A COMPARATIVE PRODUCT ANALYSIS & MARKETING RESEARCH OF BISLERI ITS COMPETITORS: AQUAFINA & KINLEY
a Comparative Product Analysis Marketing Research of Bisleri Its Competitors Aquafina Kinley
description
Transcript of a Comparative Product Analysis Marketing Research of Bisleri Its Competitors Aquafina Kinley
A COMPARATIVE PRODUCT ANALYSIS amp
MARKETING RESEARCH OF
BISLERI
ITS COMPETITORS
AQUAFINA amp KINLEY
Submitted in partial fulfillment of MMS degree of
University of Mumbai Mumbai
SUBMITTED BY
MR YOGESH JAYWANT PATIL
MMS SEM-2
ROLL NO04
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The present work is an effort to throw some light on ―Brand Analysis amp Market
Research Of Bisleri A comparative analysis with three competitors Acquafina amp
kinley The work would not have been possible to come to the present shape without
the able guidance supervision and help to me by number of people
With deep sense of gratitude I acknowledge the encouragement and guidance received by
my organizational guide
I convey my heartful affection to all those people who helped and supported me during
the course for completion of my Project Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Water is the most important liquid in the world Without water there would be no life
at least not the way we know it In todays living condition the need for Pure Drinking
Water is becoming the issue for the common man
There are rapid changes that are taking place in our environment since long and the
air and the water pollution is on an increase The main source of drinking water is
river and downstream which have also not been able to escape the pollution
When a consumer became aware of the problems caused by water pollution the
market saw an advent of ceramic water filters which filters the dust and suspended
particles but dissolved impurities and microbiological impurities are not cleared out
The mineral balance is also not maintained
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds how to
measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the objectives
determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of development
of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the problem lies and also
tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect these
realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a Brand To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of Acquafinalsquo by
Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by coca cola To find out the current position of Acquafina hello
and Kinley mineral water Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and hello to Bisleri
Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by hello amp
Kinley
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
11 Mineral water industry
12 Genesis
13 Expansion
14 Bisleri today
15 Vision
16 mission
2 PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE
21 Scope of study
22 Objective of study
23 Problem definition
24 Rationale of study
3 RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY
31 Research objective
32 Nature of data
33 Distribution
34 Packaging
35 Challenges in front of bisleri
4 COMPANY PROFILE
41 Industry profile
42 Manufacturing
43 Distribution
44 Packaging
45 Challenges in front of bisleri
5 ANNALYSIS OF THE COMPANY
51 Consumers point of view
52 Consumers habits and practices
53 Competitors annyalysis
54 Purification process
6 FUTURE PLANS
7 SWOT ANNYALYSIS
8 FINDING OF RESEARCH
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANNEXURE
INTRODUCTION
Water is the most important liquid in the world Without water there would be no life
at least not the way we know it In todays living condition the need for Pure Drinking
Water is becoming the issue for the common man
Eighty percent of the human metabolism consists of water This is the reason why
90 of human diseases are water borne There are 3 types of water impurities which
are root cause of water borne diseases
1 Microbiological-Bacteria virus
2 Dissolved impurities - chemical
3 Imbalance of Mineral Content
There are rapid changes that are taking place in our environment since long and the
air and the water pollution is on an increase The main source of drinking water is
river and downstream which have also not been able to escape the pollution
When a consumer became aware of the problems caused by water pollution the
market saw an advent of ceramic water filters which filters the dust and suspended
particles but dissolved impurities and microbiological impurities are not cleared out
The mineral balance is also not maintained
1980s witnessed more changes by a tap attachment wherein Iodine resin is used to
filter the water It deactivates microbiological impurities to an extent but has side
effects due to iodine and does not take care of dissolved impurities mineral balance
Late 1980s witnessed Ultra Violet based purifier which filters dust and deactivates
bacteria to a great extent It maintains the odour and colour of water but does not clear
out the dissolved impurities and mineral particles Thus came advent of mineral water
Historically the need for purified water within Indian homes had been kept down to a
minimum Essentially there were three types of water that was used for different
purposes The first type was used for rinsing The second type which was used for
cooking was cleaner and kept covered The third type was the cleanest ndash drinking
water ndash and was very often boiled before use
Since an average family needed a small quantity not more than five or six litres a day
boiled and filtered water had been a convenient solution for some time The fallouts
were obvious ―It was very difficult to convince the people that purification system
was worth the price There was no visible way to demonstrate the benefit The
otherwise somnolent market began to change once companies like Eureka Forbes
targeted the office segment while the mineral water players went after travelers Ion
Exchange was the only company which had any measure of success in entering homes
with Zero-B But clean drinking water returned on the national agenda a little later
Around 1989 drinking water became an issue again
―Around early 1990sTime did a story on India as a key emerging market and that was
the trigger for all the players eyeing this market
11 INTRODUCTION TO MINERAL WATER INDUSTRY
CURRENT SCENERIO
The best beverage for India in the new millennium seems to be water In recent years
the bottled driving water market has been witnessing high-decibel levels of activity
with a host of new entrants swelling the clutter With over 200 players jostling to be
the thirst quenching favourite of the Indian consumer the business is growing at a rate
of over 50 per cent annually The countrys bottled water business is estimated to be
around
Rs 1 100 crore of which the branded market accounts for Rs 700 crore and about
700 million litres in volume
In India the core proposition of bottled drinking water lies in hygiene as the quality
of tap water is bad and is rapidly deteriorating This is in stark contrast with the West
where mineral water indicates the attendant minerals present in the water Mineral
water in Western countries is obtained from natural springs and is generally named
after those springs Most of the bottled water passed off as mineral water in India
however is filtered boiled or purified by other means such as reverse osmosis A
better description of bottled drinking water sold in India therefore would be purified
bottled water
The growth of the category indicates the need for this mineral water and the fact that
heavyweights are eyeing the segment points to the potential that is seen in this market
Cokes Kinley Pepsis Aquafina Brittania Nestle Kingfisher Auswater-are keen on
raising their stakes in the Rs 700 crore 700 million litre market The entry of
Danonelsquos brand Evian the high-priced mineral water from the French Alps shows
the perceived potential India presents in this product category Clearly targeted at the
premium segment of consumers the brand is being distributed in the country by
Britannia Industries Currently Evian has more of an institutional presence (five star
hotels) than on the retail shelves with a 1-litre bottle being priced a hefty Rs 80
The market today has grown to more than Rs15bn The organised sector -- branded
mineral water -- has only Rs7bn of market share The rest is accounted for by the
unorganized sector which is dominated by small regional players The market is still
growing ndash at a rate greater than 80 per annum
Today there are more than 200 brands out of which 10 of them are from top
companies
In the branded segment Parlelsquos Bisleri is the market leader with a share of more than
45 Parle Agrolsquos Bailey comes a close second with market share of 15 Other
major players in the market are Yes of Kotharis Ganga of T-Series Himalayan
Hello Prime Florida etc
12 GENESIS
The name that epitomizes mineral water today was first introduced in Mumbai in the
early 60s In 1965 Signor Felice Bisleri an Italian by origin came up with the idea of
selling bottled water in India His company Bisleri Ltd offered mineral water in two
Variants- bubbly and still
In 1969 Parle bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd and started bottling Mineral water in
glass bottles under the brand name Bisleri In due course Parle switched over to PVC
non-returnable bottles and finally advanced to PET containers
13 EXPANSION
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 in the organized mineral water segment
Currently Bisleri has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of setting up
4 new plants on the anvil The overwhelming popularity of Bisleri and the fact that it
was the pioneer of the bottled water industry in India has made it synonymous to
Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you think of bottled water
you think Bisleri
Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made it
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
To maintain strict quality controls in every unit Bisleri not only purchase caps from
approved vendors but also manufacture own bottles in-house To be at par with
International standards they have recently procured the latest state-of-the-art
machinery which has not only helped them improve packaging quality but has also
reduced raw material wastage and doubled production capacity One can rest assured
that they are drinking safe and pure water when they consume Bisleri Bisleri is free
of impurities and is 100 safe Enjoy the sweet taste of Purity
14 BISLERI TODAY
The Indian consumer today enjoys the sweet and pure taste of Bisleri mineral water
However in an effort to offer something special to there loyal consumers they have
recently introduced Bisleri Natural Mountain Water - water brought to consumers
from the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh This newly
launched offering has widened Bisleris product range to two variants Bisleri with
added minerals and Bisleri Mountain Water Bislerilsquos registered office is in Mumbai
15 VISION
Our vision is to be the dominant player in the branded water business where the
second player is less than 20 of our business
16MISSION
We are in the business to serve the customer He is the most important person He is the only one who
pays He deserves the best quality and presentation at a worth of the price We must have world class
quality at the lowest production amp distribution cost This will make us an unbeatable leader and will
have satisfied loyal customers
―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
21 SCOPE OF STUDY
Marketing is a subject where a person can learn from anybody As I was into retailers
survey work of countrylsquos leading packaged drinking water company Bisleri I was
feeling myself to be a part of organizations family I had a very good market exposure
while undergoing this project because every person came forward with a different
opinion and that was very important to know the perception of the retailers And
being my first real exposure to the corporate environment the training period proved
to be very educating and offered me a great chance to learn the practical workings of
the FMCG industry
22 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The primary objectives of the introduction of Retailers scheme card and research
project titled ―RETAILERS SURVEY IN MULUND WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO BISLERI are as follows-
- Understand current market scenario in context of packaged drinking water
- What attracts retailers most in selection of packaged drinking water
- What are the various issues related to distribution in various markets
- What are the various schemes and strategies used by competitors to capture market
- What are the various demands of retailers
- How retailer view product of Bisleri in comparison with other companies products
- To increase secondary sales of the company
To study and to check upon and thereby to cater to the above set objectives of the
project a structured questionnaire was designed and it was approved by the
supervising faculty and the companies DGM
23 PROBLEM DEFINATION
To understand the basis of what services does a retailer makes his choice in
buying a packaged drinking water
To understand various problems associated with distribution of product
24 RATIONALE OF STUDY
Being a project for my partial fulfillment of my MBA degree I was motivated
to finish this project to the best of my ability
My interest in the field of marketing of products was a motivation factor
towards this research
Stability in operations of fmcg companies irrespective of changing financial
conditions was a factor that brought me interest in knowing more about the
internal workings of the fmcg industry
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The present work is an effort to throw some light on ―Brand Analysis amp Market
Research Of Bisleri A comparative analysis with three competitors Acquafina amp
kinley The work would not have been possible to come to the present shape without
the able guidance supervision and help to me by number of people
With deep sense of gratitude I acknowledge the encouragement and guidance received by
my organizational guide
I convey my heartful affection to all those people who helped and supported me during
the course for completion of my Project Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Water is the most important liquid in the world Without water there would be no life
at least not the way we know it In todays living condition the need for Pure Drinking
Water is becoming the issue for the common man
There are rapid changes that are taking place in our environment since long and the
air and the water pollution is on an increase The main source of drinking water is
river and downstream which have also not been able to escape the pollution
When a consumer became aware of the problems caused by water pollution the
market saw an advent of ceramic water filters which filters the dust and suspended
particles but dissolved impurities and microbiological impurities are not cleared out
The mineral balance is also not maintained
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds how to
measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the objectives
determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of development
of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the problem lies and also
tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect these
realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a Brand To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of Acquafinalsquo by
Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by coca cola To find out the current position of Acquafina hello
and Kinley mineral water Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and hello to Bisleri
Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by hello amp
Kinley
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
11 Mineral water industry
12 Genesis
13 Expansion
14 Bisleri today
15 Vision
16 mission
2 PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE
21 Scope of study
22 Objective of study
23 Problem definition
24 Rationale of study
3 RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY
31 Research objective
32 Nature of data
33 Distribution
34 Packaging
35 Challenges in front of bisleri
4 COMPANY PROFILE
41 Industry profile
42 Manufacturing
43 Distribution
44 Packaging
45 Challenges in front of bisleri
5 ANNALYSIS OF THE COMPANY
51 Consumers point of view
52 Consumers habits and practices
53 Competitors annyalysis
54 Purification process
6 FUTURE PLANS
7 SWOT ANNYALYSIS
8 FINDING OF RESEARCH
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANNEXURE
INTRODUCTION
Water is the most important liquid in the world Without water there would be no life
at least not the way we know it In todays living condition the need for Pure Drinking
Water is becoming the issue for the common man
Eighty percent of the human metabolism consists of water This is the reason why
90 of human diseases are water borne There are 3 types of water impurities which
are root cause of water borne diseases
1 Microbiological-Bacteria virus
2 Dissolved impurities - chemical
3 Imbalance of Mineral Content
There are rapid changes that are taking place in our environment since long and the
air and the water pollution is on an increase The main source of drinking water is
river and downstream which have also not been able to escape the pollution
When a consumer became aware of the problems caused by water pollution the
market saw an advent of ceramic water filters which filters the dust and suspended
particles but dissolved impurities and microbiological impurities are not cleared out
The mineral balance is also not maintained
1980s witnessed more changes by a tap attachment wherein Iodine resin is used to
