Upload
mohammed-yunus
View
6.415
Download
3
Embed Size (px)
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
Citation preview
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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