CHAPT

millions with diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, typhoid, jaundice and

gastro-enteritis.

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

ONE

now a luxury. At home most people are forced to either boil water or

INTRO

install purifiers. While traveling or eating out in restaurants, buying bottled

water has become a necessity. This need has seen an explosion of

DUCTI

companies marketing safe drinking water in bottles across the country.

ON

1.1 THE PACKAGED DRINKING WATER INDUSTRY

AN OVERVIEW

Water is the
fountain of all
life. Even a
toddler

will

tell you it is a
prime need of
the body. Sixty
percent of our
body weight is
made up of it.
Water can also
be the cause of
much

misery

especially
India,

in

where

contaminated

industry had an estimated turnover of Rs.10 billion (Rs.1,000crores).Today

it is one of India's fastest growing industrial sectors. Between 1999 and
2004, the Indian bottled water market grew at a compound annual growth
rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent - the highest in the world. With over a
thousand bottled water producers, the Indian bottled water industry is big
by even international standards. There are more than 200 brands, nearly 80
per cent of which are local. Most of the small-scale producers sell nonbranded products and serve small markets. In fact, making bottled water is
today a cottage industry in the country. Leave alone the metros, where a
bottled-water manufacturer can be found even in a one-room shop, in
every medium and small city and even some prosperous rural areas there
are bottled water manufacturers.
Despite the large number of small producers, this industry is dominated by
the big players - Parle Bisleri, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Parle Agro, Mohan
Meakins, SKN Breweries and so on. Parle was the first major Indian

water
continues
bring

India is the tenth largest bottled water consumer in the world. In 2002, the

to

down

company to enter the bottled water market in the country when it

introduced Bisleri in India 25 years ago. The total annual bottled
water consumption in India
1|Page

1.2 OVERVIEW OF THE MARKET SHARE

Currently, Bisleri continues to lead in the Rs 700-1,000 crore organized, packaged water market
with an estimated 40 per cent market share, followed by Kinley at 28 per cent and Aquafina with
an 11 per cent share. In terms of volumes, the North and West remain Bisleri's biggest
performing markets, despite the brand's sustained national-level presence. The market has been
growing for the last three years at an unimaginable rate of 80%. The market size of bottled water
is expected to surpass the size of soft drinks market very soon in the near future.

Individual Market Shares:

BISLERI-40%, KINLEY-28%, AQUAFINA-11%, OTHERS-21%
Due to the demand for water, a large number of "mineral water manufacturers" have been
spawned selling little more than tap water to the unsuspecting consumer, the majority of whom
are still very native about mineral' water.
Pepsi Co's Aquafina brand, which debuted the bottled water business in September 1999, targets
the youth sector and concentrates on just one pack size, 750ml priced ten rupees.

2|Page

Coca-Cola is the most recent entrant (May 2000) with its Kinley, brand and in a controversial
and unsuccessful marketing campaign, it obtained an endorsement from the Federation of Family
Physicians' Association of India (FFPAI), a lesser known body of doctors for its brand.
Estimates show that there are around 100 small regional players in the bottle water market and
the number have been growing at an unbelievable 70%-100% per year, year on year, for the past
four years. This has enticed a number of international brands in the market besides Coca-Cola
and PepsiCo-Nestle (Pure Life), Britannia, Lever, United Breweries and Shaw Wallace. Danone
Pairs launched Evian some time back and even imported hundreds of cases for VIP guests
celebrating the Hindu festival, KumbhMela.
The government has been forced to sit up, take notice and tighten regulations after
comprehensive sample tests were taken by consumer groups and found that a number of the
smaller and more unscrupulous "opportunistic" players were selling little more than tap water.
Until recently the government of had set standards only for mineral water and even the PFA
(Prevention of Food Adulteration Act) and BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) were deficient
when compared to international markets.
Under the new regulations 48 specifications are to be met for water to become mineral water and
for packaged drinking water there are 43 specifications. But small players are bound to fall out of
the market by April 1, 2001 when the new regulations were supposed to be enforced.

3|Page

1.3 SEGMENTATION
The mineral water market is segmented according to the type of consumers:
Foreign Tourists
Foreign tourists have been the main consumers of the mineral water as they face a lot of
digestion problems due to different food habits.
Domestic Tourists
Domestic tourists have switched to mineral water mainly because of safety and hygiene
factors.
Health/Fashion Conscious
Like soft drinks, drinking mineral water is also considered fashionable by some people.
The mineral water consumer is mainly in the age group of 20-35 years and is an educated middle
class person. This is also the segment of fruit drinks, which have usually been positioned as fun
and health drink for young adults.
The mineral water market is also segmented along pack sizes:
One litre bottle
This is meant to spell safety and security for consumers. It is positioned on a prestige
platform for the achiever segment - who like to make a fashion statement by drinking
mineral water. This segment gets the maximum sales.
500ml bottle
This size has been introduced in the market to target the individual and local travelers.
PET bottles
The size of the PET bottles varies from 10 to 20 litres. These are mainly for institutional
sales (Wedding parties, Hotels, Corporate, etc.)

4|Page

1.4 CONSUMER HABITS & 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 consumers 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.
5|Page

1.5 SWOT ANALYISIS OF THE INDISN PACKAGED DRINKING WATER

INDUSTRY
STRENGTHS
The industry is growing @ 40%.
In India the market is huge & untapped
Growing awareness among the people about the importance of mineral water
WEAKNESSES
Many players entering in the race.
Any local person can start manufacturing.
Rural population is not using the packaged water.
Not very economical.
Quality not properly maintained.
OPPORTUNITIES
Sustained market growth increase in coming years.
Literacy rate growing and hence the awareness of safe drinking water to avoid the
diseases.
Huge population & untapped market.
THREATS
Many substitutes available,
Too many players will dilute the market & the profit margin.