filter the water It deactivates microbiological impurities to an extent but has side
effects due to iodine and does not take care of dissolved impurities mineral balance
Late 1980s witnessed Ultra Violet based purifier which filters dust and deactivates
bacteria to a great extent It maintains the odour and colour of water but does not clear
out the dissolved impurities and mineral particles Thus came advent of mineral water
Historically the need for purified water within Indian homes had been kept down to a
minimum Essentially there were three types of water that was used for different
purposes The first type was used for rinsing The second type which was used for
cooking was cleaner and kept covered The third type was the cleanest ndash drinking
water ndash and was very often boiled before use
Since an average family needed a small quantity not more than five or six litres a day
boiled and filtered water had been a convenient solution for some time The fallouts
were obvious ―It was very difficult to convince the people that purification system
was worth the price There was no visible way to demonstrate the benefit The
otherwise somnolent market began to change once companies like Eureka Forbes
targeted the office segment while the mineral water players went after travelers Ion
Exchange was the only company which had any measure of success in entering homes
with Zero-B But clean drinking water returned on the national agenda a little later
Around 1989 drinking water became an issue again
―Around early 1990sTime did a story on India as a key emerging market and that was
the trigger for all the players eyeing this market
11 INTRODUCTION TO MINERAL WATER INDUSTRY
CURRENT SCENERIO
The best beverage for India in the new millennium seems to be water In recent years
the bottled driving water market has been witnessing high-decibel levels of activity
with a host of new entrants swelling the clutter With over 200 players jostling to be
the thirst quenching favourite of the Indian consumer the business is growing at a rate
of over 50 per cent annually The countrys bottled water business is estimated to be
around
Rs 1 100 crore of which the branded market accounts for Rs 700 crore and about
700 million litres in volume
In India the core proposition of bottled drinking water lies in hygiene as the quality
of tap water is bad and is rapidly deteriorating This is in stark contrast with the West
where mineral water indicates the attendant minerals present in the water Mineral
water in Western countries is obtained from natural springs and is generally named
after those springs Most of the bottled water passed off as mineral water in India
however is filtered boiled or purified by other means such as reverse osmosis A
better description of bottled drinking water sold in India therefore would be purified
bottled water
The growth of the category indicates the need for this mineral water and the fact that
heavyweights are eyeing the segment points to the potential that is seen in this market
Cokes Kinley Pepsis Aquafina Brittania Nestle Kingfisher Auswater-are keen on
raising their stakes in the Rs 700 crore 700 million litre market The entry of
Danonelsquos brand Evian the high-priced mineral water from the French Alps shows
the perceived potential India presents in this product category Clearly targeted at the
premium segment of consumers the brand is being distributed in the country by
Britannia Industries Currently Evian has more of an institutional presence (five star
hotels) than on the retail shelves with a 1-litre bottle being priced a hefty Rs 80
The market today has grown to more than Rs15bn The organised sector -- branded
mineral water -- has only Rs7bn of market share The rest is accounted for by the
unorganized sector which is dominated by small regional players The market is still
growing ndash at a rate greater than 80 per annum
Today there are more than 200 brands out of which 10 of them are from top
companies
In the branded segment Parlelsquos Bisleri is the market leader with a share of more than
45 Parle Agrolsquos Bailey comes a close second with market share of 15 Other
major players in the market are Yes of Kotharis Ganga of T-Series Himalayan
Hello Prime Florida etc
12 GENESIS
The name that epitomizes mineral water today was first introduced in Mumbai in the
early 60s In 1965 Signor Felice Bisleri an Italian by origin came up with the idea of
selling bottled water in India His company Bisleri Ltd offered mineral water in two
Variants- bubbly and still
In 1969 Parle bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd and started bottling Mineral water in
glass bottles under the brand name Bisleri In due course Parle switched over to PVC
non-returnable bottles and finally advanced to PET containers
13 EXPANSION
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 in the organized mineral water segment
Currently Bisleri has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of setting up
4 new plants on the anvil The overwhelming popularity of Bisleri and the fact that it
was the pioneer of the bottled water industry in India has made it synonymous to
Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you think of bottled water
you think Bisleri
Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made it
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
To maintain strict quality controls in every unit Bisleri not only purchase caps from
approved vendors but also manufacture own bottles in-house To be at par with
International standards they have recently procured the latest state-of-the-art
machinery which has not only helped them improve packaging quality but has also
reduced raw material wastage and doubled production capacity One can rest assured
that they are drinking safe and pure water when they consume Bisleri Bisleri is free
of impurities and is 100 safe Enjoy the sweet taste of Purity
14 BISLERI TODAY
The Indian consumer today enjoys the sweet and pure taste of Bisleri mineral water
However in an effort to offer something special to there loyal consumers they have
recently introduced Bisleri Natural Mountain Water - water brought to consumers
from the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh This newly
launched offering has widened Bisleris product range to two variants Bisleri with
added minerals and Bisleri Mountain Water Bislerilsquos registered office is in Mumbai
15 VISION
Our vision is to be the dominant player in the branded water business where the
second player is less than 20 of our business
16MISSION
We are in the business to serve the customer He is the most important person He is the only one who
pays He deserves the best quality and presentation at a worth of the price We must have world class
quality at the lowest production amp distribution cost This will make us an unbeatable leader and will
have satisfied loyal customers
―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
21 SCOPE OF STUDY
Marketing is a subject where a person can learn from anybody As I was into retailers
survey work of countrylsquos leading packaged drinking water company Bisleri I was
feeling myself to be a part of organizations family I had a very good market exposure
while undergoing this project because every person came forward with a different
opinion and that was very important to know the perception of the retailers And
being my first real exposure to the corporate environment the training period proved
to be very educating and offered me a great chance to learn the practical workings of
the FMCG industry
22 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The primary objectives of the introduction of Retailers scheme card and research
project titled ―RETAILERS SURVEY IN MULUND WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO BISLERI are as follows-
- Understand current market scenario in context of packaged drinking water
- What attracts retailers most in selection of packaged drinking water
- What are the various issues related to distribution in various markets
- What are the various schemes and strategies used by competitors to capture market
- What are the various demands of retailers
- How retailer view product of Bisleri in comparison with other companies products
- To increase secondary sales of the company
To study and to check upon and thereby to cater to the above set objectives of the
project a structured questionnaire was designed and it was approved by the
supervising faculty and the companies DGM
23 PROBLEM DEFINATION
To understand the basis of what services does a retailer makes his choice in
buying a packaged drinking water
To understand various problems associated with distribution of product
24 RATIONALE OF STUDY
Being a project for my partial fulfillment of my MBA degree I was motivated
to finish this project to the best of my ability
My interest in the field of marketing of products was a motivation factor
towards this research
Stability in operations of fmcg companies irrespective of changing financial
conditions was a factor that brought me interest in knowing more about the
internal workings of the fmcg industry
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Water is the most important liquid in the world Without water there would be no life
at least not the way we know it In todays living condition the need for Pure Drinking
Water is becoming the issue for the common man
There are rapid changes that are taking place in our environment since long and the
air and the water pollution is on an increase The main source of drinking water is
river and downstream which have also not been able to escape the pollution
When a consumer became aware of the problems caused by water pollution the
market saw an advent of ceramic water filters which filters the dust and suspended
particles but dissolved impurities and microbiological impurities are not cleared out
The mineral balance is also not maintained
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds how to
measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the objectives
determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of development
of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the problem lies and also
tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect these
realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a Brand To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of Acquafinalsquo by
Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by coca cola To find out the current position of Acquafina hello
and Kinley mineral water Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and hello to Bisleri
Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by hello amp
Kinley
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
11 Mineral water industry
12 Genesis
13 Expansion
14 Bisleri today
15 Vision
16 mission
2 PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE
21 Scope of study
22 Objective of study
23 Problem definition
24 Rationale of study
3 RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY
31 Research objective
32 Nature of data
33 Distribution
34 Packaging
35 Challenges in front of bisleri
4 COMPANY PROFILE
41 Industry profile
42 Manufacturing
43 Distribution
44 Packaging
45 Challenges in front of bisleri
5 ANNALYSIS OF THE COMPANY
51 Consumers point of view
52 Consumers habits and practices
53 Competitors annyalysis
54 Purification process
6 FUTURE PLANS
7 SWOT ANNYALYSIS
8 FINDING OF RESEARCH
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANNEXURE
INTRODUCTION
Water is the most important liquid in the world Without water there would be no life
at least not the way we know it In todays living condition the need for Pure Drinking
Water is becoming the issue for the common man
Eighty percent of the human metabolism consists of water This is the reason why
90 of human diseases are water borne There are 3 types of water impurities which
are root cause of water borne diseases
1 Microbiological-Bacteria virus
2 Dissolved impurities - chemical
3 Imbalance of Mineral Content
There are rapid changes that are taking place in our environment since long and the
air and the water pollution is on an increase The main source of drinking water is
river and downstream which have also not been able to escape the pollution
When a consumer became aware of the problems caused by water pollution the
market saw an advent of ceramic water filters which filters the dust and suspended
particles but dissolved impurities and microbiological impurities are not cleared out
The mineral balance is also not maintained
1980s witnessed more changes by a tap attachment wherein Iodine resin is used to
filter the water It deactivates microbiological impurities to an extent but has side
effects due to iodine and does not take care of dissolved impurities mineral balance
Late 1980s witnessed Ultra Violet based purifier which filters dust and deactivates
bacteria to a great extent It maintains the odour and colour of water but does not clear
out the dissolved impurities and mineral particles Thus came advent of mineral water
Historically the need for purified water within Indian homes had been kept down to a
minimum Essentially there were three types of water that was used for different
purposes The first type was used for rinsing The second type which was used for
cooking was cleaner and kept covered The third type was the cleanest ndash drinking
water ndash and was very often boiled before use
Since an average family needed a small quantity not more than five or six litres a day
boiled and filtered water had been a convenient solution for some time The fallouts
were obvious ―It was very difficult to convince the people that purification system
was worth the price There was no visible way to demonstrate the benefit The
otherwise somnolent market began to change once companies like Eureka Forbes
targeted the office segment while the mineral water players went after travelers Ion
Exchange was the only company which had any measure of success in entering homes
with Zero-B But clean drinking water returned on the national agenda a little later
Around 1989 drinking water became an issue again
―Around early 1990sTime did a story on India as a key emerging market and that was
the trigger for all the players eyeing this market
11 INTRODUCTION TO MINERAL WATER INDUSTRY
CURRENT SCENERIO
The best beverage for India in the new millennium seems to be water In recent years
the bottled driving water market has been witnessing high-decibel levels of activity
with a host of new entrants swelling the clutter With over 200 players jostling to be
the thirst quenching favourite of the Indian consumer the business is growing at a rate
of over 50 per cent annually The countrys bottled water business is estimated to be
around
Rs 1 100 crore of which the branded market accounts for Rs 700 crore and about
700 million litres in volume
In India the core proposition of bottled drinking water lies in hygiene as the quality
of tap water is bad and is rapidly deteriorating This is in stark contrast with the West
where mineral water indicates the attendant minerals present in the water Mineral
water in Western countries is obtained from natural springs and is generally named
after those springs Most of the bottled water passed off as mineral water in India
however is filtered boiled or purified by other means such as reverse osmosis A
better description of bottled drinking water sold in India therefore would be purified
bottled water
The growth of the category indicates the need for this mineral water and the fact that
heavyweights are eyeing the segment points to the potential that is seen in this market
Cokes Kinley Pepsis Aquafina Brittania Nestle Kingfisher Auswater-are keen on
raising their stakes in the Rs 700 crore 700 million litre market The entry of
Danonelsquos brand Evian the high-priced mineral water from the French Alps shows
the perceived potential India presents in this product category Clearly targeted at the
premium segment of consumers the brand is being distributed in the country by
Britannia Industries Currently Evian has more of an institutional presence (five star
hotels) than on the retail shelves with a 1-litre bottle being priced a hefty Rs 80
The market today has grown to more than Rs15bn The organised sector -- branded
mineral water -- has only Rs7bn of market share The rest is accounted for by the
unorganized sector which is dominated by small regional players The market is still
growing ndash at a rate greater than 80 per annum
Today there are more than 200 brands out of which 10 of them are from top
companies
In the branded segment Parlelsquos Bisleri is the market leader with a share of more than
45 Parle Agrolsquos Bailey comes a close second with market share of 15 Other
major players in the market are Yes of Kotharis Ganga of T-Series Himalayan
Hello Prime Florida etc
12 GENESIS
The name that epitomizes mineral water today was first introduced in Mumbai in the
early 60s In 1965 Signor Felice Bisleri an Italian by origin came up with the idea of
selling bottled water in India His company Bisleri Ltd offered mineral water in two
Variants- bubbly and still
In 1969 Parle bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd and started bottling Mineral water in
glass bottles under the brand name Bisleri In due course Parle switched over to PVC
non-returnable bottles and finally advanced to PET containers
13 EXPANSION
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 in the organized mineral water segment
Currently Bisleri has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of setting up
4 new plants on the anvil The overwhelming popularity of Bisleri and the fact that it
was the pioneer of the bottled water industry in India has made it synonymous to
Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you think of bottled water
