PROJECT REPORT

ON

To study the Indian packaged water industry with focus

on
BISLERI

Submitted To: - Submitted By:

Dr. Supriya Choudhary Rahul Dhingra
Reader 05914901810
BBA (B&I) 6th Sem

In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the award of Degree of

Bachelor of Business Administration

Maharaja Surajmal Institute

Affiliated To:-
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University

1
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all I am deeply indebted to Department of Management,

Maharaja Surajmal Institute, Janakpuri , New Delhi for allowing me
to complete my research study on

‘To study the Indian packaged water industry with focus on

BISLERI’

It gives me immense pleasure to express my heartfelt gratitude to my

respected guide Ms. Supriya (Assistant Professor) for providing me
articulate guidance and ceaseless encouragement throughout study. I
shall be failing in my duty if I do not acknowledge the contribution
of my family for their constructive cooperation.

MEGHA JAIN
ROLL NO. 06914901710
BBA (GEN) 3rd SEM

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CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the research work entitled ‘To study the
Indian packaged water industry with focus on BISLERI’ has been
undertaken by Ms. Megha Jain under my supervision in the partial
fulfillment of requirement of the graduate course (BBA). The
research work is candidate’s original work & this project report has
not been submitted to any other university for any course.
This is also certified that Ms. Megha Jain is the student of
BBA 2nd year in Maharaja Surajmal Institute, Janakpuri (Affiliated
to GGSIPU University).

Project Guide:

Ms. Supriya

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 CONTENTS

➢ OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

➢ RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

✓ Sample Size

✓ Analysis

➢ INTRODUCTION

✓ To the domestic packaged drinking water market

➢ MARKET SHARE

➢ COMPANY PROFILE OF BISLERI

✓ Background
✓ The Present

✓ Future Plans

✓ Technology Developments

✓ Purification Process

✓ Product & Packaging

➢ BOTTLED WATER ANALYSIS

➢ WHY BISLERI?

➢ EXCERPTS

✓ And this is how Parle Bisleri began

➢ THE JOURNEY TILL NOW

➢ VISION AND MISSION

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➢ CURRENT PLAYERS

➢ SWOT ANALYSIS

➢ ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

✓ Consumer Related

✓ Retailer Related

➢ RECOMMENDATION AND SUGGESTION

➢ CONCLUSION

➢ ANNEXURE

✓ Consumer’s Questionnaire

✓ Retailer’s Questionnaire

➢ BIBLIOGRAPHY

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 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY:

❖ To learn about the domestic packaged drinking water market, its

market distribution and Brand Bisleri in detail.
❖ To find about consumers’ and retailers’ brand preference

❖ To see whether there is a threat to the mineral water market from

water purifiers and soft drinks.

❖ Whether the people of Delhi & its NCR and happy, paying for

water.

❖ Whether the people of Delhi & its NCR are getting health

conscious.

❖ To find the retailers view on the mineral water market and to

assess the future prospect of the market.

❖ To find the potential of Mineral water market in Delhi & its NCR.

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

Starting a research project needs a basic preparation regarding the

issues related to the topic selected. For this one needs to do some

deskwork. Deskwork includes:

1. Determining the basic objectives of the study undertaken.

2. Collection of secondary data related to the topic from Internet,

magazines & newspapers.

3. Study the market, which one wants to cover.

4. Analyze the objective on the basis of information collected by

secondary data.

5. All the above activities at the initial stage of the project must be

completed & then the main part follows.

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Sample Size

Regions of Delhi & its NCR were covered for the study. I took 50
consumers and 10 retailers as my respondents. They were selected
by random sampling method because in this case systematic sampling
is not possible since one cannot say whether a person is using mineral
water or not.

Analysis

Then analysis of the questionnaire filled by the consumers & the

retailers is done on the percentage base analysis & theoretical base
analysis. On the bases of this analysis graphs were prepared showing
the relationship between two variables. The analysis formed thebases
of the inferences drawn and reaching the conclusion of the study.

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 INTRODUCTION:
To the domestic packaged drinking water market

The concept of bottled mineral is quite a new one for Indian People.
Since we never consider these things as necessity and especially when
we are paying for natural resource like water which is available
freely.
The bottled water market has recently seen growth; the reason behind
this may be the growing health consciousness among Indians or non-
availability of pure drinking water. Most of the users are daily
travelers, patients or it is used in parties/seminars. Moreover 30% of
the whole mineral water customers are travelers.
When governments spoke about providing drinking water to all,little
did one imagine that MNCs would package it and sell it to us. The
advent of the small bottles has increased consumption. Buying water
near the bus stop or at the railway station has become aroutine.
Indian water market has many companies selling water, on an whole
there are more than 300 big & small players in the market some of the
big players are Bisleri, Aquafina, Kinley, Purelife, Mcdowell etc.
these companies are dealing in same market, same price & also same
capacity. Bisleri is owned by Parle group, Aquafina is owned by
Pepsi, Kinley is owned by Coke, Nestle has Purelife. But some small
players also have sufficient market share in their local market, like
prime, silver drop, royal fresh are very popular in the congested
region.
Bisleri is most popular brand in North India. Bisleri is having big
contracts like with air Indian & some part of Indian railways.