6|Page

1.6 MAJOR PLAYERS

With over 200 players jostling to be the thirst-quenching favorite of the Indian consumer, the
business is growing at a rate of over 50 per cent annually. The country's 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.
After the Cola wars the time has come for water wars. Here we discuss the major players and
warriors in the bottled water market.
1. BISLERI
The brand is a product of Parle International and presently is the market leader with more than
45% market share. The company pioneered the concept of bottled water in the Indian market as
early as 1967. The company is also credited with SKUs of 500ml, 1.2 ltr, 1.5 ltr and 2 ltr in the
Indian market
The re-launch of Bisleri in 1993, however was a success due to growing awareness and high
consciousness of health and hygiene among people. In 1993, when Ramesh Chauhan,
Chairman, Parle Bisleri sold his right to market Bisleri brand to Coca-Cola, Bisleri, which
underwent the new management for a period of 5 years, remained largely neglected. On getting
the rights back, he started building Bisleri as a mineral water brand. Bisleri had a brand name, a
product, the brand building of Bisleri started in a small way in 1998, which bore fruit in 19992000 when it grew by 140%.
Positioning

Playing Safe

Target audience

Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality

Guardian, Authoritative, Reliable

Punch Line

Play Safe

USP

Pioneer advantage in bottled water industry, old player with lot of

Experience

In the case of 500ml and 1 litre it directly supplies to the retailer

7|Page

In the case of 20 litre jar they have appointed distributor over the area to reach through the
corporate. But then also they lack in providing better service to the customer.
2. KINLEY
This brand was first introduced in the country in March 1998, when COKE launched Kinley
Soda. The company entered in the business in May00 through its brand, Kinley. The company
tied up with Kothari Beverages, of Yes brand of mineral water, for manufacturing cokes brand at
Yes facilities. Starting with Bangalore, Kinley mineral water was rolled out nationally in a
phased manner.
Positioning: Safety and health oriented
Target audience

Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality

Trustworthy, Strong, Confident

Punch Line

Boond Boond mein Vishwas

USP

Belongs to the Coca Cola lineage, gains advantage from the

distribution and retail network

Error: Reference source not foundIn the case of 1 litre and 500ml it directly supplies to the
retailer without any distributor.
In the case of 20 litre jar they have their own distributor.
These above 2 are the top players in the market other brands present are:3. AQUAFINA
Entered the bottled water business in September 1999 by test launching its first in Mumbai and
then in Bangalore. PEPSI with its AQUAFINA brand has backing of a good distribution
channel of 60000 outlets, its refrigerators at retail outlets which stock its cold drinks along with
Aquafina as well. Initially Aquafina was available in just one pack-750 ml and was priced at Rs.
10. Now they also have competing packages of 500ml and 1 ltr ml pack priced at Rs.6 and Rs. 10
respectively. The main target audience for Aquafina is the youth segment. By end 2002 PEPSI
added 7 more to its existing base of 5 plants. Unlike most players, Pepsi is not looking at bulk
buys or in-house consumption at the moment. The focus was thus only on one SKU, that too

8|Page

750ml. Though the company is present only in selected market as of now, it has plans of
increasing share in the market by expanding its SKUs portfolio as well as its distribution reach.

4. NESTLE
With its mass-market product branded PURE LIFE has banked on its distribution network for
chocolate, which are marketed through a large chain of retail outlets. Pure Life is aimed to have a
National presence; the second brand which is being tried for by the company is aimed at
targeting the regional markets. Pure Life is for Mass Market like hotels, restaurants and caf
segment and Perrier for the bars, San Pellegrino for the restaurants, but nestle is not yet into
home & office segment.
The company has priced the Pure Life brand very competitively in the market.

5. THERMAX
A player of Technical Expertise is THERMAX, through a joint-venture with US-based
CULLIGAN WATER TECHNOLOGIES largely into industrial water purification. It has
entered into the household segment with the launch of 20-litre packs of drinking water branded
as Good Water, priced at Rs.60 per pack. GOOD WATEREVERFLO is positioned for
organizations that are actively improving the quality of the workplace for employees and visitors.
It is an ideal solution to those wanting to make pure, safe drinking water available, without
buying and maintaining in-house equipment like purifiers, water coolers etc. However the
company has no plans to introduce smaller package for its product
6. BAILEY
Though a pioneer in this field; Mr. Ramesh Chauhan Chairman- of Parle Bisleri had to contend
with several new entrants in this segment. For starters, his own brother, Mr. Prakash Chauhan
through Brand Bailey has been trying to emulate the Bisleri success through the franchising
route, but Bailey has never been successful in it. The brand is a product of Parle Agro, the
company of Frooti fame. The company presently is the second largest player in the market with
share of 20%. The company has recently extended its Bailey brand name for its soda water. It is
also credited with forming a new segment of 330ml SKU in the market
Target audience

9|Page

Health and hygiene conscious people

Personality

Guardian, Authoritative, Reliable

Punch Line

I want my bailey

USP

Pioneer advantage in bottled water industry, old player with lot of

Experience

7. EVIAN
Evian by DANONE INTERNATIONAL is marketed by BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES in India.
The high-priced mineral water from French Alps is clearly targeted at the premium segment of
consumer. Currently Evian has more of an Institutional presence (5 star hotels) than on retail
shelves. With 1 litre bottle being priced a hefty Rs.80
Then, there is GODREJ with AQUAPURE.
Britannia also plans to launch its own branded water very soon.
NATIONAL DIARY DEVELOPMENT BOARD also plans to launch DHARA through its
distribution channel.
New Entrant ATCO with BRILLIANT WATER &DS FOODS with CATCH SPRING water
positioned on the mineral water plant.
Even HLL is said to be firming up plans to enter the market. Apart from these, are other players
which cater to nearly same market as the big players do. Other players in the market with strong
regional presence are: Brilliant, Yes, Hello, Purette, Fountain, Himalayan, Golden Eagle, Prime,
Pure Natural Aqua, Ganga, Florida, Metro etc

10 | P a g e

CHAPTER TWO
BISLERI
2.1 COMPANY PROFILE OF BISLERI

In 1967, Bisleri an Italian company, started by Signer FeliceBisleri, first

brought the idea of selling bottled water in India. It started a company
called Bisleri India. In 1969, Ramesh Chauhan, the Chairman of Parle
Exports, bought over the brand. In those days, Bisleri packaged drinking
water was available in glass bottles.
Being a returnable package owing to various other problems such as
breakage and weight, in 1972-73, Bisleri was made available in PVC (Poly
Vinyl Chloride) bottles. After this plastic packaging was introduced, things
started to change, and sales increased rapidly.
The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started in 1993 as Ramesh Chauhan sold
off the Parle stable of brands, including Thums Up, Limca and Gold Spot.
Recognising the potential of the packaged drinking water market, he then
went on to concentrate on making Bisleri a top selling brand in India.