you think Bisleri
Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made it
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
To maintain strict quality controls in every unit Bisleri not only purchase caps from
approved vendors but also manufacture own bottles in-house To be at par with
International standards they have recently procured the latest state-of-the-art
machinery which has not only helped them improve packaging quality but has also
reduced raw material wastage and doubled production capacity One can rest assured
that they are drinking safe and pure water when they consume Bisleri Bisleri is free
of impurities and is 100 safe Enjoy the sweet taste of Purity
14 BISLERI TODAY
The Indian consumer today enjoys the sweet and pure taste of Bisleri mineral water
However in an effort to offer something special to there loyal consumers they have
recently introduced Bisleri Natural Mountain Water - water brought to consumers
from the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh This newly
launched offering has widened Bisleris product range to two variants Bisleri with
added minerals and Bisleri Mountain Water Bislerilsquos registered office is in Mumbai
15 VISION
Our vision is to be the dominant player in the branded water business where the
second player is less than 20 of our business
16MISSION
We are in the business to serve the customer He is the most important person He is the only one who
pays He deserves the best quality and presentation at a worth of the price We must have world class
quality at the lowest production amp distribution cost This will make us an unbeatable leader and will
have satisfied loyal customers
―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
21 SCOPE OF STUDY
Marketing is a subject where a person can learn from anybody As I was into retailers
survey work of countrylsquos leading packaged drinking water company Bisleri I was
feeling myself to be a part of organizations family I had a very good market exposure
while undergoing this project because every person came forward with a different
opinion and that was very important to know the perception of the retailers And
being my first real exposure to the corporate environment the training period proved
to be very educating and offered me a great chance to learn the practical workings of
the FMCG industry
22 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The primary objectives of the introduction of Retailers scheme card and research
project titled ―RETAILERS SURVEY IN MULUND WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO BISLERI are as follows-
- Understand current market scenario in context of packaged drinking water
- What attracts retailers most in selection of packaged drinking water
- What are the various issues related to distribution in various markets
- What are the various schemes and strategies used by competitors to capture market
- What are the various demands of retailers
- How retailer view product of Bisleri in comparison with other companies products
- To increase secondary sales of the company
To study and to check upon and thereby to cater to the above set objectives of the
project a structured questionnaire was designed and it was approved by the
supervising faculty and the companies DGM
23 PROBLEM DEFINATION
To understand the basis of what services does a retailer makes his choice in
buying a packaged drinking water
To understand various problems associated with distribution of product
24 RATIONALE OF STUDY
Being a project for my partial fulfillment of my MBA degree I was motivated
to finish this project to the best of my ability
My interest in the field of marketing of products was a motivation factor
towards this research
Stability in operations of fmcg companies irrespective of changing financial
conditions was a factor that brought me interest in knowing more about the
internal workings of the fmcg industry
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION
11 Mineral water industry
12 Genesis
13 Expansion
14 Bisleri today
15 Vision
16 mission
2 PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVE
21 Scope of study
22 Objective of study
23 Problem definition
24 Rationale of study
3 RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY
31 Research objective
32 Nature of data
33 Distribution
34 Packaging
35 Challenges in front of bisleri
4 COMPANY PROFILE
41 Industry profile
42 Manufacturing
43 Distribution
44 Packaging
45 Challenges in front of bisleri
5 ANNALYSIS OF THE COMPANY
51 Consumers point of view
52 Consumers habits and practices
53 Competitors annyalysis
54 Purification process
6 FUTURE PLANS
7 SWOT ANNYALYSIS
8 FINDING OF RESEARCH
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANNEXURE
INTRODUCTION
Water is the most important liquid in the world Without water there would be no life
at least not the way we know it In todays living condition the need for Pure Drinking
Water is becoming the issue for the common man
Eighty percent of the human metabolism consists of water This is the reason why
90 of human diseases are water borne There are 3 types of water impurities which
are root cause of water borne diseases
1 Microbiological-Bacteria virus
2 Dissolved impurities - chemical
3 Imbalance of Mineral Content
There are rapid changes that are taking place in our environment since long and the
air and the water pollution is on an increase The main source of drinking water is
river and downstream which have also not been able to escape the pollution
When a consumer became aware of the problems caused by water pollution the
market saw an advent of ceramic water filters which filters the dust and suspended
particles but dissolved impurities and microbiological impurities are not cleared out
The mineral balance is also not maintained
1980s witnessed more changes by a tap attachment wherein Iodine resin is used to
filter the water It deactivates microbiological impurities to an extent but has side
effects due to iodine and does not take care of dissolved impurities mineral balance
Late 1980s witnessed Ultra Violet based purifier which filters dust and deactivates
bacteria to a great extent It maintains the odour and colour of water but does not clear
out the dissolved impurities and mineral particles Thus came advent of mineral water
Historically the need for purified water within Indian homes had been kept down to a
minimum Essentially there were three types of water that was used for different
purposes The first type was used for rinsing The second type which was used for
cooking was cleaner and kept covered The third type was the cleanest ndash drinking
water ndash and was very often boiled before use
Since an average family needed a small quantity not more than five or six litres a day
boiled and filtered water had been a convenient solution for some time The fallouts
were obvious ―It was very difficult to convince the people that purification system
was worth the price There was no visible way to demonstrate the benefit The
otherwise somnolent market began to change once companies like Eureka Forbes
targeted the office segment while the mineral water players went after travelers Ion
Exchange was the only company which had any measure of success in entering homes
with Zero-B But clean drinking water returned on the national agenda a little later
Around 1989 drinking water became an issue again
―Around early 1990sTime did a story on India as a key emerging market and that was
the trigger for all the players eyeing this market
11 INTRODUCTION TO MINERAL WATER INDUSTRY
CURRENT SCENERIO
The best beverage for India in the new millennium seems to be water In recent years
the bottled driving water market has been witnessing high-decibel levels of activity
with a host of new entrants swelling the clutter With over 200 players jostling to be
the thirst quenching favourite of the Indian consumer the business is growing at a rate
of over 50 per cent annually The countrys bottled water business is estimated to be
around
Rs 1 100 crore of which the branded market accounts for Rs 700 crore and about
700 million litres in volume
In India the core proposition of bottled drinking water lies in hygiene as the quality
of tap water is bad and is rapidly deteriorating This is in stark contrast with the West
where mineral water indicates the attendant minerals present in the water Mineral
water in Western countries is obtained from natural springs and is generally named
after those springs Most of the bottled water passed off as mineral water in India
however is filtered boiled or purified by other means such as reverse osmosis A
better description of bottled drinking water sold in India therefore would be purified
bottled water
The growth of the category indicates the need for this mineral water and the fact that
heavyweights are eyeing the segment points to the potential that is seen in this market
Cokes Kinley Pepsis Aquafina Brittania Nestle Kingfisher Auswater-are keen on
raising their stakes in the Rs 700 crore 700 million litre market The entry of
Danonelsquos brand Evian the high-priced mineral water from the French Alps shows
the perceived potential India presents in this product category Clearly targeted at the
premium segment of consumers the brand is being distributed in the country by
Britannia Industries Currently Evian has more of an institutional presence (five star
hotels) than on the retail shelves with a 1-litre bottle being priced a hefty Rs 80
The market today has grown to more than Rs15bn The organised sector -- branded
mineral water -- has only Rs7bn of market share The rest is accounted for by the
unorganized sector which is dominated by small regional players The market is still
growing ndash at a rate greater than 80 per annum
Today there are more than 200 brands out of which 10 of them are from top
companies
In the branded segment Parlelsquos Bisleri is the market leader with a share of more than
45 Parle Agrolsquos Bailey comes a close second with market share of 15 Other
major players in the market are Yes of Kotharis Ganga of T-Series Himalayan
Hello Prime Florida etc
12 GENESIS
The name that epitomizes mineral water today was first introduced in Mumbai in the
early 60s In 1965 Signor Felice Bisleri an Italian by origin came up with the idea of
selling bottled water in India His company Bisleri Ltd offered mineral water in two
Variants- bubbly and still
In 1969 Parle bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd and started bottling Mineral water in
glass bottles under the brand name Bisleri In due course Parle switched over to PVC
non-returnable bottles and finally advanced to PET containers
13 EXPANSION
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 in the organized mineral water segment
Currently Bisleri has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of setting up
4 new plants on the anvil The overwhelming popularity of Bisleri and the fact that it
was the pioneer of the bottled water industry in India has made it synonymous to
Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you think of bottled water
you think Bisleri
Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made it
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
To maintain strict quality controls in every unit Bisleri not only purchase caps from
approved vendors but also manufacture own bottles in-house To be at par with
International standards they have recently procured the latest state-of-the-art
machinery which has not only helped them improve packaging quality but has also
reduced raw material wastage and doubled production capacity One can rest assured
that they are drinking safe and pure water when they consume Bisleri Bisleri is free
of impurities and is 100 safe Enjoy the sweet taste of Purity
14 BISLERI TODAY
The Indian consumer today enjoys the sweet and pure taste of Bisleri mineral water
However in an effort to offer something special to there loyal consumers they have
recently introduced Bisleri Natural Mountain Water - water brought to consumers
from the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh This newly
launched offering has widened Bisleris product range to two variants Bisleri with
added minerals and Bisleri Mountain Water Bislerilsquos registered office is in Mumbai
15 VISION
Our vision is to be the dominant player in the branded water business where the
second player is less than 20 of our business
16MISSION
We are in the business to serve the customer He is the most important person He is the only one who
pays He deserves the best quality and presentation at a worth of the price We must have world class
quality at the lowest production amp distribution cost This will make us an unbeatable leader and will
have satisfied loyal customers
―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
21 SCOPE OF STUDY
Marketing is a subject where a person can learn from anybody As I was into retailers
survey work of countrylsquos leading packaged drinking water company Bisleri I was
feeling myself to be a part of organizations family I had a very good market exposure
while undergoing this project because every person came forward with a different
opinion and that was very important to know the perception of the retailers And
being my first real exposure to the corporate environment the training period proved
to be very educating and offered me a great chance to learn the practical workings of
the FMCG industry
22 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The primary objectives of the introduction of Retailers scheme card and research
project titled ―RETAILERS SURVEY IN MULUND WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO BISLERI are as follows-
- Understand current market scenario in context of packaged drinking water
- What attracts retailers most in selection of packaged drinking water
- What are the various issues related to distribution in various markets
- What are the various schemes and strategies used by competitors to capture market
- What are the various demands of retailers
- How retailer view product of Bisleri in comparison with other companies products
- To increase secondary sales of the company
To study and to check upon and thereby to cater to the above set objectives of the
project a structured questionnaire was designed and it was approved by the
supervising faculty and the companies DGM
23 PROBLEM DEFINATION
To understand the basis of what services does a retailer makes his choice in
buying a packaged drinking water
To understand various problems associated with distribution of product
24 RATIONALE OF STUDY
Being a project for my partial fulfillment of my MBA degree I was motivated
to finish this project to the best of my ability
My interest in the field of marketing of products was a motivation factor
towards this research
Stability in operations of fmcg companies irrespective of changing financial
conditions was a factor that brought me interest in knowing more about the
internal workings of the fmcg industry
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
5 ANNALYSIS OF THE COMPANY
51 Consumers point of view
52 Consumers habits and practices
53 Competitors annyalysis
54 Purification process
6 FUTURE PLANS
7 SWOT ANNYALYSIS
8 FINDING OF RESEARCH
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ANNEXURE
INTRODUCTION
Water is the most important liquid in the world Without water there would be no life
at least not the way we know it In todays living condition the need for Pure Drinking
Water is becoming the issue for the common man
Eighty percent of the human metabolism consists of water This is the reason why
90 of human diseases are water borne There are 3 types of water impurities which
are root cause of water borne diseases
1 Microbiological-Bacteria virus
2 Dissolved impurities - chemical
3 Imbalance of Mineral Content
There are rapid changes that are taking place in our environment since long and the
air and the water pollution is on an increase The main source of drinking water is
river and downstream which have also not been able to escape the pollution
When a consumer became aware of the problems caused by water pollution the
market saw an advent of ceramic water filters which filters the dust and suspended
particles but dissolved impurities and microbiological impurities are not cleared out
The mineral balance is also not maintained
1980s witnessed more changes by a tap attachment wherein Iodine resin is used to
filter the water It deactivates microbiological impurities to an extent but has side
effects due to iodine and does not take care of dissolved impurities mineral balance
Late 1980s witnessed Ultra Violet based purifier which filters dust and deactivates
bacteria to a great extent It maintains the odour and colour of water but does not clear
out the dissolved impurities and mineral particles Thus came advent of mineral water
Historically the need for purified water within Indian homes had been kept down to a
minimum Essentially there were three types of water that was used for different
purposes The first type was used for rinsing The second type which was used for
cooking was cleaner and kept covered The third type was the cleanest ndash drinking
water ndash and was very often boiled before use
Since an average family needed a small quantity not more than five or six litres a day
boiled and filtered water had been a convenient solution for some time The fallouts
were obvious ―It was very difficult to convince the people that purification system
was worth the price There was no visible way to demonstrate the benefit The
otherwise somnolent market began to change once companies like Eureka Forbes
targeted the office segment while the mineral water players went after travelers Ion
Exchange was the only company which had any measure of success in entering homes
