Quality (Purity)

BISLERI

BAILEY

AQUAFINA

KINLEY

Personal information

Name _____________________________

Area of Residence __________________

Occupation _______________________

Age _____________________________

Thank you

75

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Brand Preference

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

bisleri kinley aquafina balley

Series1

76

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

price20

size10

band image40

advertisment30

77

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Media influence in deciding the Brand

The Survey was done in areas of south Mumbai like Church Gate Colaba and

so on Many college going students were asked about their brand preferences

and also many people specially office going people who carry mineral water

Also survey of different shops were done as different shops sell different brands

of water also survey of different movie theaters were done as which brand do

they sell and also hotels as different hotels sell different brands

The survey was done in many parts

1 Mineral water is famous among youngsters because they buy a lot of

packaged water as its hygienic and as they say it looks cool Today

78

television

magazinenewspaper

retail outlet

others

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

specially youngsters as brand freak and want a trendy and a stylish type

of bottle and also cool and attractive advertisements influence them a lot

Different colleges sell different brands of package water may be as they have a

contract or due to the likeness of the students towards a particular brand A few

of the colleges were the survey was done are

HR College--- BISLERI

JAI Hind CollegemdashAQUAFINA

Lala Lajpat Rai CollegemdashBISLERI BALLEY

KC College--- BISLERI

Sydnehm College--- KINLEY

Hinduja College-- Bisleri

2 Further even survey was done of various theaters as different theaters sell

different brands for Eg if a theater has a contract with coca cola then it

can also sell the mineral water brand KINLEY as itrsquos a coca cola brand so

the theater which has a contract with coca cola it cannot sell any other

brand than KINLEY as it belongs to coca cola

Different theaters sell different brands of package water like

Regal CinemamdashBISLERI

Sterling-- AQUAFINA

Metro--- KINLEY

New ExcelsiormdashBISLERI

79

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

3 Survey of different hotels was also done as different hotels also sell

different mineral water brand which also depends on their contract as for

Eg if a hotel has a contract with Pepsi then they will sell the water brand

AQUAFINA and so on A few of the hotels are

Bombay BluesmdashAQUAFINA

Noodle Bar--- AQUAFINA

Ming palace--- KINLEY

Mahesh Lunch HomemdashBISLERI

Food InnmdashBISLERI

5 Spice--- KINLEY

80

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Over all view

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Series1 60 45 50 30

bisleri aquafina k inley balley

When we talk about package drinking water brands there is a very minor

difference between all the brands but BISLERI still rules the package drinking

water market and can be called as the king But brands like AQUAFINA

KINLEY are also catching up specially KINLEY which as developed itself in a

very short span of time and there is a very minor difference between all the

brands

BISLERI though as an advantage above all the as it is recognized people really

prefer this brand and BISLERI is so famous that it does not need much

promotion

81

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

A simple example can be given is that ldquowhenever we go to buy a bottle of

mineral water we do not say ldquogive me a bottle of water but we say GIVE ME A

BISLERIrsquorsquo after this there is nothing much to be said

82

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

83

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

CONCLUSION

The important increase in India can be easily explained through the growth of

the population and problems of water quality and water supplies Until 1992 the

demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign tourists

corporate meetings conferences etc The introduction of bulk packaging

extended the market to new and numerous consumers

Bottled water is a particularly competitive market hence companies need to

develop diverse marketing strategies such as accessing new markets by owning

or developing partnership with regional brands developing new products (such

as flavored water) or by-products (such as cosmetics) and developing services

(home and office delivery of water)

Today more and more companies are coming up in the package drinking water

market as there is a lot of scope in bottle water market as seeing the increase in

Indian population Today the people of India are very hygienic and only prefer

bottle water which increases in the scope of bottle water market

By looking at the increasing demand of bottle water companies have to see that

they use modern marketing strategies and also come up with trendy bottles and

satisfy the wants of the consumer

84

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

Bibliography

While working on this project I did a lot of surveys by asking people personally

about the brand of package drinking water they prefer as well as caring on

survey by questionnaires

Most of the project was made on the basis of Primary data

I personally visited the BISLERI plant at Western Express Highway Andheri

East visiting the plan was an experience of a life time I say the whole

manufacturing process and how the water is purified and then packed Most of

the project was done by myself by my observation as I had visited the BISLERI

plant an the certificate is attached above I personally visited the Marketing

Manager of BISLERI where he told me about their marketing strategies and

how they carried on their distribution and how BISLERI is able to maintain its

standard at the top

All the information collected was my own where I did lot of surveys of

students people etc

I even personally visited different theaters and shops and hotels in the areas of

south Mumbai specifically colaba and church gate as different theaters hotels

and shops sell different brands of water Also a questioners survey was done to

find out the most preferred brand by the people

Apart from this I visited sites likemdash

wwwbislericom

wwwmanagementcasescom

wwwicricom

I referred a few news papers like economic times etc 85

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand

Marketing of maineral water-Bisleri

But most of the survey was done by me as I personally visited the BISLERI

plant at Western Express Highway Andheri East and met the marketing

manager personally

86

  • Year
  • Growth rate
  • Mumbai After dominating the Indian mass packaged drinking water market with a 60 per cent share BISLERI is all set to make a splash abroad
  • In the next few months it will start exporting BISLERI Mountain Water to take on the likes of French brand Evian in the premium packaged drinking water space
  • ldquoNow that we have launched BISLERI in a new hexagonal bottle it is getting a lot of appreciation Wersquoll soon be launching it in Europe and America in 2-3 months timerdquo says Chairman BISLERI International Ramesh Chauhan
  • Chauhan says BISLERI is aiming for at least $ 3 - 4 million of sales in the first year
  • However BISLERI isnt eyeing the lucrative foreign market alone The Tatarsquos too want to go abroad with the revamped Himalayan mountain water brand
  • The company plans to introduce new products like flavored and sparkling water both in the domestic and the international markets
  • ldquoWe would be looking at the entire consumer pyramid which straddles every kind of product offering but that has to be on the plank of wellness So thats the platform we are creatingrdquo CEO Mount Everest Mineral Water Pradeep Poddar says
  • BISLERI too plans to launch its own brand of flavored water by the end of the year
  • And certainly for the Indian companies that have so far been restricted to Indias $ 500-million market quenching the thirst of billions of more customers makes great business sense
  • BISLERIrsquos Plans of Expansion
    • DATA ANALYSIS
    • Packaged drinking water BISLERI
    • Survey objective
    • Scope of Survey
    • The survey intended to target consumers in South Mumbai region specially Church Gate and Colaba and the survey was done only in south Mumbai specially in areas like Church Gate and Colaba
    • Survey was done in three parts
    • 1 Survey of college going students and people the brand of package drinking water preferred by most of the students and the people
    • 2 Survey of shopkeepers ---- asking them which is the most selling package water brand at their shop
    • 3 Survey of different hotels as different hotels sells different water brands
    • ANEXURES
    • Questionnaire
    • Personal information
    • Influences in deciding to buy a particular Brand