11 | P a g e

2.2 The Present

It was around the year 1995, when Parle Exports took charge of the brand
operations and the business took off in the market. With factories across
India and a strong distribution network, Bisleri established itself as a force
to reckon with in the domestic packaged drinking water market.
Earlier the packaged drinking water market consisted of five star hotels,
tourists and foreigners. As a marketing strategy, a conscious decision was
taken by the company that only 40% of the sales should come from these
outlets and 60% from general market, i.e. paanwallas, street shops, general
stores and even non-tourists.
This brought about a sea change in the perception in the consumer's mind
about consumption of Bisleri. Earlier, drinking bottled water was
considered to be more of a status symbol. That thinking has slowly
changed to the point where today, not drinking Bisleri is considered as
being behind the times. Such has been the presence and penetration of the
Bisleri brand in the bottled water segment.
About few years ago, in 1998, a strategy was adopted to concentrate
aggressively on the home market. The habit of boiling water or using
electronic gadgets was not adequate, since the source of water itself was
unreliable. The bulk packages like the 2, 5 and 20 litre bottles were
introduced to meet this market need. The price per litre went down as a
result, making bottled water very economical for the consumer.

2.3 Future Plans

Bisleri was the first to market bottled water in a totally virgin market and
naturally people associate the brand with bottled water. Now Bisleri is
perhaps already ten steps ahead of its competitors and will endeavor to
widen its gap in the times to come.
Bisleri's brand positioning stresses on pure, clean and safe drinking water.
12 | P a g e

Some of the future plans to maintain the top spot that Bisleri commands in
the Indian market are:

New pack sizes in bottles and cups

Increase the distribution network with an investment of over 200

crores

Strengthen presence in traditionally weak areas by setting up 12

new bottling facilities at a cost of Rs. 150 crores.

2.4 Technology Developments

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

The break away seal

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

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

2.5 Purification Process

13 | P a g e

At BISLERI plants, water undergoes multi - stage purification process to

ensure proper blend of minerals and complete removal of microorganisms
and toxic substances. So a habit of drinking PURE and SAFE BISLERI
will ensure a healthy life
What advantages Bisleri purification process has over purification done by
other methods. Traditional process of boiling water for purification has its
limitations. lt is time consuming. For boiling, water has to be heated to 100
deg. Celsius. Also, to kill microbes water should be boiled continuously for
a minimum of 20 minutes. Boiling may kill the microbes but can not
remove other physical impurities and toxic substances.
Many home appliances are available in market for water purification. These
gadgets use either filtration technique or Ultra Violet rays or a combination
of the two techniques. These techniques do not guarantee 100 % purity of
water.
Filtration removes only the visible suspended particles and not the minute ,
invisible particles , toxic substances or microorganisms. The filters are
cleaned rarely and all the muck accumulates inside leading to more
contamination. Ideally such filters need to be cleaned every day which is
cumbersome. Ultra Violate rays kill the microbes but cannot ensure
removal of toxic substances and physical impurities. These purification
equipment are incomplete and need continuous monitoring and
maintenance.
At BISLERI, through our multi - stage purification process we ensure
removal of toxic substances as well as physical and microbiological
impurities. In our state-of-the-art processing plants we follow rigorous
Good Manufacturing Practices and strict Quality Assurance norms so each
and every bottle of BISLERI is made tasty, pure and safe for the consumer.
PROTECT YOUR HEALTH WITH BISLERI WHICH USES
6 STAGES OF PURIFICATION
14 | P a g e

1. CHLORINATION: Kills micro organisms. Remove organic matter.

2. ARKAL FILTER: Removes suspended matter and turbidity.
3. CARBON FILTER: Removes residual chlorine &odours
4. REVERSE OSMOSIS: Removes organic material. Controls total
dissolved solids in the water.
5. MICRON FILTRATION: Additional safety measures of filtration.
6. OZONATION: Ensures water remains bacteria free for longer shelf
life.

2.6 Product & Packaging

Bisleri is available in a range of sizes.
The Bisleri bottled water range comprises the conventional 500 ml, one
litre, 1.2 litre and two litre bottles; five litre and 20 litre jars for the home
segment, and smaller packs sizes of 250 ml cups and 330 ml bottles,
though in very limited numbers for now.

2.7 Vision
A

major,

diversified,

transitional,

integrated

consumer

product

manufacturing company, with National Leadership and a strong

environment conscience, playing a national role in safe water and Agro
based drinks.

Mission

15 | P a g e

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

including freshness, purity and safety, and making it easily available
to the consumer at a very affordable price.
To achieve international standards of excellence in all aspects of
energy and diversified business with focus on consumer delight
through value and services of product and cost reduction.
To enhance capital and fixed assets of the group to withstand
challenges and tough market trends.
To attain leadership in developing, adopting and assimilating state or
art technology for competitive advantage.
To provide better quality of product and services through sustained
market research and product development.
To foster a culture of participation and innovation for employee
growth and contribution.
To cultivate high standards of business ethics, and total quality
management for a strong corporate identity and brand equity with
continuous and positive growth.
To help enrich the quality of life of all the communities specially the
neglected ones and preserve ecological balance and heritage through
a strong environment conscience.

2.8 Why Bisleri?

Bisleri is totally safe & protects you from all water borne
diseases.
Bisleri is trusted by 50 lakh households across the country.
Bisleri is the brand leader in bottled water category.
The water is purified through six stages of purification process
that includes reverse osmosis and Ozonation.
16 | P a g e

Where Can We Use Bisleri?

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

17 | P a g e

2.9 THE JOURNEY TILL NOW

1969: Buys Bisleri bottled water from an Italian company, Felice Bisleri. It was bottled in glass
bottles then.
Early-1980s: Shifts to PVC bottles. Sales surge
Mid-1980s: Switches to PET bottles, which meant more transparency and life for water.
1993: Sells carbonated drink brands like Thums Up, Gold Spot and Limca to Coca-Cola for Rs.
400 crore.
1995: Bisleri launches a 500 ml bottle and sales shoot up by 400 per cent.
2000: Introduces the 20-litre container to bring prices down from Rs 10 a litre to Rs 2 a litre.
1998: Introduces a tamper-proof and tamper-evident seal.
2000: BIS cancels Bisleri's license of water bottling in Delhi since some of the bottles did not
carry ISI label; the license is restored one-and-a-half months later.
2002: Kinley overtakes Bisleri. The national retail stores audit by ORG-MARG show Kinley's
market share at 35.1 per cent compared to Bisleri's 34.4 per cent.
2003: Bisleri says it plans to venture out into Europe and America to sell bottled water
2004: Water king, Mr. Ramesh Chauhan set to take brand Bisleri across the globe.
2005: Bisleri has announced its plans to foray into the domestic fruit juice market and earmarked
an investment of Rs 100 crore for upgradation of its Chittor plant and setting up of a new facility.