with Zero-B But clean drinking water returned on the national agenda a little later
Around 1989 drinking water became an issue again
―Around early 1990sTime did a story on India as a key emerging market and that was
the trigger for all the players eyeing this market
11 INTRODUCTION TO MINERAL WATER INDUSTRY
CURRENT SCENERIO
The best beverage for India in the new millennium seems to be water In recent years
the bottled driving water market has been witnessing high-decibel levels of activity
with a host of new entrants swelling the clutter With over 200 players jostling to be
the thirst quenching favourite of the Indian consumer the business is growing at a rate
of over 50 per cent annually The countrys bottled water business is estimated to be
around
Rs 1 100 crore of which the branded market accounts for Rs 700 crore and about
700 million litres in volume
In India the core proposition of bottled drinking water lies in hygiene as the quality
of tap water is bad and is rapidly deteriorating This is in stark contrast with the West
where mineral water indicates the attendant minerals present in the water Mineral
water in Western countries is obtained from natural springs and is generally named
after those springs Most of the bottled water passed off as mineral water in India
however is filtered boiled or purified by other means such as reverse osmosis A
better description of bottled drinking water sold in India therefore would be purified
bottled water
The growth of the category indicates the need for this mineral water and the fact that
heavyweights are eyeing the segment points to the potential that is seen in this market
Cokes Kinley Pepsis Aquafina Brittania Nestle Kingfisher Auswater-are keen on
raising their stakes in the Rs 700 crore 700 million litre market The entry of
Danonelsquos brand Evian the high-priced mineral water from the French Alps shows
the perceived potential India presents in this product category Clearly targeted at the
premium segment of consumers the brand is being distributed in the country by
Britannia Industries Currently Evian has more of an institutional presence (five star
hotels) than on the retail shelves with a 1-litre bottle being priced a hefty Rs 80
The market today has grown to more than Rs15bn The organised sector -- branded
mineral water -- has only Rs7bn of market share The rest is accounted for by the
unorganized sector which is dominated by small regional players The market is still
growing ndash at a rate greater than 80 per annum
Today there are more than 200 brands out of which 10 of them are from top
companies
In the branded segment Parlelsquos Bisleri is the market leader with a share of more than
45 Parle Agrolsquos Bailey comes a close second with market share of 15 Other
major players in the market are Yes of Kotharis Ganga of T-Series Himalayan
Hello Prime Florida etc
12 GENESIS
The name that epitomizes mineral water today was first introduced in Mumbai in the
early 60s In 1965 Signor Felice Bisleri an Italian by origin came up with the idea of
selling bottled water in India His company Bisleri Ltd offered mineral water in two
Variants- bubbly and still
In 1969 Parle bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd and started bottling Mineral water in
glass bottles under the brand name Bisleri In due course Parle switched over to PVC
non-returnable bottles and finally advanced to PET containers
13 EXPANSION
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 in the organized mineral water segment
Currently Bisleri has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of setting up
4 new plants on the anvil The overwhelming popularity of Bisleri and the fact that it
was the pioneer of the bottled water industry in India has made it synonymous to
Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you think of bottled water
you think Bisleri
Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made it
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
To maintain strict quality controls in every unit Bisleri not only purchase caps from
approved vendors but also manufacture own bottles in-house To be at par with
International standards they have recently procured the latest state-of-the-art
machinery which has not only helped them improve packaging quality but has also
reduced raw material wastage and doubled production capacity One can rest assured
that they are drinking safe and pure water when they consume Bisleri Bisleri is free
of impurities and is 100 safe Enjoy the sweet taste of Purity
14 BISLERI TODAY
The Indian consumer today enjoys the sweet and pure taste of Bisleri mineral water
However in an effort to offer something special to there loyal consumers they have
recently introduced Bisleri Natural Mountain Water - water brought to consumers
from the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh This newly
launched offering has widened Bisleris product range to two variants Bisleri with
added minerals and Bisleri Mountain Water Bislerilsquos registered office is in Mumbai
15 VISION
Our vision is to be the dominant player in the branded water business where the
second player is less than 20 of our business
16MISSION
We are in the business to serve the customer He is the most important person He is the only one who
pays He deserves the best quality and presentation at a worth of the price We must have world class
quality at the lowest production amp distribution cost This will make us an unbeatable leader and will
have satisfied loyal customers
―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
21 SCOPE OF STUDY
Marketing is a subject where a person can learn from anybody As I was into retailers
survey work of countrylsquos leading packaged drinking water company Bisleri I was
feeling myself to be a part of organizations family I had a very good market exposure
while undergoing this project because every person came forward with a different
opinion and that was very important to know the perception of the retailers And
being my first real exposure to the corporate environment the training period proved
to be very educating and offered me a great chance to learn the practical workings of
the FMCG industry
22 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The primary objectives of the introduction of Retailers scheme card and research
project titled ―RETAILERS SURVEY IN MULUND WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO BISLERI are as follows-
- Understand current market scenario in context of packaged drinking water
- What attracts retailers most in selection of packaged drinking water
- What are the various issues related to distribution in various markets
- What are the various schemes and strategies used by competitors to capture market
- What are the various demands of retailers
- How retailer view product of Bisleri in comparison with other companies products
- To increase secondary sales of the company
To study and to check upon and thereby to cater to the above set objectives of the
project a structured questionnaire was designed and it was approved by the
supervising faculty and the companies DGM
23 PROBLEM DEFINATION
To understand the basis of what services does a retailer makes his choice in
buying a packaged drinking water
To understand various problems associated with distribution of product
24 RATIONALE OF STUDY
Being a project for my partial fulfillment of my MBA degree I was motivated
to finish this project to the best of my ability
My interest in the field of marketing of products was a motivation factor
towards this research
Stability in operations of fmcg companies irrespective of changing financial
conditions was a factor that brought me interest in knowing more about the
internal workings of the fmcg industry
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
INTRODUCTION
Water is the most important liquid in the world Without water there would be no life
at least not the way we know it In todays living condition the need for Pure Drinking
Water is becoming the issue for the common man
Eighty percent of the human metabolism consists of water This is the reason why
90 of human diseases are water borne There are 3 types of water impurities which
are root cause of water borne diseases
1 Microbiological-Bacteria virus
2 Dissolved impurities - chemical
3 Imbalance of Mineral Content
There are rapid changes that are taking place in our environment since long and the
air and the water pollution is on an increase The main source of drinking water is
river and downstream which have also not been able to escape the pollution
When a consumer became aware of the problems caused by water pollution the
market saw an advent of ceramic water filters which filters the dust and suspended
particles but dissolved impurities and microbiological impurities are not cleared out
The mineral balance is also not maintained
1980s witnessed more changes by a tap attachment wherein Iodine resin is used to
filter the water It deactivates microbiological impurities to an extent but has side
effects due to iodine and does not take care of dissolved impurities mineral balance
Late 1980s witnessed Ultra Violet based purifier which filters dust and deactivates
bacteria to a great extent It maintains the odour and colour of water but does not clear
out the dissolved impurities and mineral particles Thus came advent of mineral water
Historically the need for purified water within Indian homes had been kept down to a
minimum Essentially there were three types of water that was used for different
purposes The first type was used for rinsing The second type which was used for
cooking was cleaner and kept covered The third type was the cleanest ndash drinking
water ndash and was very often boiled before use
Since an average family needed a small quantity not more than five or six litres a day
boiled and filtered water had been a convenient solution for some time The fallouts
were obvious ―It was very difficult to convince the people that purification system
was worth the price There was no visible way to demonstrate the benefit The
otherwise somnolent market began to change once companies like Eureka Forbes
targeted the office segment while the mineral water players went after travelers Ion
Exchange was the only company which had any measure of success in entering homes
with Zero-B But clean drinking water returned on the national agenda a little later
Around 1989 drinking water became an issue again
―Around early 1990sTime did a story on India as a key emerging market and that was
the trigger for all the players eyeing this market
11 INTRODUCTION TO MINERAL WATER INDUSTRY
CURRENT SCENERIO
The best beverage for India in the new millennium seems to be water In recent years
the bottled driving water market has been witnessing high-decibel levels of activity
with a host of new entrants swelling the clutter With over 200 players jostling to be
the thirst quenching favourite of the Indian consumer the business is growing at a rate
of over 50 per cent annually The countrys bottled water business is estimated to be
around
Rs 1 100 crore of which the branded market accounts for Rs 700 crore and about
700 million litres in volume
In India the core proposition of bottled drinking water lies in hygiene as the quality
of tap water is bad and is rapidly deteriorating This is in stark contrast with the West
where mineral water indicates the attendant minerals present in the water Mineral
water in Western countries is obtained from natural springs and is generally named
after those springs Most of the bottled water passed off as mineral water in India
however is filtered boiled or purified by other means such as reverse osmosis A
better description of bottled drinking water sold in India therefore would be purified
bottled water
The growth of the category indicates the need for this mineral water and the fact that
heavyweights are eyeing the segment points to the potential that is seen in this market
Cokes Kinley Pepsis Aquafina Brittania Nestle Kingfisher Auswater-are keen on
raising their stakes in the Rs 700 crore 700 million litre market The entry of
Danonelsquos brand Evian the high-priced mineral water from the French Alps shows
the perceived potential India presents in this product category Clearly targeted at the
premium segment of consumers the brand is being distributed in the country by
Britannia Industries Currently Evian has more of an institutional presence (five star
hotels) than on the retail shelves with a 1-litre bottle being priced a hefty Rs 80
The market today has grown to more than Rs15bn The organised sector -- branded
mineral water -- has only Rs7bn of market share The rest is accounted for by the
unorganized sector which is dominated by small regional players The market is still
growing ndash at a rate greater than 80 per annum
Today there are more than 200 brands out of which 10 of them are from top
companies
In the branded segment Parlelsquos Bisleri is the market leader with a share of more than
45 Parle Agrolsquos Bailey comes a close second with market share of 15 Other
major players in the market are Yes of Kotharis Ganga of T-Series Himalayan
Hello Prime Florida etc
12 GENESIS
The name that epitomizes mineral water today was first introduced in Mumbai in the
early 60s In 1965 Signor Felice Bisleri an Italian by origin came up with the idea of
selling bottled water in India His company Bisleri Ltd offered mineral water in two
Variants- bubbly and still
In 1969 Parle bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd and started bottling Mineral water in
glass bottles under the brand name Bisleri In due course Parle switched over to PVC
non-returnable bottles and finally advanced to PET containers
13 EXPANSION
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 in the organized mineral water segment
Currently Bisleri has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of setting up
4 new plants on the anvil The overwhelming popularity of Bisleri and the fact that it
was the pioneer of the bottled water industry in India has made it synonymous to
Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you think of bottled water
you think Bisleri
Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made it
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
To maintain strict quality controls in every unit Bisleri not only purchase caps from
approved vendors but also manufacture own bottles in-house To be at par with
International standards they have recently procured the latest state-of-the-art
machinery which has not only helped them improve packaging quality but has also
reduced raw material wastage and doubled production capacity One can rest assured
that they are drinking safe and pure water when they consume Bisleri Bisleri is free
of impurities and is 100 safe Enjoy the sweet taste of Purity
14 BISLERI TODAY
The Indian consumer today enjoys the sweet and pure taste of Bisleri mineral water
However in an effort to offer something special to there loyal consumers they have
recently introduced Bisleri Natural Mountain Water - water brought to consumers
from the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh This newly
launched offering has widened Bisleris product range to two variants Bisleri with
added minerals and Bisleri Mountain Water Bislerilsquos registered office is in Mumbai
15 VISION
Our vision is to be the dominant player in the branded water business where the
second player is less than 20 of our business
16MISSION
We are in the business to serve the customer He is the most important person He is the only one who
pays He deserves the best quality and presentation at a worth of the price We must have world class
quality at the lowest production amp distribution cost This will make us an unbeatable leader and will
have satisfied loyal customers
―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
21 SCOPE OF STUDY
Marketing is a subject where a person can learn from anybody As I was into retailers
survey work of countrylsquos leading packaged drinking water company Bisleri I was
feeling myself to be a part of organizations family I had a very good market exposure
while undergoing this project because every person came forward with a different
opinion and that was very important to know the perception of the retailers And
being my first real exposure to the corporate environment the training period proved
to be very educating and offered me a great chance to learn the practical workings of
the FMCG industry
22 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The primary objectives of the introduction of Retailers scheme card and research
project titled ―RETAILERS SURVEY IN MULUND WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO BISLERI are as follows-
- Understand current market scenario in context of packaged drinking water
- What attracts retailers most in selection of packaged drinking water
- What are the various issues related to distribution in various markets
- What are the various schemes and strategies used by competitors to capture market
- What are the various demands of retailers
- How retailer view product of Bisleri in comparison with other companies products
- To increase secondary sales of the company
To study and to check upon and thereby to cater to the above set objectives of the
project a structured questionnaire was designed and it was approved by the
supervising faculty and the companies DGM
23 PROBLEM DEFINATION
To understand the basis of what services does a retailer makes his choice in
buying a packaged drinking water
To understand various problems associated with distribution of product
24 RATIONALE OF STUDY
Being a project for my partial fulfillment of my MBA degree I was motivated
to finish this project to the best of my ability
My interest in the field of marketing of products was a motivation factor
towards this research
Stability in operations of fmcg companies irrespective of changing financial