9
Since the early 1990s, Indian attitude have changed and people are
flocking to the cities at a frenetic pace - one-third of Indian now live
in urban areas.
But in many parts of the country, quality of water is still a major
concern. Given the extreme climatic conditions in India, especially
the heat and dust, plus the fact people are now prone to dehydration
because they commute further for work and social activities, the
issues of safe drinking water is more prevalent than ever.
As the mercury soars, so do the sales of bottled water. The advantage
it has is unlike the Colas and other drinks dispensed from vending
machines, a bottle fits into a handbag and can be carried conveniently.
The trend of using mineral water for drinking purpose started as a
means to take advantage of the therapeutic value of water. This trend
gained potential momentum during 1970s and ever since bottled
water was exported every year from mineral springs in France and
other European countries.
In western countries,the practice of bottled drinking water started
during 1950s. The first launch of bottled water in India was the
launch of ‘Bisleri’ of Parle company during 1968-69 which was a
major flop as the Indian population was not prepared to accept
the concept of purchasing water. The market of bottled water
remained weak and inactive for as long as 20 years. The relaunch of
Bisleri in 1994, however, was a success due to the growing awareness
and high consciousness of health and hygiene amongpeople.
Today many medical stores in the city are doing very well with the
sale of branded bottled water. The brand name plays an impression
on the human mind. Bottled water is available in quantities of
330ml, 500ml, 1lt, 1.5lt, 2lts, 5lts, 10lts, 20lts and 50lts.

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For a particular brand to be certified as bottled water it requires approval on 4 levels
namely the Central, the state, the trade association, and individual company levels.

ILL EFFECTS OF DRINKING UNTREATED WATER

 Typhoid
 Bone deformation
 Joint pain
 Hardening of arteries and muscles
 Gastro – stomach upsets
 Excess content of fluoride can lead to flourisis
 Arsenic Poisoning

COMMONLY FOUND WATER CONTAMINATION

SOURCES –

 Contaminated storage Tanks

 Cross contamination at sources
 Leaks in distribution network
 Improper functioning of Purifiers
 Domestic Waste
 Borewell or contaminated ground water
 Organic matters

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  Industrial waste

DISTRIBUTION NETWORK OF BISLERI

And this is how Parle Bisleri began

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According to the Bureau of Indian Standards there are 1,200 bottled
water factories all over India (of which 600 are in one state -- Tamil
Nadu). Over 100 brands are vying for the Rs 1,000-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 Strategisttakes
a look at how it all started -- with Bisleri -- and how Ramesh
Chauhan, chairman, Parle Bisleri created a market out of purewater.
Bisleri mineral water was bought from the Italian company, Felice
Bisleri, in 1969 -- the company had been unable to market bottled
water and wanted to exit the market -- Parle too did not see any
potential for the product at that time.
As a soft drinks company, Parle had Thums Up, Gold Spot and Limca
(cola, orange drink and lemonade) but no soft drink company was
complete without a soda. So they merely used the name and launched
Bisleri soda with two variants -- carbonated and non- carbonated
mineral water.
But three decades ago, what could they say about a category that
had no market? They didn't know our target group. Then, since
bottled water is colourless, tasteless and odourless, it was not an
easy product to advertise.
Thus, the earlier brand building efforts focused on Bisleri being
healthy with adequate minerals. The Italian name added a dash of
class to it. The first print ad campaign captured the international
essence and showed a butler with a bow tie, holding two bottles of
Bisleri.

The punchline was, "Bisleri is veri veri extraordinari" (the

spelling of the punchline was designed to capture the consumer's
attention). The campaign was successful and we were being noticed
as someone who catered to the need for safe, healthy drinking water.