2006: Bisleri Natural Mountain water will be available in aqua green packaging against the blue
packaging of old and will be available in six sizes.
2007: Parle Bisleri changed the look introduced a new variant (natural mountain water) and
announced its plan to launch the brand in US- a huge market for designer waters.
2008: Bisleri International has decided to register the mango drink brand Maaza in eastern
European countries, and launch the brand through a franchisee operation.
2009: Company plans to concentrate on markets such as Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Southern
part of Tamil Nadu and Punjab, which are its weaker links to steer a 40% annual growth in sales.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To learn about the domestic packaged drinking water market, its market share and Brand
Bisleri in detail.
To find about consumers' and retailers' brand preference
To see whether there is a threat to the mineral water market from water purifiers and soft
drinks.
Whether the people of Delhi & its Ncr are happy, paying for water.
Whether the people of Delhi & its Ncr are getting health conscious.
To find the retailers view on the mineral water market and to assess the future prospect of
the market.
To find the potential of Mineral water market in Delhi & its Ncr.

CHAPTER THREE
LITERATURE REVIEW
3.1 BOTTLED WATER
Consistent quality and taste are two of the principal differences between bottled water and tap
water. While bottled water originates from protected sources - largely from underground aquifers
and springs - tap water comes mostly from rivers and lakes.
Another factor to consider is the distance tap water must travel and what it goes through before it
reaches the tap. In compliance with international regulations, bottled water is sealed and
packaged in sanitary containers. If a bottled water product is found to be substandard, it can be
recalled. This cant happen in case of tap water.
According to regulations in the US, when bottled water is sourced from a community water
system the product label must state so clearly. However, if the water is subject to distillation, de
ionization or reverse osmosis, it can be categorized that way, and does not have to state on its
label that it is from a community water system or from a municipal source.
Processing methods such as reverse osmosis remove most chemical and microbiological
contaminants.

3.2 THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Processing and Quality Assurance

The casing tube itself is protected with stainless steel mesh to give a preliminary filtration to
the water.

Ultra filtration gives water reduction in turbidity and adds sparkle

Activated carbon purifier to remove color and odour in water

Reverse osmosis membrane has porosity of less than 0.01 micron the process renders water
free of microorganisms and also reduces dissolved solids

www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/

To ensure mineral water is held safe free from contamination, ultraviolet treatment and ionization
process is carried out. Ozone is unstable trivalent oxygen, a very powerful bactericide with no
side effect, as it disintegrates into oxygen within couple of hours.
Sterilization effect of ionized water continues even after water is packaged, thereby ensuring
safety of Mineral Water up to its final packing. To ensure high quality of packing materials,
components like caps and bottles are manufactured in-house from resins of quality suppliers.
Good Manufacturing Practices are stringently followed at all times. Processing is religiously
monitored at every stage. Testing source water, processing parameters, microbial quality,
packaging material integrity and finally, shelf life studies, forms an integral part of quality and
safety assurance plan.
Labeling
The Name of the Product shall be the appropriate terms as defined. Water containing carbon
dioxide that emerges from the source and is packaged directly with its entrapped gas or from
which the gas is mechanically separated and later reintroduced at a level not higher than
naturally occurring in the water, may bear on its label the words naturally carbonated or naturally
sparkling. Packaged water which contains carbon dioxide at levels than those naturally occurring
in the source of the product shall be labeled with the words carbonated, carbonation added or
sparkling.
Rules and Regulations
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has just recently got involved in the process. In September
2000, the Government of India made it mandatory for all bottled water companies to get an ISI
mark, including imported bottled water brands like Evian and Perrier. The Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare had set a deadline of Mar 29, 2001 for complying with the new norms.

www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/

3.3 MARKET CATEGORISATION

The market initially had only one SKU of 1 litre this was followed a by a number of smaller and
bigger SKUs. Based on these SKUs we can divide the entire market into two segments:

Retail consumption market

Household & Institutional consumption market

Each of these consumption markets have a number of SKUs under it. Some of the most
consumed SKUs in retail market are 500ml, 1 litre, 1.2 litre, 1.5 litres, 2 litres, and 5 litres.
Recently Bailley has launched 330ml pack targeted against 330ml pack size of soft drinks
especially the aluminum-can drinkers.
The institution market is largely constituted by the hotel industry, caterers, offices, parties, travel,
tourism, hospitals etc. The SKUs that are available in this market are 10 litres and above besides
this we have pack size of 250ml plastic cups.
The market can also be divided on the basis of the price at which this bottled water is available
into three categories:

Super premium mineral water

Premium local natural mineral water

Popular or plain bottled water

Presently, Evian of Danone group; Perrier and San-Pellegrino of Nestle belong to super premium
category. Catch, Himalayan, Brilliant etc. belong to premium local natural mineral water
category.
All other brands like Bisleri, Bailley, Kinley, Aquafina etc. belong to popular or plain bottled
water category.
The packaged drinking water market is often categorized as per the clients they have:
Corporate, Theaters, Gymkhanas, College Canteens, Retail Outlets, Hotels and Restaurants and
Occasions.

www.nrdc.org/water/drinking

3.4 INDIA TO FACE SEVERE WATER CRISIS IN THE FUTURE

The per capita water availability in India is projected to decline to about 1,140 cubic meters per
year in 2050 from 1820 cubic meters per year recorded in 2001 according to the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
"India will see a severe water crisis in 20 years if the government doesn't change its ways and
clashes are already taking place because the resource is so scarce." This was the warning by the
World Bank way back in 2005. "Estimates reveal that by 2020, India's demand for water will
exceed all sources of supply.
All these reports point to just one thing for us now. That we should he on serving water and be
judicious in its use. If water is wasted today then it is our future generation which will suffer
because of it. So everyone needs to make a point from now to save water in any way they can.
If we cannot do that then the future is very clear. Water will be one of the most expensive
commodities and everyone will have to buy water shelling out huge amount of money for the
same. The implications could be worse than these if action is not taken now.
Water infrastructure projects should also speed up in the country through public-private
partnership. This is of immense importance in a country where rural population has very little
access to safe drinking water. What these infrastructure projects will also ensure is employment
generation and in the current global crisis the country need to stand up and generate local
employment through these opportunities and challenges.
The fastest growth in the consumption of bottled water in the world has been recorded in India
according to a new study conducted by the US based earth policy institute. It even questions the
rising thirst for bottled water with consumption tripling in India over the past five years.