conditions was a factor that brought me interest in knowing more about the
internal workings of the fmcg industry
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
Since an average family needed a small quantity not more than five or six litres a day
boiled and filtered water had been a convenient solution for some time The fallouts
were obvious ―It was very difficult to convince the people that purification system
was worth the price There was no visible way to demonstrate the benefit The
otherwise somnolent market began to change once companies like Eureka Forbes
targeted the office segment while the mineral water players went after travelers Ion
Exchange was the only company which had any measure of success in entering homes
with Zero-B But clean drinking water returned on the national agenda a little later
Around 1989 drinking water became an issue again
―Around early 1990sTime did a story on India as a key emerging market and that was
the trigger for all the players eyeing this market
11 INTRODUCTION TO MINERAL WATER INDUSTRY
CURRENT SCENERIO
The best beverage for India in the new millennium seems to be water In recent years
the bottled driving water market has been witnessing high-decibel levels of activity
with a host of new entrants swelling the clutter With over 200 players jostling to be
the thirst quenching favourite of the Indian consumer the business is growing at a rate
of over 50 per cent annually The countrys bottled water business is estimated to be
around
Rs 1 100 crore of which the branded market accounts for Rs 700 crore and about
700 million litres in volume
In India the core proposition of bottled drinking water lies in hygiene as the quality
of tap water is bad and is rapidly deteriorating This is in stark contrast with the West
where mineral water indicates the attendant minerals present in the water Mineral
water in Western countries is obtained from natural springs and is generally named
after those springs Most of the bottled water passed off as mineral water in India
however is filtered boiled or purified by other means such as reverse osmosis A
better description of bottled drinking water sold in India therefore would be purified
bottled water
The growth of the category indicates the need for this mineral water and the fact that
heavyweights are eyeing the segment points to the potential that is seen in this market
Cokes Kinley Pepsis Aquafina Brittania Nestle Kingfisher Auswater-are keen on
raising their stakes in the Rs 700 crore 700 million litre market The entry of
Danonelsquos brand Evian the high-priced mineral water from the French Alps shows
the perceived potential India presents in this product category Clearly targeted at the
premium segment of consumers the brand is being distributed in the country by
Britannia Industries Currently Evian has more of an institutional presence (five star
hotels) than on the retail shelves with a 1-litre bottle being priced a hefty Rs 80
The market today has grown to more than Rs15bn The organised sector -- branded
mineral water -- has only Rs7bn of market share The rest is accounted for by the
unorganized sector which is dominated by small regional players The market is still
growing ndash at a rate greater than 80 per annum
Today there are more than 200 brands out of which 10 of them are from top
companies
In the branded segment Parlelsquos Bisleri is the market leader with a share of more than
45 Parle Agrolsquos Bailey comes a close second with market share of 15 Other
major players in the market are Yes of Kotharis Ganga of T-Series Himalayan
Hello Prime Florida etc
12 GENESIS
The name that epitomizes mineral water today was first introduced in Mumbai in the
early 60s In 1965 Signor Felice Bisleri an Italian by origin came up with the idea of
selling bottled water in India His company Bisleri Ltd offered mineral water in two
Variants- bubbly and still
In 1969 Parle bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd and started bottling Mineral water in
glass bottles under the brand name Bisleri In due course Parle switched over to PVC
non-returnable bottles and finally advanced to PET containers
13 EXPANSION
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 in the organized mineral water segment
Currently Bisleri has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of setting up
4 new plants on the anvil The overwhelming popularity of Bisleri and the fact that it
was the pioneer of the bottled water industry in India has made it synonymous to
Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you think of bottled water
you think Bisleri
Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made it
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
To maintain strict quality controls in every unit Bisleri not only purchase caps from
approved vendors but also manufacture own bottles in-house To be at par with
International standards they have recently procured the latest state-of-the-art
machinery which has not only helped them improve packaging quality but has also
reduced raw material wastage and doubled production capacity One can rest assured
that they are drinking safe and pure water when they consume Bisleri Bisleri is free
of impurities and is 100 safe Enjoy the sweet taste of Purity
14 BISLERI TODAY
The Indian consumer today enjoys the sweet and pure taste of Bisleri mineral water
However in an effort to offer something special to there loyal consumers they have
recently introduced Bisleri Natural Mountain Water - water brought to consumers
from the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh This newly
launched offering has widened Bisleris product range to two variants Bisleri with
added minerals and Bisleri Mountain Water Bislerilsquos registered office is in Mumbai
15 VISION
Our vision is to be the dominant player in the branded water business where the
second player is less than 20 of our business
16MISSION
We are in the business to serve the customer He is the most important person He is the only one who
pays He deserves the best quality and presentation at a worth of the price We must have world class
quality at the lowest production amp distribution cost This will make us an unbeatable leader and will
have satisfied loyal customers
―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
21 SCOPE OF STUDY
Marketing is a subject where a person can learn from anybody As I was into retailers
survey work of countrylsquos leading packaged drinking water company Bisleri I was
feeling myself to be a part of organizations family I had a very good market exposure
while undergoing this project because every person came forward with a different
opinion and that was very important to know the perception of the retailers And
being my first real exposure to the corporate environment the training period proved
to be very educating and offered me a great chance to learn the practical workings of
the FMCG industry
22 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The primary objectives of the introduction of Retailers scheme card and research
project titled ―RETAILERS SURVEY IN MULUND WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO BISLERI are as follows-
- Understand current market scenario in context of packaged drinking water
- What attracts retailers most in selection of packaged drinking water
- What are the various issues related to distribution in various markets
- What are the various schemes and strategies used by competitors to capture market
- What are the various demands of retailers
- How retailer view product of Bisleri in comparison with other companies products
- To increase secondary sales of the company
To study and to check upon and thereby to cater to the above set objectives of the
project a structured questionnaire was designed and it was approved by the
supervising faculty and the companies DGM
23 PROBLEM DEFINATION
To understand the basis of what services does a retailer makes his choice in
buying a packaged drinking water
To understand various problems associated with distribution of product
24 RATIONALE OF STUDY
Being a project for my partial fulfillment of my MBA degree I was motivated
to finish this project to the best of my ability
My interest in the field of marketing of products was a motivation factor
towards this research
Stability in operations of fmcg companies irrespective of changing financial
conditions was a factor that brought me interest in knowing more about the
internal workings of the fmcg industry
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
11 INTRODUCTION TO MINERAL WATER INDUSTRY
CURRENT SCENERIO
The best beverage for India in the new millennium seems to be water In recent years
the bottled driving water market has been witnessing high-decibel levels of activity
with a host of new entrants swelling the clutter With over 200 players jostling to be
the thirst quenching favourite of the Indian consumer the business is growing at a rate
of over 50 per cent annually The countrys bottled water business is estimated to be
around
Rs 1 100 crore of which the branded market accounts for Rs 700 crore and about
700 million litres in volume
In India the core proposition of bottled drinking water lies in hygiene as the quality
of tap water is bad and is rapidly deteriorating This is in stark contrast with the West
where mineral water indicates the attendant minerals present in the water Mineral
water in Western countries is obtained from natural springs and is generally named
after those springs Most of the bottled water passed off as mineral water in India
however is filtered boiled or purified by other means such as reverse osmosis A
better description of bottled drinking water sold in India therefore would be purified
bottled water
The growth of the category indicates the need for this mineral water and the fact that
heavyweights are eyeing the segment points to the potential that is seen in this market
Cokes Kinley Pepsis Aquafina Brittania Nestle Kingfisher Auswater-are keen on
raising their stakes in the Rs 700 crore 700 million litre market The entry of
Danonelsquos brand Evian the high-priced mineral water from the French Alps shows
the perceived potential India presents in this product category Clearly targeted at the
premium segment of consumers the brand is being distributed in the country by
Britannia Industries Currently Evian has more of an institutional presence (five star
hotels) than on the retail shelves with a 1-litre bottle being priced a hefty Rs 80
The market today has grown to more than Rs15bn The organised sector -- branded
mineral water -- has only Rs7bn of market share The rest is accounted for by the
unorganized sector which is dominated by small regional players The market is still
growing ndash at a rate greater than 80 per annum
Today there are more than 200 brands out of which 10 of them are from top
companies
In the branded segment Parlelsquos Bisleri is the market leader with a share of more than
45 Parle Agrolsquos Bailey comes a close second with market share of 15 Other
major players in the market are Yes of Kotharis Ganga of T-Series Himalayan
Hello Prime Florida etc
12 GENESIS
The name that epitomizes mineral water today was first introduced in Mumbai in the
early 60s In 1965 Signor Felice Bisleri an Italian by origin came up with the idea of
selling bottled water in India His company Bisleri Ltd offered mineral water in two
Variants- bubbly and still
In 1969 Parle bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd and started bottling Mineral water in
glass bottles under the brand name Bisleri In due course Parle switched over to PVC
non-returnable bottles and finally advanced to PET containers
13 EXPANSION
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 in the organized mineral water segment
Currently Bisleri has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of setting up
4 new plants on the anvil The overwhelming popularity of Bisleri and the fact that it
was the pioneer of the bottled water industry in India has made it synonymous to
Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you think of bottled water
you think Bisleri
Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made it
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
To maintain strict quality controls in every unit Bisleri not only purchase caps from
approved vendors but also manufacture own bottles in-house To be at par with
International standards they have recently procured the latest state-of-the-art
machinery which has not only helped them improve packaging quality but has also
reduced raw material wastage and doubled production capacity One can rest assured
that they are drinking safe and pure water when they consume Bisleri Bisleri is free
of impurities and is 100 safe Enjoy the sweet taste of Purity
14 BISLERI TODAY
The Indian consumer today enjoys the sweet and pure taste of Bisleri mineral water
However in an effort to offer something special to there loyal consumers they have
recently introduced Bisleri Natural Mountain Water - water brought to consumers
from the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh This newly
launched offering has widened Bisleris product range to two variants Bisleri with
added minerals and Bisleri Mountain Water Bislerilsquos registered office is in Mumbai
15 VISION
Our vision is to be the dominant player in the branded water business where the
second player is less than 20 of our business
16MISSION
We are in the business to serve the customer He is the most important person He is the only one who
pays He deserves the best quality and presentation at a worth of the price We must have world class
quality at the lowest production amp distribution cost This will make us an unbeatable leader and will
have satisfied loyal customers
―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
21 SCOPE OF STUDY
Marketing is a subject where a person can learn from anybody As I was into retailers
survey work of countrylsquos leading packaged drinking water company Bisleri I was
feeling myself to be a part of organizations family I had a very good market exposure
while undergoing this project because every person came forward with a different
opinion and that was very important to know the perception of the retailers And
being my first real exposure to the corporate environment the training period proved
to be very educating and offered me a great chance to learn the practical workings of
the FMCG industry
22 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The primary objectives of the introduction of Retailers scheme card and research
project titled ―RETAILERS SURVEY IN MULUND WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO BISLERI are as follows-
- Understand current market scenario in context of packaged drinking water
- What attracts retailers most in selection of packaged drinking water
- What are the various issues related to distribution in various markets
- What are the various schemes and strategies used by competitors to capture market
- What are the various demands of retailers
- How retailer view product of Bisleri in comparison with other companies products
- To increase secondary sales of the company
To study and to check upon and thereby to cater to the above set objectives of the
project a structured questionnaire was designed and it was approved by the
supervising faculty and the companies DGM
23 PROBLEM DEFINATION
To understand the basis of what services does a retailer makes his choice in
buying a packaged drinking water
To understand various problems associated with distribution of product
24 RATIONALE OF STUDY
Being a project for my partial fulfillment of my MBA degree I was motivated
to finish this project to the best of my ability
My interest in the field of marketing of products was a motivation factor
towards this research
Stability in operations of fmcg companies irrespective of changing financial
conditions was a factor that brought me interest in knowing more about the
internal workings of the fmcg industry
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
hotels) than on the retail shelves with a 1-litre bottle being priced a hefty Rs 80
The market today has grown to more than Rs15bn The organised sector -- branded
mineral water -- has only Rs7bn of market share The rest is accounted for by the
unorganized sector which is dominated by small regional players The market is still
growing ndash at a rate greater than 80 per annum
Today there are more than 200 brands out of which 10 of them are from top
companies
In the branded segment Parlelsquos Bisleri is the market leader with a share of more than
45 Parle Agrolsquos Bailey comes a close second with market share of 15 Other
major players in the market are Yes of Kotharis Ganga of T-Series Himalayan
Hello Prime Florida etc
12 GENESIS
The name that epitomizes mineral water today was first introduced in Mumbai in the
early 60s In 1965 Signor Felice Bisleri an Italian by origin came up with the idea of
selling bottled water in India His company Bisleri Ltd offered mineral water in two
Variants- bubbly and still
In 1969 Parle bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd and started bottling Mineral water in
glass bottles under the brand name Bisleri In due course Parle switched over to PVC
non-returnable bottles and finally advanced to PET containers
13 EXPANSION
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 in the organized mineral water segment
Currently Bisleri has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of setting up
4 new plants on the anvil The overwhelming popularity of Bisleri and the fact that it
was the pioneer of the bottled water industry in India has made it synonymous to
Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you think of bottled water
you think Bisleri
Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made it