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However, the real boost to mineral water came in the early-to-mid-
1980s when they switched to PVC packaging and later to PETbottles.
The PET packaging did not just ensure better transparency -- they
could now show sparkling clear water to the consumers. It also meant
better life for the water.
Meanwhile, Bisleri soda was doing well but they had to discontinue
production as they sold their soft drink brands to Coca-Cola in 1993.
But Ramesh Chauhan’s interest was in building brands and not in
bottling soft drinks. That's when he started to concentrate on
developing the Bisleri water brand.
There was a clear opportunity of building a market for bottled water.
The quality of water available in the country was bad. It was similar
to what Europe faced before World War II. The quality of water in
Europe was extremely poor, which created the bottled water industry
there. In India, too, not only was water scarce, whatever was available
was of bad quality.
Initially, though bottled water was something only foreigners and
non-resident Indians consumed, they still had to increase the
distribution, which meant the dealer margins reduced. And because
of limited sales, the dealer margin had to be kept high to compensate
low sales. Now they had to push sales.
Hence, they introduced free sampling of Bisleri at the tables where
the elderly guests would sit. Soon customers were ordering bottled
water on special occasions. Currently, the consumption of bottled
water is far in excess of soft drinks on such occasions.
The other major challenge was distribution. Soft drink sales are in
glass bottles and the distribution model is built around picking up
empty bottles and getting them back to the factory. That's not the case
with the retail bottled water packs (below 2 litre). But a productthat's
not available where it's needed, is useless.
The number of outlets where Bisleri is available has increased from 50,000 in 1995 to
2,50,000 at present. But that is not enough -- they need to keep looking for different avenues.
Take stationery shops and chemists, for instance. They don't keep soft drinks but

14
sell Bisleri. That is the kind of exclusivity we look for to get ahead of the distribution network
that soft drink companies talk of.

MARKET SHARE:

Currently, Bisleri continues to lead in the Rs 700-1,000 crore

organised, packaged water market with an estimated 40 per cent
market share, followed by Kinley at 28 per cent and Aquafina with an
11 per cent share. In terms of volumes, the North and West remain
Bisleri's biggest performing markets, despite the brand's sustained
national-level presence. The market has been growing for the last
three years at an unimaginable rate of 80%. The market size of bottled
water is expected to surpass the size of soft drinks market very soon
in the near future.

Aquafina
Others
11%
21%

Others
Bislery

Kinley
Kinley
28% Aquafina

Bislery
40%

Individual Market Shares:

BISLERI-40%, KINLEY-28%, AQUAFINA-11%, OTHERS-
21%

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 Some of the specifications as per the latest notification
(which were effective from April 01).
The location of packaging should be close to the source or place of
origin of water.
Only water obtained directly from natural or drilled underground
sources can be sold as mineral water.
For water to be called mineral water it should also not be subject to
any chemical treatments.
For water to be categorized as packaged bottle water, it can be
sourced from any places.
The water has to be treated and disinfected in accordance with
specifications for it to be categorized as packaged bottle water.
Till December ’2000 only six players have applied for license for
packaged drinking water and no company has applied for license
in mineral water category. But around 16 applications in packaged
water category and 6 applications in the mineral water category are
still in the pipeline.
The new regulations also prohibit any claims relating to beneficial
properties of the product and the immediate casualty will be Coca-
Cola with its FFPAI endorsement. Furthermore in a bit to provide
standards for both drinking water and mineral water and to regulate
the quality and price of bottled water, BIS approval was made
mandatory from the end of 1999.
However the BIS does not lay down any guidelines or practices for
processing water and there is no specific industrial licensing policy
for the bottled-water sector. So in effect anyone can set up a plant
without establishing the source of the water and the technology
used to purify it.
Till recently India was not a potential consumer for packaged water
hence the prospects are now huge. But with regulations somewhat
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confusing and contradictory it is likely to be a while before the
manufacturers are able to realize their full market potential in a
country, which is fast becoming one of the principal global markets
in bottle water.
COMPANY PROFILE OF BISLERI:

:: Background

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 India.

:: The Present

It was around the year 1995, when Parle Exports took charge of the
brand operations and the business took off in the market. With
factories across India and a strong distribution network, Bisleri
established itself as a force to reckon with in the domestic packaged
drinking water market.

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Earlier the packaged drinking water market consisted of five star
hotels, tourists and foreigners. As a marketing strategy, a conscious
decision was taken by the company that only 40% of the salesshould
come from these outlets and 60% from general market. i.e.
paanwallas, street shops, general stores and even non-tourists.

This brought about a sea change in the perception in the consumer's

mind about consumption of Bisleri. Earlier, drinking bottled water
was considered to be more of a status symbol. That thinking has
slowly changed to the point where today, not drinking Bisleri is
considered as being behind the times. Such has been the presence and
penetration of the Bisleri brand in the bottled water segment.