World Bank report

3.5 INDIAN SCENARIO

In 1967, Bisleri set up a bottling plant for manufacturing and marketing its mineral water but that
time the concept of mineral water was failed. The brand was later on sold off to Parle group
acquired the Bisleri of Italy for launching soda water but later launched bottled water also. The
launch at that time was a big flop as concept of buying Water that ton the Indian public did not
accept form. The market remained dormant for quite long (for a period of 20 years or so). The
market throughout this period was formed only by the premium products that too available
through 5-star hotels.
In early 1990s with onset of liberalization policy by the Indian government, coming in of cola
majors, sell out of local soft drink brands of Campa, Thumbs Up, Gold Spot etc. by pane to
coke and other factors led Bisleri to test waters again. Bisleri re-launched its bottled water in
1994. With exposure of media and exposure to international life styles, deteriorating levels of
portable water, increases in a number of water borne classes, increases in awareness about health
and hygiene and other related factors led to acceptability of concept of mineral water. The market
has not looked back ever since then and has grown leaps and bounds to such an extent that a
number of genuine as well as fly-by-night operations have entered it to milk it.

Bottled water slaking consumers thirst.

The Indian bottle water industry has grown phenomenally over the past decade. A major part of
the demand stems from out of home consumption by people on the move, because the quality of
drinking water available otherwise is suspect. Of course, some also consume bottled water (or
high price mineral water in some instance) as a style statement. While it has its positive aspect,
the bottle water industry is often questioned for its over-extraction of the ground water. Its very
high cost of delivery and massive generation of solid waste in the form of non-biodegradable
plastic bottles is this industry really slaking in consumer's thirst or is it being too expensive and
wasteful?

www.bottledwaterindia.web

The Big Boom

The bottle water industry has tin-doubted been one of the fastest growing business sectors in
India. The way it has grown since the early 1990s is indeed astounding.
And the high growth rate is expected to continue into future. Starling from a small base, the
growth was exponential up to early years of current century. Thereafter, there was a decline in
the pace of growth, and we now witness a comparatively linear growth, but nonetheless fairly
rapid.
The bottle water industry is reported to have growth nine-fold over the past decade from around
15 million cases in 1997-98 to an estimated 130 million eases in2007-08 (I case=48 liters)this
traction to a compounded annual growth rate 24% per annum. In same year, the growth rate has
been as high as 40%. The market size is further projected to increase to 265 million cases by the
year 2014-15 this works out of a projected growth rate of nearly 11% a year. While one has
crossed the exponential growth phase experienced during the industry's nascent period, there is
lot of untapped potential and the industry would continue to experience double digit growth rates
for several years to come."'
In terms of value, the Indian bottled water segment is estimated currently at Rs.3000cr per
annum and expected to double within the next seven years. The international players currently
see India as the destination with a lot of growth possibility. India is already the tenth largest
bottled water consumer in the world.
A major part of the demand for bottled water stems from out of home consumption by people on
the move, because the quality and safety of drinking water available otherwise is suspected the
fear of contracting water-home infection prompts many to go in for bottled water during journey
and when one is away from home. Of course, sonic also consume bottled water (or high price
mineral water in some instance) as a style statement.
In part the industry pews its existence to the poor quality of portable Water supplied by the
municipal authorities/water supply boards and further to the inadequate hygienic standard
prevalent in most public eating place, where the water served of often contaminated. The demand
has been further fueled due to increasing income and changing lifestyle of the urban middle and
upper classes of the population. It is also triggered by advertising and wide spread distribution
of the product.

www.bottledwaterindia.web

Life Cycle of the Industry

Here 1990 was selected as base year and from 1990 sales in bottled water has increased year by
year but not that much level to 2004-05 so this covers under introduction stage of bottled water
industry. After increase in awareness among people and known side effects of non purified water,
people have moved from tap water to bottled water and this change has increased sales of bottled
water in market. Until 1992, the demand for bottled water in India was mostly limited to foreign
tourists, corporate meetings, conferences, etc. The introduction of bulk packaging extended the
market to new and numerous consumers (Jose Raphel, 1998). In this period firms focus on
branding and patenting for maintaining right to produce played an important role.

Advertising express May 2008, pg-55

TABLE1
EXPONENTIAL INCREASE IN DEMAND OF BOTTLED DRINKING WATER:
1990-2015

Year

Million Cases

1990-91

2.2

1991-92

2.6

1992-93

3.5

1993-94

4.7

1994-95

6.5

1995-96

8.5

1996-97

11.5

1997-98

15.5

1998-99

20

1999-2000

26

2000-2001

33

2001-02

44.5

2002-03

55.6

2003-04

68.15

2004-05

82

2005-06

97

2006-07

112.85

2007-08

129.85

2008-09

146.8*

2009-10

164.45*

2014-15

265*

Source:indiastat.com

Estimated Projects(Prediction)

After 2005-06 bottled water sales increased in market and it showed growing stage of industry,
because people started using bottled water for status and for health safety. Now in 2008 bottled
water industry grew at a rate of 38% so its sales increased faster as compared to past year so we
can say that the industry came under growth stage. Maintaining existing features and adding new
features to the product was seen here, broader audience was available for industry product.
In India for instance, the bottled water industry, with more than 100 companies, has a turnover of
about US$ 70 million, growing at an average rate of 50% every year. This sector employs 15'000 to
20'000 people in the country (Jose Raphel, 1998).

(Source-4Advertising express May 2008, pg-55)

3.6 Hypothesis to be tested

An assumption taken to be true for the purpose of argument or investigation is called a
hypothesis. Following are the two types of hypothesis.
Null Hypothesis, Ho It is an assumption which the researcher tries to disprove, reject or
nullify.
Alternate Hypothesis, Ha - It is a statement of what a statistical hypothesis test is set up to
establish and negate the null hypothesis.
Following are the set of hypothesis established to answer various research problems.
1. Frequency of use of mineral water
Ho: Larger Proportion of people always use mineral water.
Ha: Larger Proportion of people go for an occasional use of mineral water
2. Choice of soft drink over mineral water
Ho: People prefer soft drink when thirsty.
Ha: People like to have mineral water in a thirst condition.
3. Awareness of all major brands of mineral water
Ho: People are aware of all the brands of mineral water.
Ha: People are not aware of all the brands of mineral water.
4. Customer preference in terms of bottle sizes
Ho: 5 ltr and 20 ltr bottles of mineral water are the most preferred ones, by the
population.