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
To maintain strict quality controls in every unit Bisleri not only purchase caps from
approved vendors but also manufacture own bottles in-house To be at par with
International standards they have recently procured the latest state-of-the-art
machinery which has not only helped them improve packaging quality but has also
reduced raw material wastage and doubled production capacity One can rest assured
that they are drinking safe and pure water when they consume Bisleri Bisleri is free
of impurities and is 100 safe Enjoy the sweet taste of Purity
14 BISLERI TODAY
The Indian consumer today enjoys the sweet and pure taste of Bisleri mineral water
However in an effort to offer something special to there loyal consumers they have
recently introduced Bisleri Natural Mountain Water - water brought to consumers
from the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh This newly
launched offering has widened Bisleris product range to two variants Bisleri with
added minerals and Bisleri Mountain Water Bislerilsquos registered office is in Mumbai
15 VISION
Our vision is to be the dominant player in the branded water business where the
second player is less than 20 of our business
16MISSION
We are in the business to serve the customer He is the most important person He is the only one who
pays He deserves the best quality and presentation at a worth of the price We must have world class
quality at the lowest production amp distribution cost This will make us an unbeatable leader and will
have satisfied loyal customers
―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
21 SCOPE OF STUDY
Marketing is a subject where a person can learn from anybody As I was into retailers
survey work of countrylsquos leading packaged drinking water company Bisleri I was
feeling myself to be a part of organizations family I had a very good market exposure
while undergoing this project because every person came forward with a different
opinion and that was very important to know the perception of the retailers And
being my first real exposure to the corporate environment the training period proved
to be very educating and offered me a great chance to learn the practical workings of
the FMCG industry
22 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The primary objectives of the introduction of Retailers scheme card and research
project titled ―RETAILERS SURVEY IN MULUND WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO BISLERI are as follows-
- Understand current market scenario in context of packaged drinking water
- What attracts retailers most in selection of packaged drinking water
- What are the various issues related to distribution in various markets
- What are the various schemes and strategies used by competitors to capture market
- What are the various demands of retailers
- How retailer view product of Bisleri in comparison with other companies products
- To increase secondary sales of the company
To study and to check upon and thereby to cater to the above set objectives of the
project a structured questionnaire was designed and it was approved by the
supervising faculty and the companies DGM
23 PROBLEM DEFINATION
To understand the basis of what services does a retailer makes his choice in
buying a packaged drinking water
To understand various problems associated with distribution of product
24 RATIONALE OF STUDY
Being a project for my partial fulfillment of my MBA degree I was motivated
to finish this project to the best of my ability
My interest in the field of marketing of products was a motivation factor
towards this research
Stability in operations of fmcg companies irrespective of changing financial
conditions was a factor that brought me interest in knowing more about the
internal workings of the fmcg industry
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
enjoying more than 60 of the market share in the organized mineral water segment
Currently Bisleri has 11 franchisees and 8 plants across India with plans of setting up
4 new plants on the anvil The overwhelming popularity of Bisleri and the fact that it
was the pioneer of the bottled water industry in India has made it synonymous to
Mineral water and a household name So naturally When you think of bottled water
you think Bisleri
Rigorous Research and Development and stringent quality controls have made it
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
To maintain strict quality controls in every unit Bisleri not only purchase caps from
approved vendors but also manufacture own bottles in-house To be at par with
International standards they have recently procured the latest state-of-the-art
machinery which has not only helped them improve packaging quality but has also
reduced raw material wastage and doubled production capacity One can rest assured
that they are drinking safe and pure water when they consume Bisleri Bisleri is free
of impurities and is 100 safe Enjoy the sweet taste of Purity
14 BISLERI TODAY
The Indian consumer today enjoys the sweet and pure taste of Bisleri mineral water
However in an effort to offer something special to there loyal consumers they have
recently introduced Bisleri Natural Mountain Water - water brought to consumers
from the foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh This newly
launched offering has widened Bisleris product range to two variants Bisleri with
added minerals and Bisleri Mountain Water Bislerilsquos registered office is in Mumbai
15 VISION
Our vision is to be the dominant player in the branded water business where the
second player is less than 20 of our business
16MISSION
We are in the business to serve the customer He is the most important person He is the only one who
pays He deserves the best quality and presentation at a worth of the price We must have world class
quality at the lowest production amp distribution cost This will make us an unbeatable leader and will
have satisfied loyal customers
―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
21 SCOPE OF STUDY
Marketing is a subject where a person can learn from anybody As I was into retailers
survey work of countrylsquos leading packaged drinking water company Bisleri I was
feeling myself to be a part of organizations family I had a very good market exposure
while undergoing this project because every person came forward with a different
opinion and that was very important to know the perception of the retailers And
being my first real exposure to the corporate environment the training period proved
to be very educating and offered me a great chance to learn the practical workings of
the FMCG industry
22 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The primary objectives of the introduction of Retailers scheme card and research
project titled ―RETAILERS SURVEY IN MULUND WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO BISLERI are as follows-
- Understand current market scenario in context of packaged drinking water
- What attracts retailers most in selection of packaged drinking water
- What are the various issues related to distribution in various markets
- What are the various schemes and strategies used by competitors to capture market
- What are the various demands of retailers
- How retailer view product of Bisleri in comparison with other companies products
- To increase secondary sales of the company
To study and to check upon and thereby to cater to the above set objectives of the
project a structured questionnaire was designed and it was approved by the
supervising faculty and the companies DGM
23 PROBLEM DEFINATION
To understand the basis of what services does a retailer makes his choice in
buying a packaged drinking water
To understand various problems associated with distribution of product
24 RATIONALE OF STUDY
Being a project for my partial fulfillment of my MBA degree I was motivated
to finish this project to the best of my ability
My interest in the field of marketing of products was a motivation factor
towards this research
Stability in operations of fmcg companies irrespective of changing financial
conditions was a factor that brought me interest in knowing more about the
internal workings of the fmcg industry
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
15 VISION
Our vision is to be the dominant player in the branded water business where the
second player is less than 20 of our business
16MISSION
We are in the business to serve the customer He is the most important person He is the only one who
pays He deserves the best quality and presentation at a worth of the price We must have world class
quality at the lowest production amp distribution cost This will make us an unbeatable leader and will
have satisfied loyal customers
―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
21 SCOPE OF STUDY
Marketing is a subject where a person can learn from anybody As I was into retailers
survey work of countrylsquos leading packaged drinking water company Bisleri I was
feeling myself to be a part of organizations family I had a very good market exposure
while undergoing this project because every person came forward with a different
opinion and that was very important to know the perception of the retailers And
being my first real exposure to the corporate environment the training period proved
to be very educating and offered me a great chance to learn the practical workings of
the FMCG industry
22 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The primary objectives of the introduction of Retailers scheme card and research
project titled ―RETAILERS SURVEY IN MULUND WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO BISLERI are as follows-
- Understand current market scenario in context of packaged drinking water
- What attracts retailers most in selection of packaged drinking water
- What are the various issues related to distribution in various markets
- What are the various schemes and strategies used by competitors to capture market
- What are the various demands of retailers
- How retailer view product of Bisleri in comparison with other companies products
- To increase secondary sales of the company
To study and to check upon and thereby to cater to the above set objectives of the
project a structured questionnaire was designed and it was approved by the
supervising faculty and the companies DGM
23 PROBLEM DEFINATION
To understand the basis of what services does a retailer makes his choice in
buying a packaged drinking water
To understand various problems associated with distribution of product
24 RATIONALE OF STUDY
Being a project for my partial fulfillment of my MBA degree I was motivated
to finish this project to the best of my ability
My interest in the field of marketing of products was a motivation factor
towards this research
Stability in operations of fmcg companies irrespective of changing financial
conditions was a factor that brought me interest in knowing more about the
internal workings of the fmcg industry
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
21 SCOPE OF STUDY
Marketing is a subject where a person can learn from anybody As I was into retailers
survey work of countrylsquos leading packaged drinking water company Bisleri I was
feeling myself to be a part of organizations family I had a very good market exposure
while undergoing this project because every person came forward with a different
opinion and that was very important to know the perception of the retailers And
being my first real exposure to the corporate environment the training period proved
to be very educating and offered me a great chance to learn the practical workings of
the FMCG industry
22 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
The primary objectives of the introduction of Retailers scheme card and research
project titled ―RETAILERS SURVEY IN MULUND WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE
TO BISLERI are as follows-
- Understand current market scenario in context of packaged drinking water
- What attracts retailers most in selection of packaged drinking water
- What are the various issues related to distribution in various markets
- What are the various schemes and strategies used by competitors to capture market
- What are the various demands of retailers
- How retailer view product of Bisleri in comparison with other companies products
- To increase secondary sales of the company
To study and to check upon and thereby to cater to the above set objectives of the
project a structured questionnaire was designed and it was approved by the
supervising faculty and the companies DGM
23 PROBLEM DEFINATION
To understand the basis of what services does a retailer makes his choice in
buying a packaged drinking water
To understand various problems associated with distribution of product
24 RATIONALE OF STUDY
Being a project for my partial fulfillment of my MBA degree I was motivated
to finish this project to the best of my ability
My interest in the field of marketing of products was a motivation factor
towards this research
Stability in operations of fmcg companies irrespective of changing financial
conditions was a factor that brought me interest in knowing more about the
internal workings of the fmcg industry
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
23 PROBLEM DEFINATION
To understand the basis of what services does a retailer makes his choice in
buying a packaged drinking water
To understand various problems associated with distribution of product
24 RATIONALE OF STUDY
Being a project for my partial fulfillment of my MBA degree I was motivated
to finish this project to the best of my ability
My interest in the field of marketing of products was a motivation factor
towards this research
Stability in operations of fmcg companies irrespective of changing financial
conditions was a factor that brought me interest in knowing more about the
internal workings of the fmcg industry
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
31 RESEARCH METHODOLGY
A Research Methodology defines the purpose of the research how it proceeds
how to measure progress and what constitute success with respect to the
objectives determined for carrying out the research study
The appropriate research design formulated is detailed below
Exploratory Research This kind of research has the primary objective of
development of insights into the problem It studies the main area where the
problem lies and also tries to evaluate some appropriate courses of action
The research methodology for the present study has been adopted to reflect
these realties and help reach the logical conclusion in an objective and
scientific manner
The present study contemplated an exploratory research
32 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The following are the main objectives of my Research study-
1 To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand and product
2 To conduct a market survey of Bisleri
3 The affects on Bisleri sale profit and market share after the launch of
Acquafinalsquo by Pepsi and Kinleylsquo by Coca Cola
4 To find out the current position of Acquafina and Kinley mineral water
5 Threats caused by Aquafina Kinley and Bisleri
6 Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by
amp Kinley
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
33 NATURE OF DATA
PRIMARY DATA Data which is collected through direct interviews and by
raising questionnaires to retailers
SECONDARY DATA Secondary data that is already available and published
Various internet sites newspaper magazines like AampM
were searched in order to find information useful for
completion of this project
It could be internal and external source of data
Internal source Which originates from the specific field or area where research is
carried out eg publish broachers official reports etc
External source This originates outside the field of study like books
periodicals journals newspapers and the Internet
34 DATA COLLECTION
Primary Data The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in
the following areas
1 Mulund station area
2 Mulund panch Rasta market
SAMPLE DESIGN
Sampling unit Residents customers amp Retailers in the above
mentioned areas
Sample size 10 persons
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
35 SAMPLING PROCEDURE
Simple Random Sampling to select the sample
DATA COLLECTION
Sources of data 1) Primary Data which included the input
received from directly the residents through
Interview
2) Secondary data from the Industry manual
policy manuals books and internet etc
Method of collecting data Interview method
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
COMPANY PROFILE
41Industrial profile
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy and the brand owes its name to founder Felice
Bisleri an Italian entrepreneur In India Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling
and marketing mineral water which was first of its kind in India However it did not
quite work Among other reasons the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to
accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure Consumer mindsets were
more geared towards boiling water at home
In 1969 Parle bought over the Bisleri brand In those days Bisleri water was
available in glass bottles Parles taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic
difference to the brands fortunes immediately While it did gain in terms of visibility
and reach (piggybacking on Parles existing distribution network) efforts to expand
the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking Parle at that particular time
was interested in making soda water and not mineral water There were just minor
initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered
to be a very profitable business at that time a people still considered boiling water to