About few years ago, in 1998, a strategy was adopted to concentrate

aggressively on the home market. The habit of boiling water or using
electronic gadgets was not adequate, since the source of water itself
was unreliable. The bulk packages like the 2, 5 and 20 litre bottles
were introduced to meet this market need. The price per litre went
down as a result, making bottled water very economical for the
consumer.

:: Future Plans
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin market
and naturally people associate the brand with bottled water. Now
Bisleri is perhaps already ten steps ahead of its competitors and will
endeavour to widen its gap in the times to come.

Bisleri's brand positioning stresses on pure, clean and safe drinking

water.

Some of the future plans to maintain the top spot that Bisleri
commands in the Indian market are:
 New pack sizes in bottles and cups

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  Increase the distribution network with an investment of over
200 crores
 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up
12 new bottling facilities at a cost of Rs. 150 crores

:: Technology Developments

To make sure that the product that reaches the consumer is always of
highest standard and also meets international standards, Bisleri has
always been involved in improving its product packaging. One such
recent development is the tamper proof break away seal. Bisleri
also recognises the need to produce environment friendly products
and is working on the PET project.

The break away seal:

Keeping in mind the consumer's need to recognise a genuine product
that cannot be tampered with, Bisleri developed the break away seal.
The unique cap has been patented and cannot be duplicated or
tampered with. This technology development in the product ensures
that the consumer will only get a highly safe product when they
consume Bisleri packaged drinking water.

Product packaging:
To ensure purity of the bottled water, the bottles that are used are
blown and filled at the factory itself, to avoid contamination.

The PET Recycling Project:

Bisleri is extremely conscious of environmental issues, since PET
bottles are not biodegradable and not easy to dispose. The company
19
is currently working on the PET recycling project, where they will
collect bottles from various places, crush and shred them. This
shredded material will then be made into ropes , PET containers for
the non-food industry and other PET items like polyester fibre,flower
vase, gift items etc.

WHY BISLERI?

Bisleri is totally safe & protects you from all water borne
diseases.

Bisleri is trusted by 50 lakhs households across the country.

Bisleri is the brand leader in bottled water category.

The water is purified through six stages of purification process that

includes reverse osmosis and Ozonation.

Why Bisleri is pure?

At BISLERI plants , water undergoes multi – stage purification

process to ensure proper blend of minerals and complete removal of
microorganisms and toxic substances. So a habit of drinking PURE
and SAFE BISLERI will ensure a healthy life

WHAT ADVANTAGES BISLERI PURIFICATION

PROCESS HAS OVER PURIFICATION DONE BY
OTHER METHODS?

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Traditional process of boiling water for purification has its
limitations.It is time consuming. For boiling , water has to be heated
to 100 deg.Celsius. Also , to kill microbes water should be boiled
continuously for a minimum of 20 minutes. Boiling may kill the
microbes but can not remove other physical impurities and toxic
substances.

Many home appliances are available in market for water purification.

These gadgets use either filtration technique or Ultra Violet rays or a
combination of the two techniques. These techniques do not
guarantee 100 % purity of water.

Filtration removes only the visible suspended particles and not the
minute , invisible particles , toxic substances or microorganisms.
The filters are cleaned rarely and all the muck accumulates inside
leading to more contamination. Ideally such filters need to be cleaned
every day which is cumbersome. Ultra Violate rays kill the microbes
but cannot ensure removal of toxic substances and physical
impurities.

These purification equipment are incomplete and need continuous

monitoring and maintenance.

At BISLERI , through our multi – stage purification process we

ensure removal of toxic substances as well as physical and
microbiological impurities. In our state-of-the-art processing plants
we follow rigorous Good Manufacturing Practices and strict Quality
Assurance norms so each and every bottle of BISLERI is made
tasty, pure and safe for the consumer.

PROTECT YOUR HEALTH WITH BISLERI WHICH USES 6

STAGES OF PURIFICATION

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CHLORINATION : Kills micro organisms. Remove organic matter.

ARKAL FILTER : Removes suspended matter and turbidity.

CARBON FILTER :Removes residual chlorine & odours

REVERSE OSMOSIS : Removes organic material.Controls total

dissolved solids in the water.

MICRON FILTRATION: Additional safety measures of filtration.

OZONATION : Ensures water remains bacteria free for longer shelf

life.

:: Product & Packaging

Bisleri is available in a range of sizes.

The Bisleri bottled water range comprises the conventional

500 ml, one litre, 1.2 litre and two litre bottles; five litre
and 20 litre jars for the home segment, and smaller packs
sizes of 250 ml cups and 330 ml bottles, though in very
limited numbers for now.