Ha: 5 ltr and 10 ltr bottles of mineral water are not preferred by the population.
5. Effect of advertising on purchase
Ho: Advertisement doesnt affect purchase decision of Mineral Water.
Ha: Advertisement affects purchase decision of Mineral Water.
6. Size of bottle having higher sales
Ho: Selling of 5 ltr& 20 ltr bottles occur more frequently.
Ha: Selling of 5 ltr& 20 ltr bottles occur less frequently.
7. Reason for growth during the last five years, according to retailers.
Ho: Tremendous growth in mineral water segment is not owing to increased health
consciousness and scarcity of portable drinking water amongst the population.
Ha: Tremendous growth in mineral water segment is due to increased health
consciousness and scarcity of portable drinking water amongst the population.

CHAPTER FOUR
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.1 RESEARCH DESIGN
A research design is purely and simply the framework or plan for a study that guides the
collection and analysis of data. The Survey Research was used in this project, because retailers
and consumers feedback was necessary for obtaining the data. Starting a research project needs a
basic preparation regarding the issues related to the topic selected. For this one needs to do some
deskwork. Deskwork includes:
1. Determining the basic objectives of the study undertaken.
2. Collection of secondary data related to the topic from Internet, magazines & newspapers.
3. Studying the market, which one wants to cover.
4. Analyzing the objective on the basis of information collected by secondary data.
5. All the above activities at the initial stage of the project must be completed & then the main
part follows.
4.2 DATA SOURCES
a) Primary data: These are those data which are collected afresh and for the first time, and thus
happen to be original in character. I have used the structured questionnaires.
b) Secondary data: These are those which have already been collected by someone else and
which have already been passed through the statistical process. I have collected it from the
sources like internet, published data etc.

Population of the study

People from Delhi/ NCR region will be included in the population.

Sample Size:
I took 100 consumers and 50 retailers as my respondents. They were selected by random
sampling method because in this case systematic sampling is not possible since one cannot say
whether a person is using mineral water or not.

Sampling Technique
Random sampling technique will be used in this research project.

4.3 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

For doing the survey research, structured questionnaire with closed-ended and openended
questions were used.

Mode of Survey
The mode of survey for the retailers and consumers was the filling up of the questionnaires.

Preparing the Questionnaire

As per the requirement of the project & to achieve the objective both consumer of
mineral water & retailers of mineral water were studied apart from studying about the
domestic packaged drinking water market, Brand Bisleri in detail.
For that close and open ended questionnaires for the consumer & for retailer were
prepared.

4.4 Data Processing

Daily data will be entered into MS-Excel sheets. After the exhaustion of the specified
geographical area this data will be analyzed using simple graphical and tabulation techniques.

Analytical Tools
After collection of data another work necessary for any data collector is to correctly analysis that
data. Statistical tools helped me to correctly analyze the data. I used here the software named Ms

EXCEL for analysis of the data. I used following statistical tools:

Hypothesis Testing
Chi-square test will be used when the set of observed frequencies obtained after experimentation
have to be supported by hypothesis or theory. The test is known as 2 test of goodness of fit and
is used to test if the deviation between observation (experiment) and hypothesis may be
attributed to chance (fluctuations of sampling).2also enables us to explain whether or not two
attributes are associated or related to each other.
To test the goodness of fit: It helps to test goodness of fit by using null and alternate hypothesis.

STATISTICAL TOOLS TO BE USED

1. Chi Square Test
Procedure:
(1) Set up the null hypothesis that there is no significant difference between the observed and
expected value.
(2) We compute the value of CHI- square by using the formula
CHI-square = 2= (( Oi- Ei)2/Ei)
O- Observed value
E- Expected value
Degree of freedoms=(R-1)(C-1)
Level of significance=5

4.5 Alignment of primary and secondary data

For the purpose of the market survey, I had designed the research based on primary data. For the
collection of primary data, two structured questionnaire for the retailers and the customers were
designed.
Secondary data will be used to supplement the primary research and in terms of capacity and
profile of package drinking water industry. We will try to confirm the facts of secondary data
with the primary study related to growth in the industry and Bisleris market strategies to be
adopted for increasing its sales and brand preference in the market.

CHAPTER FIVE
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
CONSUMER RELATED SURVEY
1. WHICH BRAND DO YOU PREFER WHILE BUYING MINERAL
WATER?

NAME OF BRAND
Bisleri- Most Preferred
Kinley
Aquafina
Others

CONSUMER PREFERENCES
56%
24%
12%
8%

According to the survey conducted in Delhi & its Ncr it was analyzed that 56% of
the users go for Bisleri Water and 24% for Kinley while there are 8% of the
respondents who still go for other packaged drinking water.

2. NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS USING

MINERAL WATER FREQUENTLY

Always

Often

Sometimes

28%

27%

36%

Never
9%

According to the survey it was seen that 28% of the users responded as
using mineral water always while 27% agreed to use it often. 36% of
respondents said they used mineral water sometimes while there are 9% of
the respondents who said they never use packaged drinking water.
HYPOTHESIS TESTING
Step1: State Hypothesis:
Ho: Larger Proportion of people always use mineral water.

Ha: Larger Proportion of people go for an occasional use of mineral

water.

Step2: State the rejection criterion

DF=4-1=3
At alpha .05 and 3 degrees of freedom, the critical value from the chi
square distribution table is 7.82.
Step 3: Compute the Test Statistics: 2 = (O-E)^2/E

Preference

Observed

Expected

(O-E)

(O-E)^2

(O-E)^2/E

Always

28

25

0.36

Often

27

25

0.16

Sometimes

36

25

11

121

4.84

Never

25

-16

256

10.24

2=15.6
Interpretation:
As the Chi-square test statistics value 15.6 exceeds the critical value of
7.82 hence null hypothesis is rejected and our alternative hypothesis is
accepted. Hence it can be concluded that that 34% of the mineral water
users go in for an occasional use while there are still 9% of the respondents
who never go for packaged water.

3. RESPONDENTS CHOICE AMONGST MINERAL

WATER AND SOFT DRINKS

Always

Often

Sometimes

Never

48%

15%

25%

12%

48% respondents agreed to always choosing mineral water over soft drinks
when thirsty while 15% chose it often, 25% agreed to choosing it
sometimes while 12% consumers said they never have mineral water when
thirsty.
HYPOTHESIS TESTING
Step1: State Hypothesis:
Ho: People prefer soft drink when thirsty.

Ha: People like to have mineral water in a thirst condition.