be a safer bet than mineral water Moreover they were not ready to pay for a
commodity like water which was so abundantly available
In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that
significantly made a difference in the sales The buyers then were mainly the upper
class - the trendy people
In 1993 Coca-Cola bought parlelsquos soft drink brands- thums-up limca etc While
Coca-Cola actually bought over Parles beverages it agreed to a settlement that
allowed the multinational to bottle and distribute Bisleri soda for a time frame of five
years The charge of Bisleri water however remained with Parle The upsurge in the
sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-
Cola This was the time when its started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in
the domestic mineral water market The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleris
equity
The real shift in companylsquos policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998
although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994 This change was
primarily because of the fact that the people at this time had started becoming more
health conscious
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
42 PRODUCT PROFILE
―Itlsquos a compliment being generic to the category but its not very good when
consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri
Bisleri a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan Chairman of Parle Aqua
Minerals has become a generic brand Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a
totally virgin market The brand has become synonymous with mineral water
consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri
So far Ramesh Chauhanlsquos Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56 in the
Rs1100 crore mineral water market and is growing at the rate of 180 per annum
Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs400 crores In seventies Bisleri was the only
mineral water which had national presence and the sale was to the tune of
approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs60 lacs
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
43 MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleris manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the
country ndash North accounts for 35 of sales for the industry West accounts for 30
South 20 and the East 15
In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over
the country - three-fourths of which are company owned The balance are run by
franchisees Bisleri has 5 plants in the North 5 in the West- two of which were setup
in the last year at Ahemdabad and Surat 4 in the South and 2 in the East The
company has bottling units located in Chennai Bangalore Goa Calcutta Mumbai
Delhi Uttar Pradesh Punjab Indore and Nepal The new plants are being set up in
states like Kerala Orissa Bihar and North Eastern States which hitherto have been
unexplored by the company
It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule
with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production
Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs 60 crore in the
upgradation of facilities The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units
across the country will be increased to 240 BPM
Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles the company is to set
up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai each with an outlay of Rs50m These will
process 500 kg of PET per hour The processed material will be an input for polyester
yarn manufacturers In centers other than Delhi and Chennai the company will set up
crushing units to crush the used PET bottles
The companys expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the
present 400 million litres to 500 million litres Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning
to invest Rs 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover The
expansion will also increase the number of companys bottling plants from 16 at
present to 25 The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants It
doesnlsquot have any intentions to acquire any existing plants
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
44 DISTRIBUTION
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market For any product to be
successful the distribution system has to be really good Large tracts of the country
have not been explored by the national brandswhich explains the proliferation of
smaller brands
Bislerilsquos strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all-India level
Currently Bisleri has around 80000 retail outlets in the country with about 12000
each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai It is intended to increase this number to 10
lakh outlets in order to expand brandlsquos reach
That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts Parle hopes to
double its existing fleet of 1000 trucks This would make it the largest fleet owner in
the country
In order to service the home segment the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the
route of ―Fat Dealers( wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockist and
serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota The
customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5 litre pack
180 of these dealers are already functional and more are in the process of being
appointed The idea is to make Bisleri all-pervasive
The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own
plants Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of
operation
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
45 PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to
provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them In
order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously
come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments
Today Acqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options150 ml 300 ml 500 ml
1 litre 2 litre 5 litre and 20 litre The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales
showing a growing health concern among the Indian society 1 litre bottles account
for 30 percent of the share whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent The
remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution
The 2 litres bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1
litre bottles This would give them an advantage over others The 500-ml category
was re-focused as a trendy product targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside
consumers
Acqua Minerals is currently a supplier to Indian Airlines with 125-ml cups The five-
litre packs launched in December 1999 in Goa are currently available in six cities
including Delhi Bombay and Bangalore and sell over 5000 bottles a day
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by bisleri
along with the target consumers
Size of the bottle Price per bottle Target consumer
500 ml Rs 7 Teenagers college students and roadside
consumers Also aimed to supply to the Indian
Railways
1 litre Rs 10 General consumers and travelers
12 litres Rs 12 Consumers demanding a little more water at just a
little more price
2 litres Rs 18 Small offices shopkeepers households
5 litres Rs 20 Households institutes offices retail shops
showrooms
20 litres Rs 40 Households institutes offices schools and colleges
In addition to the above mentioned sizes Bisleri also provides 150 ml cups ndash for
Indian Airlines travellers and 300 ml cups ndash for marriages and parties
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes
15
30
10
35
10
share of pack sizes in sales
500 ml
1 litre
2 litres
5 litres
others
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
46 CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI
The company had the share of more than 50 of the national market But now the
share of the company is going down in the pie of the national market Until recently
there was competition with only the unorganized sector Now having drowned out by
the small-scale emulators with a 40 share of the national market company now is
limbering up for another contest ndash from the multinationals
Other than the financial constraints up to an extent the company has to focus on the
marketing management of the product In light of the challenge in front of the
company and its current strengths and position we have incorporated the marketing
mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own
marketing strategies
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
51 CONSUMER POINT OF VIEW
The central question the company has to understand is How do consumer respond to
various marketing stimuli the company might use The company that really
understands how customers will respond to different product features prices and
advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors The question can be
further broken down to Who buys When do they buy Where do they buy Why do
they buy
Who buys
In the survey conducted by us we found that the middle income and the upper income
groups are the users of the bottled water The lower income group is still dependent
on the water from wells and hand pumps In the middle-income group also people
buy bottled water while travelling
Among the various income groups there comprise the students the office going
executive tourists and the retired people So the company should go in for strategies
to target customer segments based on appeal prices convenient packaging and other
characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting
When do they buy
In the survey we found that the middle-income group buys mineral water while
travelling At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are
installed Or they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (18 lt) by
Bisleri The upper income group uses mineral water only So they constitute a large
part of the total market
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
Where do they buy from
According to the survey conducted by us the bottled water users buy the water from
retail outlets and also through tie ups with dealers Large consumers of bottled water
like Hotels institutions corporate order their water requirements through dealers
The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets
Why do they buy
For obvious reasons soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption
of purified bottled water The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the
safety With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming
more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water This is the reason that
the industry is growing at fast pace The other reason after this is that the bottled
water is convenient to carry They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they
carry water from home
Consumer Concerns and Perceptions
The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing
the brand Bisleri has to Reinvent itself Earlier mineral water used to stand for water
enriched with certain minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers
This no longer holds Mineral water has come to mean just thatmdashwater Albeit safe
drinking water that is conveniently available The consumer does not really care if the
water contains minerals The most important consideration is purity of the product
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
52 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
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 consumerslsquo 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
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
Moreover increasing urbanization causing declines in tap-water quality can also
explain the popularity Because it is untreated natural mineral water is perceived as
―natural 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
What the company is doing to take care of the consumerrsquos concern
Tampering of seals
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit Consumer research conducted
by us revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the
seal Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations So when a
consumer buys mineral water he would like to be assured that the water has not been
tampered with Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to
reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that
what they are consuming is SAFE
Taste of the mineral water
Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like ―Water The consumer
research done by us revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural
taste
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
53 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
COMPETITION
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs2000-crore mark in the next
couple of years This is drawing the big guns attention First Britannia launched
Evian And recently soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina Now
Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray Meanwhile Parle Agrolsquos Bailley has been
growing steadily Small local players too are breathing down Bislerilsquos neck riding on
better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation)
The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like
Parle Bailey
Hello
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parlelsquos Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the
organized market Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water
in the Indian market few can be called brands It is necessary to remember that every
product with a name is not a brand even Bisleri has become generic to this category
It does not have any emotional values attached to it So there was no difficulty for
Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft
drinks market where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot So the
creative team at HTA virtually had an empty canvas to work on And it came up with
a campaign that did have people talking First a series of teasers followed by a film
that showed healthy bodies and youthful people and of course lots of water
Although Aquafina is only available in a 1 litre pet bottle priced at Rs10 is
competitive And it is safe In addition to the tamper proof seal there is a reliable
method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled The date of manufacturing
has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle Thus a person who is refilling it
would have to find a matching cap and bottle the probability of which is very low
Aquafina uses PepsiCos own seven-step purification system which it calls HydRO-7
which includes pre-filtration treatment to remove larger particles two stages of
polishing filtering charcoal filtration reverse osmosis ultraviolet and ozone
sterilization [1]
PepsiCo states in marketing material that this system removes
substances that may be in other brands of bottled water
Aquafina entered in Indian market in 2000-2001 and it used its Parent concerns
established distribution network
Now when we talk about the market there are various startegies used by Aquafina in
Rajasthan Like they are giving away free water bottles to retailers with purchase of cola
cartons and they are not letting any other drink to be stored inside the refrigerators provided
by them to the retailers In that case small retailers are unable too keep Bisleri bottles cold and
propsing one of the major reason to not to buy Bisleri then to buy any other water
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
Coca Cola Kinley
Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of
water and in the process putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri
Kinley is targetting institutions
Parle Agrorsquos Bailey
Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhanlsquos brother Prakash Chauhan is
very popular in the southern part of India Southern part of India accounts for 20 of
the sale of the whole water market industry Bisleri would have a tough competition
from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country
Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at
which itlsquos competitor is offering the product Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt For
Rs10 The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is itlsquos generic
name And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong
distribution base We know the fact that Bailley has grown at a rapid pace using the
route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet This is another point which
the company would have to take care of to face the competition
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER
TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
1The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market The company should
also target the market for soft drinks All the soft drinks addresses three issues fun
thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree The thirst and the status
value of the mineral water is well accepted There is very little the mineral water
brands can do to add the fun element around the product Again here it becomes
important for the company to have a good distribution network It should be
understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said
with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher If
we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers
we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then
safety is not assured Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water
industry can grow at a rapid rate
1 Getting in shape
The another improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging It is often
seen that the youth are the opinion leaders therefore it becomes very important for
any consumer product to make a mark in that generation if it really wants to
grow The company for that would have to come with packaging that is more