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 BOTTLED WATER ANALYSIS

Bisleri

Spring Water - Still/Sparkling

PARTICULARS Mg/litre
TDS 160
Ph Factor 7.2
Calcium 13.6
Chlorides 22
Bicarbonate 58
Magnesium 7.8
Nitrate 2
Sulphates 19.3
Hardness 66.1

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 WHERE CAN WE USE BISLERI ?

✓ Drinking
✓ Making tea, coffee, lassi, cold drinks, mixing with drinks
✓ Kneading the dough
✓ Cooking
✓ Mixing with baby foods
✓ Mixing with medicines .

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.

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1998: Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal.
2000: BIS cancels Bisleri's licence of a water bottling in Delhi 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 Kinley's marketshare at 35.1 per cent compared
to Bisleri's 34.4 per cent.
2003: Bisleri says it plans to venture out into Europe and America to sell bottled water

:: Vision
A major, diversified, transitional, integrated consumer product
manufacturing company, with National Leadership and a strong
environment conscience, playing a national role in safe water and
Agro based drinks.

:: Mission

➢ To provide the highest quality product, keeping in mind all

aspects including freshness, purity and safety, and making
it easily available to the consumer at a very affordable price.
➢ To achieve international standards of excellence in all aspects
of energy and diversified business with focus on consumer
delight through value and services of product and cost
reduction.
➢ To enhance capital and fixed assets of the group to withstand
challenges and tough market trends.
➢ To attain leadership in developing, adopting and assimilating
state or art technology for competitive advantage.

25
 ➢ To provide better quality of product and services through
sustained market research and product development.
➢ To foster a culture of participation and innovation for
employee growth and contribution.
➢ To cultivate high standards of business ethics, and total quality
management for a strong corporate identity and brand equity
with continuous and positive growth.
➢ To help enrich the quality of life of all the communities
specially the neglected ones and preserve ecological balance
and heritage through a strong environment conscience.

CURRENT PLAYERS:

The mineral water industry is in a churn. The market is proving to

be yet another battlefield for an ongoing battle between the desis
and the MNCs. So far, MNCs have been winning. Only time will
tell what the final outcome will be but I strongly feel that here too,
like in all other markets, MNCs are going to win. Though the fate
Indian companies will suffer at the hands of these MNCs makes
me sad, the choices the consumers will have makes me happy.
A few years back, the mineral water market had been crawling at
the rate of 3-4%, or even a lower figure. Indians carried drinking
water in earthen pitchers, plastic or PUF bottles. But increasing

26
cases of typhoid and other waterborne diseases began to be reported.
In addition to this, liberalization happened and the mineral water
industry began to be stirred and shaken. The market started growing
an astounding rate of over 100% per anuum. The fact that there were
very few players in the market meant that their business grew by
leaps and bounds. Bisleri became a household name and is now
generic for bottled water. The market today has grown to Rs11bn.
The organised sector -- branded mineral water --has only Rs5bn of
market share. The rest is accounted for by the unorganized sector
which is dominated by small regional players. The market is still
growing – at a rate greater than 80% per annum. In the branded
segment, Bisleri is the market leader as it continuesto lead in the Rs
700-1,000 crore organised, packaged water market with an
estimated 40 per cent market share, followed by Kinley at 28 per
cent and Aquafina with an 11 per cent share. In terms of volumes,
the North and West remain Bisleri's biggest performing markets,
despite the brand's sustained national-level presence The boom in
the market has also encouraged unscrupulous players to gain an
entry. In the name of mineral water, a number of regional players
have even started selling plain tap water. Many people have fallen
sick after drinking this spurious mineral water. The common man’s
faith in the product was shaken. However, not everyone was put off.
Sensing the opportunity that this segment holds, MNCs have begun
to draw up

27
plans to enter the market, but not without testing the waters first.
They carried out the appropriate feasibility studies. However,
among the first to challenge Bisleri's near monopoly was Pepsi's
AquaFina followed by stiff competition from Parle’s Bisleri and
Coca-Cola India’s Kinley.
The first entrant in the bulk water category was Bisleri, while Coke,
through Kinley, entered the segmen 4 years ago. Over the past five
years or so, Bisleri has become a major player in the bulk water
segment in the water-starved southern states. The 20-litre bulk water
packs are targeted at the institutional and the home segment. Pepsi
is aiming to make its brand available throughout the country soon.
The company has also ruled out entering the bulk water segment in
India. Meanwhile, the action is all in Coca-Colas bulk water
business. The 20-litre bulk water packs are targeted at the
institutional and the home segment

SWOT ANALYSIS:

BISLERI
Bisleri announced the re-launch of its 20-litre home pack with a
more “consumer-friendly format” in thread fitting and valve cap,
against the conventional snap-on fittings. The existing 20-litre