Step2: state the rejection criterion

DF=4-1=3
At alpha .05 and 3 degrees of freedom, the critical value from the chi square
distribution table is 7.82.
Step 3: Compute the Test Statistics: 2 = (O-E)^2/E

PREFERENCE OBSERVED EXPECTED O-E

(O-E)^2 (O-E)^2/E

Always

45

25

20

400

16

Often

15

25

-10

100

Sometimes

25

25

Never

12

25

-13

169

6.76

X2=26.76
Interpretation:
As the Chi-square test statistics value 26.73 exceeds the critical value 7.82
hence null hypothesis is rejected and hence we reached at the result that our
alternative hypothesis is accepted. Hence it can be concluded that that 48%
of users always go in for mineral water when they are thirsty.

4. BRAND AWARENESS OF MINERAL WATER

AMONG RESPONDENTS

Brands

Respondents

0-2

40%

3-5

50%

ll

6-10

10%

10 and above

The survey conducted in showed that 40% of the respondents were aware
of 0-2 brands packaged drinking water, 50% of 3-5 brands, 10% were
aware of 6-10 brands while none were aware of more than 10 brands.
HYPOTHESIS TESTING
Step1: State Hypothesis:
Ho: People are aware of all the brands of mineral water.
Ha: People are not aware of all the brands of mineral water.

Step2: State the rejection criterion

DF=4-1=3At alpha .05 and 3 degrees of freedom, the critical value from
the chi square distribution table is 7.82.
Step 3: Compute the Test Statistics: 2 = (O-E)^2/E

PREFERENCE OBSERVED EXPECTED O-E

(O-E)^2 (O-E)^2/E

0-2

40

25

15

225

3-5

50

25

25

625

25

6-10

10

25

-15

225

10 and above

25

-25

625

25

2 =68
Interpretation:

As the Chi-square test statistics value 68 exceeds the critical value of 7.82
hence null hypothesis is rejected and hence we reached at the result that
our alternative hypothesis is accepted. Hence it can be concluded that most
of the people know only about the main brands which are owned by the big
companies and are advertised hugely. Mainly 3 -5 brands only comes to the
minds of the customer in regards to mineral water.

5. CUSTOMER PREFERENCE IN TERMS OF

BOTTLE SIZES

SIZE OF BOTTLES
PREFERENCES

CONSUMER

0.5 ltr

60%

1 ltr

20%

5 ltr

5%

20 ltr

15%

According to the survey 60% of the respondents preferred to buy 500ml

bottles, 20% preferred 1ltr bottles while 5%& 15% preferred 5ltr and 20 ltr
respectively.
HYPOTHESIS TESTING
Step1: State Hypothesis:
Ho: 5 ltr and 20 ltr bottles of mineral water are the most preferred
ones, by the population.
Ha: 5 ltr and 10 ltr bottles of mineral water are not preferred by the
population .
Step2: state the rejection criterion
DF=4-1=3
At alpha .05 and 3 degrees of freedom, the critical value from the chi
square distribution table is 7.82
Step 3: Compute the Test Statistics: 2 = (O-E)^2/E

PREFERENCE OBSERVED EXPECTED O-E

(O-E)^2 (O-E)^2/E

0.5 ltr

60

25

35

1225

49

1 ltr

20

25

-5

25

5 ltr

25

-20

400

16

20 ltr

15

25

-10

100

2 =70
Interpretation:
As the Chi-square test statistics value 70 exceeds the critical value of 7.82
hence null hypothesis is rejected and hence we reached at the result that
our alternative hypothesis is accepted. Hence it can be concluded that that
the 5 Ltr. and 20 Ltr. bottles are usually preferred only during special
occasions such as marriage and Birthday parties. Otherwise the 1 ltr and
500 ml bottles are the most preferred once.

6. CUSTOMERS PREFERENCES REGARDING

PRICE OF MINERAL WATER

Respondents view
% of Respondents

Yes
42%

The observation shows that most of the people are not happy paying the
price, the companies are charging for the product. They feel that the price
should be a little lower.

7. AFFECT OF ADVERTISING ON PURCHASE

No
58%

Response

% of respondents

Strongly Agree

10%

Agree

46%

Strongly Disagree

14%

Disagree

25%

Indifferent

5%

46% agreed to the fact that advertising of packaged drinking water affected
their purchase while 10% strongly agree, 25% of the respondents
disagreed, 14% strongly disagreed, while 5% consumers said they were
indifferent towards it.
HYPOTHESIS TESTING
Step1: State Hypothesis:
Ho: Advertisement doesnt affect purchase decision of Mineral
Water.

Ha: Advertisement affects purchase decision of Mineral Water.

Step 2: Set the Rejection criteria:
DF = 5-1 = 4
At alpha .05 and 4 degrees of freedom, the critical value from the chi
square distribution table is 9.49
Step 3: Compute the Test Statistics: 2 = (O-E)^2/E

Preference Observed

Expected

(O-E)

(O-E)^2

(O-E)^2/E

Strongly

10

20

-10

100

Agree

46

20

26

676

33.8

Strongly

14

20

-6

36

1.8

Disagree

25

20

25

1.25

Indifferent

20

-15

225

11.25

agree

disagree

2=53.1

Interpretation:
As the Chi-square test statistics 53.1 exceeds the critical value of 9.49
hence null hypothesis is rejected and hence we reached at the result that
our alternative hypothesis is accepted. Hence it can be concluded that
advertisements affect purchase decision of Mineral Water.

8. AVAILABILITY OF PACKAGED WATER BRAND

OF YOUR CHOICE

Good Availability

% of respondents

Yes

51%

No

47%

Cant say

2%

It was seen in the survey that 51% said that their choice of mineral water
was readily available everywhere, whereas 47% disagreed and 2% were
not sure.

9. GROWING HEALTH CONSCIOUSNESSAMONG

INDIANS

Yes
73%

No
27%

The observation shows that most of the population in Delhi & its NCR
agree that Indian are getting Health Conscious now-a-days

10.PREFERENCE FOR MINERAL/PACKAGED

WATER OVER NORMAL WATER BECAUSE OF
HYGIENE

Yes
82%

No
18%

The reason for the higher preference for Mineral water considering hygiene
important may be the fact that the normal water which we get is not always
very hygienic and may cause many diseases, also the increase in the
awareness of being fit and people becoming health conscious.

RETAILER RELATED OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS

1. TYPES OF BRANDS RETAILERS KEEP

Advertised
35%

Non-Advertised
5%

Both
60%

According to survey, 35% of retailer go in for advertised products and nonadvertised products do not have any weight Around 60% retailer believe in the
combination of both (advertised and non-advertised version).