sturdy and portrays itself as a hep brand
2 Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company
wants to target the soft drinks market If it wants to enter every part of the country
and would face competition from competitors like Bailley it becomes a
prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
Take the example of Bailley it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in
the past and is still on that trend One of the important reason for this rapid growth
is franchising
THREATS
Bisleri will be taking the packs back and refilling them But the packs cannot be
sterilized since the material used is PET and cannot withstand high temperature So
how can they ensure purity
Strategy to counter threats
Bottles are subjected to chlorine washes hot water washes and ozone washes before
refilling the bottles
The company is betting on the home segment It is often seen that customers are not
satisfied with filters and water purifiers The reason being that filters and water
purifiers also need to be cleaned periodically and still do not guarantee absolutely
clean water In order to service this segment the five liter packs are being pushed
through the route of fat dealers (wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as
stockiest and serve as supply points from where customers can pick up the required
quota In future consumers will be able to call the fat dealer and place orders for
home delivery of the five-liter pack This is a high turnover low-margin retailer who
does not keep a store but serves a similar purpose with other items such as rice
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
OPPORTUNITIES
So far company has not used the franchising route very aggressively unlike Parle
Agrolsquos Bailley which has grown very fast using this route He has around six
franchisees in Mumbai Delhi Chennai Bangalore Goa and Rajasthan They shunned
this route so far because in most areas where they had no presence it was imperative
that they did it themselves Now for further expansion they can afford to use the
franchisee route
Price or competition
Pricing is the next most important consideration for the consumer they have crashed
the prices of the one liter and 500 ml offerings ―At Rs5 that is half the price of the
one liter pack the 500 ml pack is a steal says Company
But what about the smaller pack eating into the one-liter sales Answers Company
―Interestingly the smaller pack has pushed up the one liter sales There has been a
very good rub-off Schemes for retailers for a combination of both packages are on
create the push However one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the
companylsquos turnover has come down to 30 per cent The two-liter packs which have
practically disappeared from the shelves have come down from 20 per cent to five
per cent The growth has come from the 500 ml and the five-liter category which
account for 15 per cent and 36 per cent of turnover respectively
Earlier Bisleri was selling at a premium of Rs12 for the same size But beginning last
year it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs10 each Aqua Minerals attributes
the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier
The competitive Rs10-price tag has been working well for the brand Points out
Chauhan ―Our sales prove that the Indian consumer is getting smarter by the day If
he can buy a high- quality product for the same price why will he opt for an inferior
brand For frequent consumers Bisleri introduced a half-liter bottle priced at Rs5
some six months back Therelsquos also a two-liter bottle for Rs18
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
In what could be a masterstroke Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass
marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs40 That works out to Rs2 a liter
If the logistics manufacturing and distribution do fall in place it could change the
face of the purified water market for keeps In the current scenario mineral water is
picked up more by travelers less by households With its big capacity jar Aqua
Minerals wants to change that ―they are trying to break the home market with the 20-
litre jar company discloses
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
54 PURIFICATION PROCESS
Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process Source water is put through- 7
ndashstage Purification process It is then packaged in tamper proof packs with the unique
breakaway seal And all is done in completely automated plants to ensure it reaches
you perfectly pure and safe The process is Natural spring water is drawn from deep
wells then
l CHLORINATION-Kills microorganisms removes organic matter
2 SAND FIL TER---Removes suspended matter and turbidity
3 CARBON FILTER-Removes residual chlorines and odors
4 ULTRAFICATION-Removes bacteria and make water sparkling clean
5 MICRON FILTERS---Additional safety measures of filtration
6 REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM---Controls total dissolved solids (TDS)
7 0Z0NATION-Ensures water remains bacteria -free for longer shelf life
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
FUTURE PLANS
Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin markets and naturally
people associate the brand with bottled water now Bisleri is perhaps already 6 steps
ahead of its competitors and will endeavors to widen its gap in the times to come
Some of the future plans of the Bisleri
1 New pack sizes in bottles and cups
2 Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200 crores
3 Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12 new bottling
facilities at the cost of Rs 150 crores
4 Bisleri planning to diversify into fruit juice business It has already set up a
fruit -juice plant in Chittor AP
5 The company plans to go in the neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bhutan
6 The company planning to open the Bisleri retail outlets ---these ere the shops
where only Bisleri will be sold
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
Bisleri is the first in the segment has built up a brand name
A generic product
Spreaded Distribution network all over India
WEAKNESS
Less margins of retailers or distributors so they avoid it
High cost of production than the competitors
OPPORTUNITIES
In flavoured water segment
In neighbouring countries
THREATS
Local players entering in to the market amp selling at a very low price
Duplicity resulting in bringing down the Brand name
Heavy market potential in this segment invite the big players and the
competition increases
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
FINDINGS OF RESEARCH
1 Out of 10 retailers everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were
centrally located to the market and were basically general store confectionery
shop and small kirana shop
The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water therefore it can
be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand
and retailer enjoy selling it as the get good margin out of it
2 Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers
The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed all over Delhi 70 of the
retailers kept Baileys mineral water 25 Kinley 30 Aquafina 40 Yes and
50 the retailer kept Hello mineral water
However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a
share of 70 this is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the
brand name of Bisleri The new entrants basically Aquafna and Kinley is been
kept by 30 and 26 of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon
capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
Pie chart showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the
retailers
70
50
30 26 40
50
45
Bisleri Bailleys Aquafina Kinley Yes Hello Others
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
3 Weekly sales of mineral water from the outlet
Out of 100 shopkeepers surveyed all over Delhi the weekly sales of the mineral water
averaged approx 225 bottles of 1 lit each which means that a total number of bottles
case or cases sold from the single outlet averaged around 15 cases Out of this Bisleri
mineral water is sold most i e approx 45 of the cases sold from the single outlet
belongs to Bisleri mineral water whereas Kinley acquired average of 7-8 of the
total sale Aquafina sale constitute of 10 Baileys sale on an average constitute of
20 of the total sale However other mineral water sales comprised of 18 of the
total sale
Thus from the above analysis it is very clear that Bisleri still holds on dominant
position in the mineral water market but at the same time new entrants like Aquafina
and Kinley with market share of 10 and 8 respectively may pose threat to Bisleri
in the long run
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
Piechart showing percentage sales of following mineral water in a week
45
10 8
20
17
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Hello Others
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
4 Frequency of distribution visit
Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-
moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depend on
distribution network and its availability also frequency of distribution is taken into
consideration for the sale of this kind of product Therefore it can be interpreted that
sale of any product depend on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution
and sales are interrelated
The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100 and out of
this almost every shop considered gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular
basis ie on a daily basis therefore linkage is always there with the company
regarding the demand for mineral water This is good sign for an almost all the
company as they are in regular touch with the retailers
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
Bargraph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Baileys Hello Others
100 100 100 100 100 100
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Daily Alternatively Weekly
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
5 Analysis on the credit policy of the distributorcompany
It was found out that no company gives the mineral water to the retailers on the credit
basis that is basically they like to sell there products on a cash However this can one
of the area where one can come and find a way to capture longer chunk of market
share by offering credit to the small retailers who doesnt have sufficient liquid to
invest in items like this there if credit policy is being offered by any one of this
companies for small period of time say for a day or two then this small retailers
combined together may able to push the product in the market in a successful manner
The company must think in this content and should follow push strategy where by
they will able to have larger chunk of market size from a limited market share
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence Take
the case of Team which enjoys immense popularity in Maharashtra Similar brands
with a regional presence are pune and mumbai Thus new players will be looking for
a distinct positioning One such brand is Pepsilsquos Aquafina the largest selling bottled
water brand in the US After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore
Aquafina was released in Chennai Ahmedabad Vadodara and Pune Pepsi has
invested over Rs5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra which is
the only Aquafina plant outside the US
According to the executive vice president corporate communications Pepsi Foods
Ltd ―Aquafina will be helped by Pepsilsquos network Moreover Aquafina will be served
absolutely chilled That makes sense too since surveys have indicated that an
overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people
who are travelling
With the big players who have the support of the financial muscle and a large
consumer base in other categories with them like Pepsi Britannia Nestle and Coke
mdash the battle is the tougher arena of brand building All the multinationals are looking
at high-octane advertising targeting specific consumer segments Sensing troubled
waters ahead
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and
protect his water kingdom
At the end I would like to say that being a market leader Bisleri have to adopt few
things as follows because previously it was working under an environment which was
equivalent to monopoly Because he was the initiator in water trade business but as
the changing rules of business and market one has to adopt amp implement different amp
effective strategies at the right time to attain a position in this competitive world
I would recommend the few things to the company
Develop new marketing strategies due to raising competition in water trade
Give more margins to the retailers and distributors so that they eagerly participate
in increasing the company revenue by rising sales
Reducing the cost of production by finding changing amp adopting new advance
technologies
Should respond to the competitors when they give some thing new to the
consumer by giving the same or better
Should give more stress amp attention to the media and advertising
Should give proper service to the existing consumers
Reducing the delivery time and the water will be refilled with in half an hour of
the phone call
Awareness programmes about the hygiene water in schools amp colleges
Displays of hot amp cold dispensers and bottles at places like airports metro
stations
The company should organize camps at various parts of the city Also road shows
to bring about the difference between mineral water and purified water
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to
establish the authenticity to the product
2 Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be introduced so
that the consumers also has a healthy substitute to the softdrinks
3 Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost
4 Company like Acquafina amp Kinley should come up with other big bottles variant
5 POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs 2 per mlt as the
perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs 10 per Lt
6 Awareness programs at health club schools amp Nursing homes
7 To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of the product
8 Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels clubs and
airports where upper class group visits as they are the potential customers Place
like departmental stores petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered
9 Mineral water in polybags like milk be more convenient to the consumers
10 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to
bring about the difference between mineral water and filterpurified water and to
tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered waterpurified
water
11 To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral
water would cost less and benefit more because people using purifier system cost
too much
12 From the study it has been found that majority of the people does not have any
brand preference The company should establish brand image in mineral water
with the help of advertisement amp better service to the customers
13 To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the product the company
should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievance
14 Water storing fridges should be provided to retailers by big brands
15 Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by big brands
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS amp JOURNALS
MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER
BUISNESS WORLD BUISNESS TODAY
MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI
VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD BUSINESS TODAY
WEBSITES
WWWBISLERICOM
WWWCOKECOM
WWWPEPSICOM
WWWPARLECOM
WWWGOOGLECOM
WWWREDIFFCOM
wwwmanagementcasescom
wwwicricom
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire for Retailer
Name of the Retailer
1) Which brand does customer prefer when it comes to mineral water
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
2) Between these 2 which brand you prefer personally
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
3) Amongst these two brands which given you more profit marginwhy
4) Does market fluctuation hampers the price range of these products
5)do the natural calamities affect any of the brand good or bad
( calamities like improper rain or extreme summer )
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
6)which brand in better in market supply amp which brand provides the exiting
offers
7) Do you get paid for promoting or advertising the product
8) when the festival season or marriage season which brand work
more
9) when the customer ask you for mineral water which brand you generally put
forward why
10) Is any complaints about any of the brand amp what are those
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
Questionnaire For Customer
Name
1) when it comes to thirst which company brand product comes to your mind
a) aquafina
b) bisleri
c) any other else brand
2) when you go to buy a mineral water which size of bottle do you prefer
3) Is there a particular time spam in a year when you consume more mineral
water
4 ) as now days aquaguard is almost reaching every home so it stills gives you
urge to consume mineral water
5) amongst these two brand ( bisleri and aquafina ) which more reliable
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature
6) which mineral water product is more customers satisfactory amp in what sense
7) which product of mineral water makes you feel satisfactory
8) when you consume a mineral water product what will you prefer brand of that
mineral water product or price of that mineral water product why
9)which mineral water product satisfy your each and every need of thirstiness why
10)any suggestion from your side to these two mineral water product
Signature