28
Bisleri packs are now being withdrawn and the rollout of the new
jars, priced between Rs 40-60, is on.
Bisleri’s focus on the bulk water market has grown in the past few
years, mainly owing to the stiff competition posed by innumerable
brands in the packaged bottled water market. Not only are there big
multinational players like Coke with their huge distribution
networks, regional players exist side by side, enjoying local clout.
Bisleri continues to lead in the Rs 700-1,000 crore organised,
packaged water market with an estimated 40 per cent market share,
followed by Kinley at 28 per cent and Aquafina with an 11 per
cent share. In terms of volumes, the North and West remain
Bisleri's biggest performing markets, despite the brand's sustained
national-level presence the fact remains that the new kids on the
block are nibbling away at Bisleri's stranglehold over the bottled
water segment. Only three years ago, the bottled water market was
estimated at about Rs 300 crore, of which Bisleri commanded a
dominant 80 per cent share.
To ensure Bisleri packaged drinking water is held safe free from
contaminations, 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 oxygenwithin
couple of hours Sterilization effect of ozonised water continues even
after water is packaged, thereby ensuring safety of Bisleri up to its
final packing. To ensure high quality of packing

29
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.

Strengths:

➢ Core business of company.

➢ First mover in this business since 1969.

➢ Good brand awareness and brand positioning.

➢ Available in different packs like cups, 500 ml, 1 lit, 1.2 lit, 2 lit,

5 lit and 20 lit.

➢ Has become generic name in the mineral water market.

30
➢ Availability of Bisleri in all over India with solid infrastructure

facility.

➢ Focus on customer orientation through low price strategy.

➢ Product differentiation by introducing patented break way seal

cap.

➢ Best service and proper response to dealers and customers.

Weakness:

➢ Lack of brand loyalty as MNC’s are entering the market like

Nestle’s Purelife, Pepsi’s Aquafina.

➢ Lack of Global Awareness in brand.

➢ Lack of proper advertising to create brand awareness.

➢ Market coverage is not fully utilized.

➢ Institutional sales are not penetrated properly.

➢ Lack of technological up gradation.

31
Opportunity:

➢ Indian bottled water industry is still at growth stage.

➢ Influence of tourists and expatriates.

➢ Bisleri as a daughter company of Parle has a strong presence in

India.

➢ Unreliable municipal water quality.

➢ People are becoming health conscious.

Threats:

➢ Numbers of players like Kinley and other local players are

present in the market have already captured the market.

➢ Tough competition from MNC's like Coke & Pepsi.

➢ Fluctuation in sales due to seasonality.

32
➢ Local manufacturers who refill used bottle Hampers the image

of the industry.

➢ Water filters and soft drink industry is a major threat to

industry.

➢ Coke and Pepsi are already having strong distribution network

in bottle water industry with their own fleet of trucks & vans.

Bisleri goes green naturally

20 October 2006

New Delhi: The Ramesh Chauhan-promoted Bisleri International,

which pioneered the packaged drinking water business in India,
catering to consumers' need to have hygienic drinking water while
on the move or even at home, is literally changing its colours and
going for a makeover.
The brand that was till now marketed as packaged drinking water
(cleaned through reverse osmosis) will now be available in a
naturalavatar.

Bisleri International will invest Rs100 crore for the project which
constitutes a Rs40- crore investment in two plants in Uttaranchal
and Himachal Pradesh in line expansion, Bisleri International
chairman Ramesh Chauhan said. The plants will come up next year.
Chauhan said the rest of the investment of about Rs60 crore

33
would go into infrastructure development. The investment would be
funded through internal accruals.
Launching 'Bisleri Natural Mountain Water' he said the company
was looking for four more locations from where we look to source
natural water. The likely locations would be in South and West India
he said. Bisleri has 23 plants across the country producing bottled
water.
Bisleri Natural Mountain water will be available in aqua green
packaging against the blue packaging of old and will be available
in six sizes. The company is also planning an aggressive marketing
and advertising campaign with a two-year budget of Rs60 crore.
Chauhan said the new packaging has been adopted in order to
stand apart from the others and in Chauhan's words, "As leader, we
want to differentiate ourselves and hence have adopted this
aquagreen colour," he said. Priced at a significant premium to
packaged water Natural Mountain Water will be available for Rs20
per litre.
The natural water segment, which accounts for about 5 per cent of
the total bottled water segment, is expected to grow by leaps and
bounds as health awareness and disposable incomes rise. According
to the company the foray into spring water will befollowed by
an entry into the packaged ice segment (Bisleri Ice) as well into
flavoured, vitamin and sparkling water categories. The company is
said to be setting up R&D facilities for ice and studying various
packaging options. Ramesh Chauhan, chairman, Bisleri
International expects to sell 10 million cases of Bisleri Mountain
Water over the next two years- a turnover of Rs200 crore. The
bottled water industry is worth Rs1,000 crore in India and is growing
at 40 per cent per annum. It is projected to reach Rs5,000 crore by
2010. The main players in the spring watersegment are Himalaya,
Catch and Leh Berry. At present Himalaya leads the segment with a
50-per cent market share.

34
Bisleri claims to have a 40-per cent market share of the organized
packaged water market. The natural spring water market is very
small and accounts for 5 per cent of the entire segment. Bisleri is
projecting a turnover of Rs300 crore this financial year, as against
Rs220 crore last year.
Chauhan says he is also preparing for an entry into the US market
with his spring water and is talks with US authorities for this. He
would not export India-bottled Bisleri into US, but would set up a
bottling operation there as transportation costs are a huge obstacle
in sourcing the product from India. "We are in the process of getting
the regulatory approvals for the venture," Chauhan said.He said
Bisleri was at par with companies in the developed world as far as
meeting international standards were concerned.

KINLEY

Kinley Water–a product of the Coca-Cola Company-is the

established market leader in the drinking water segement. A product
offering of the World’s No. 1 beverage company, Kinley Water is
brought to You with the time-tested expertise of the Coca- Cola.
Backing Kinley Water, is the promise of delivering ‘Trust in every
Drop’. Kinley Water’s 25 litre bubble top containers made of
Lexan- a polycarbonate polymer (plastic) that is made speciallyfor
the purpose. Unlike other brands which use recycled plastic, Kinley
bubble tops are made from what is known as Virgin Plastic.

35
In addition to this, Kinley offers Kinley water dispensers. These
water dispensers come in four basic models. The water dispensers
are ergonomically designed to suit both domestic as well
commercial requirements.

❖ Refrigerator Model with Hot and Cold facility

❖ Hot and Cold Model
❖ Compacta
❖ Elegance

Advantages of Kinley:

➢ Good brand positioning.

➢ Available in different packs like 500 ml, 1 ltr, 2 ltr, 5 ltr and

20 ltr.

➢ Easy availability of product in all over India after Bisleri with

solid infrastructure facility.

➢ Benefit as a product of Coca-Cola.

36
 ➢ Focusing on institutional sales to create brand awareness

aggressively.

➢ Use of technological up gradation.

Disadvantage of Kinley:

➢ Lack of proper service to customers.

➢ Lack of strong infrastructure.

➢ Non-availability of a variety of range like Bisleri.

➢ Focus on distributors not on small retailers.

AQUAFINA

PepsiCo India launched the packaged water bottle brand Aquafina

about five years ago in a 750-ml pack, basically targeting theyouth.
The brand now retails in conventional retail pack sizes of 500-ml
and 1-litre bottle
Aquafina’s market share in the retail segment is estimated at about
12 per cent and it remains to be seen how PepsiCo succeeds in
penetrating the bulk water market. Pepsi Foods, too, expects its
Aquafina brand to turn national by the year-end. "Bisleri is the

37
market leader and a good brand that has been built over the years.
But we are gradually consolidating our bottled water business,even
if our positioning is somewhat different," says Pepsi Food's official
spokesperson.

Advantages of Aquafina:

➢ Strong distribution network.

➢ Good brand awareness and brand positioning.

➢ Available in different packs like 500 ml, 750 ml, 1 ltr.

➢ Easy availability of product in all over India.

➢ Benefits as a product of Pepsi.

➢ Focusing on institutional sales to create brand awareness.

➢ Use of technological up gradation.

Disadvantages of Aquafina:

➢ Compared to Bisleri and Kinley the service from Aquafina is

not satisfactory.

38
➢ Lack of strong infrastructure.

➢ Non-availability of a variety of range.

➢ Market coverage is not proper.

➢ Focus on wholesalers not on small retailers.

39
 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

CONSUMER RELATED

DATA ANALYSIS

1 . What would be the ideal sample size to be taken into

consideration for the study?

Inference ; As per the data above , 51.6 % of people consider

there ideal sample size should be of 10

40
2 . What is the first brand that comes to your mind when
you think of mineral water?

Inference : As per the data given above , we found out that

consumer 80.6 % thinks of bisleri ,when they think of mineral
water

41
3 . What is the ideal size for a mineral water bottle

Inference : According to the survey , 62.5 % people choose

500ml water bottle to be there ideal size for water bottle

42
4 . Would you prefer Bisleri over other purified water
sources?

Inference : As per the data , 84% of consumer choose bisleri

over other water purified sources

43
5 . Given that the water contamination is a serious issue
in India, are you willing to pay premium for the additional
purity you get for the water?

Inference : According to survey , considering health issues

cause by contamination of water , 87.5 % people are willing to
pay premium for purified water

44
6 . When/Where would you prefer going for a bottled
water?

Inference : As per the data , 78.1 % people use pack bottled

water when they are traveling , clearly we can see consumer by
pack bottle while traveling rather than for cooking and other stuff

45
7 . Are you aware of the ill effects caused by impurities
present in the water?

Inference : According to survey , 87.5 people are aware of the

ill caused by impurities present in water , rest of them are not
aware due to lack of knowledge .

46
8 . For the regular use (cooking/drinking), what is the
source of water used by you?

Inference : As per the data , 59 % people choose tap water for

there regular use like cooking and drinking , only few of them (
34) choose other options like borewell and bottled water.

47
9 . Are you aware of the 6 stages of purification used by
BISLERI?
( CHLORINATION>
ARKAL FILTER >
CARBON FILTER>
REVERSE OSMOSIS >
MICRON FILTRATION >
OZONATION )

Inference : As per the data , 67% of people are aware of the 6

stages of purification used by bisleri

48
10 . Would you prefer BISLERI owned by an Indian Brand
Parle over other products by international brands?

Inference : As per the survey , more than 80% of people

choose to go with bisleri owned by an indian brand parle
over others international brands ,

49
 RECOMMENDATION AND SUGGESTION

➢ Campaign, stalls to beat local brands & create awareness.

➢ Retailers need to concentrate on 5 and 20 litr bottle which can

be possible only if properly advertised & home delivery of jars

are done to the end customers.

➢ The market is too congested and confused in the Delhi & its Ncr

region, so the company should properly promote & strengthen

the distribution channel to survive the competition.

50
 CONCLUSION

After analysis of the data & facts we have collected from consumer
& the retailers & matching them with the objectives one can say that
there is very good future for mineral water market. Soft drink
market might be some threat to the mineral water at present but
within few years the scenario is going to change.Trend signifying
increasing health consciousness amongst Indians could also be
observed.

Market has seen a tremendous growth from the early nineties & now
it is increasing by 70% to 90% every year so one can easily say there
is great potential in the mineral water market.

It could also be observed that the living standards of the People

improving & as they are becoming health conscious are ready
to pay for water now. On the question of survival of so many
companies government has made policies & restrictions from April
2001 which will force many manufactures to shut down their
factories. But due to potential in the market companies with quality
product will survive.

Finally from the data collected at both primary and secondary level
one can confidently say that Bisleri as packaged water brand is the
current market leader.

51
 ANNEXURE

CONSUMER QUESTIONNAIRE
NAME OF THE RESPONDENT : ______________________________

ADDRESS OF THE RESPONDENT : ______________________________

CONTACT NO : ______________________________

QUESTIONS

Q 1 . What is the ideal sample size to be taken into

consideration for study ?

A } <10 b} 10<100

C} >100

Q 2 . What is the first brand that comes to your mind

when you think of mineral water?

A } Bisleri B } Aquafina

C } Kinley D } Purelife

E } Mcdowell

52
Q 3 . What is the ideal size for a mineral water bottle?

A } 500 ML B } 1000 ML

C } 2000 ML D } 5000 ML

Q 4 . Would you prefer Bisleri over other purified water

sources?

A } Yes B } No

Q 5 . Given that the water contamination is a serious

issue in India, are you willing to pay premium for the
additional purity you get for the water?

A } Yes B} No

53
Q 6 . When/Where would you prefer going for a bottled
water?

A} For cooking B} While traveling

C} Restaurants D} Restaurants

E} Mixing with baby foods

Q 7 . Are you aware of the ill effects caused by impurities

present in the water?
A } Yes B } No

Q 8 . For the regular use (cooking/drinking), what is the

source of water used by you?

A } Borewell B } Tap water

C } Bottled water

Q 9 . Are you aware of the 6 stages of purification used

by BISLERI?
( CHLORINATION>
ARKAL FILTER >
CARBON FILTER>
REVERSE OSMOSIS >
MICRON FILTRATION >
OZONATION )

A } yes B } No
54
Q 10 . Would you prefer BISLERI owned by an Indian
Brand Parle over other products by international brands?

A } Yes B } No

55
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

PRINT MEDIA ----

✓ Business World

✓ A&M

✓ Economic Times

✓ Business India

VISUAL MEDIA…….

✓ Cable Network

✓ Internet

✓ Britannica Encyclopedia

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