2. BRAND MOSTLY SOLD

NAME OF BRAND
Bisleri
Kinley
Aquafina
Others

% OF RETAILERS AGREEIN
62%
26%
4%
8%

According to the survey of retailers 62% said the most sold brand was Bisleri
followed by Kinley to which 26% agreed while 4% said that Aquafina was
sold most and 8% voted for other brands.

3. SIZE OF BOTTLE SELLING MORE

Size of bottle

0.5 ltr

% of respondents

60%

1 ltr
28%

5 ltr

20 ltr

4%

12%

According to the survey of retailers 60% said that 500ml bottles were sold
most followed by 1ltr as said by 28% while 4% and 12% said 5lts & 20ltr were
sold the most.
HYPOTHESIS TESTING
Step1: State Hypothesis:
Ho: Selling of 5 ltr& 20 ltr bottles occur more frequently.
Ha: Selling of 5 ltr& 20 ltr bottles occur less frequently.

Step 2: Set the Rejection criteria:

DF = 4-1 = 3
At alpha .05 and 3 degrees of freedom, the critical value from the chi square
distribution table is 7.82

Step 3: Compute the Test Statistics: = (O-E)^2/E

Preference Observed

Expected (O-E)

(O-E)^2

(O-E)^2/E

0.5 ltr

30

12

18

324

27

1 ltr

14

12

0.33

5 ltr

12

-7

49

0.75

20 ltr

12

36

3
2=31.

08
Interpretation
As the Chi-square test statistics 31.08 exceeds the critical value of 7.82 hence
null hypothesis is rejected and hence we reached at the result that our
alternative hypothesis is accepted. Hence it can be concluded that both 0.5 Ltr
and 1 Ltr version are selling well but 5 Itr are selling less as compared to
others.

4. Basis of selling a particular Packaged

Drinking Water Brand

Reasons

% of Respondents

Demand by the customer

Schemes offered by the companies
Advertisement
More margins
Others

48%
10%
14%
26%
2%

Mostly the demand by the customer is the main reason for selling of
particular brand of Packaged Drinking Water and then it comes to
schemes, advertisements and margins. The other reasons included
availability, replacement of leaked bottles etc.
HYPOTHESIS TESTING
Step1: State Hypothesis:
Ho: Demand of the customer is not the main reason for selling of a
particular brand of packaged drinking water.

Ha: Demand of the customer is the main reason for selling of a

particular brand of packaged drinking water.
Step 2: Set the Rejection criteria:
DF = 5-1 = 4
At alpha .05 and 4 degrees of freedom, the critical value from the chi
square distribution table is 9.49
Step 3: Compute the Test Statistics: = (O-E)^2/E

Preference
Demand by
the customer
Schemes

Observed
24

Expected (O-E)

(O-E)^2

(O-E)^2/E

10

14

196

19.6

10

25

2.5

10

-3

0.9

10

0.9

10

-9

81

8.1

offered by the
companies
Advertisement 7
More margins
Others

13
1
2=32.
00

Interpretation
As the Chi-square test statistics 32 which exceeds the critical value of 9.49
hence null hypothesis is rejected and hence we reached at the result that our
alternative hypothesis is accepted. Hence it can be concluded that demand of
the customer is the main reason for selling of a particular brand of packaged
drinking water.

5. MORE MARGINS ON SELLING BRAND

Brand (with maximum margins)

% of respondents

Bisleri

40%

Kinley

28%

Aquafina

11%

Others

21%

Among the 50 retailers that took part in the survey 40% said that they earn
maximum margins on Bisleri while 28% said Kinley and 11%& 21% said
Aquafina and others respectively.

6. GROWTH DURING THE LAST FIVE YEARS

ACCORDING TO RETAILERS

Health consciousness
38%

Advertisements
32%

Scarcity of water
25%

According to the retailers the growth rate has been very high as 38% think that
the population has become health conscious, 32% say it is due to scarcity of
drinking water and 25% say it is due to increased advertisements while 5% say
that there may be other reasons like higher living standars, more disposable
income etc.
HYPOTHESIS TESTING
Step1: State Hypothesis:
Ho: Tremendous growth in mineral water segment is not owing to
increased health consciousness and scarcity of portable drinking water
amongst the population.

Others
5%

Ha: Tremendous growth in mineral water segment is due to increased

health consciousness and scarcity of portable drinking water
amongst the population.

Step2: state the rejection criterion

DF=4-1=3
At alpha .05 and 3 degrees of freedom, the critical value from the chi square
distribution table is 7.82.
Step 3: Compute the Test Statistics: = (O-E)^2/E

Preference

Observed

Expected

(O-E)

(O-E)^2

(O-E)^2/E

Health

38

12

26

679

56.33

Advertisement

32

12

20

400

33.33

Scarcity of

25

12

13

169

14.33

12

-7

49

4.08

Consciousness

portable
drinking water
Others
2 =108.7

Interpretation:
As the Chi-square test statistics value 108.07 exceeds the critical value of
7.82 hence null hypothesis is rejected and hence we reached at the result
that our alternate hypothesis is accepted. Hence it can be concluded that
Last five year seen a tremendous growth in the mineral water segment.

The growth rate has been very high, owing to increased health
consciousness amongst the population, arising from scarcity of potable
drinking water.

7. FUTURE PROSPECTS OF MINERAL WATER

MARKET

Retailer's prediction

Excellent

Good

Average

Poor

% of retailers

42%

30%

16%

12%

40% of the total respondents said that the future prospects of the mineral
water industry is excellent, 30% said it was good while 16% gave it an
average & 12% said it had a poor future.

SWOT ANALYSIS OF BISLERI

Strengths
Core business of company.
First mover in this business since 1969.
Good brand awareness and brand positioning.
Available in different packs like cups, 500 ml, 1 lit, 1.2 lit, 2 lit, 5 lit
and 20 lit.
Has become generic name in the mineral water market.
Availability of Bisleri in all over India with solid infrastructure facility.
Focus on customer orientation through low price strategy.
Product differentiation by introducing patented break way seal cap.
Best service and proper response to dealers and customers.

Weakness
Lack of brand loyalty as MNC's are entering the market like Nestls
Purelife, Pepsi's Aquafina.
Lack of Global Awareness in brand.
Lack of proper advertising to create brand awareness.
Market coverage is not fully utilized.

 Institutional sales are not penetrated properly.

Lack of technological up gradation.

Opportunity
Indian bottled water industry is still at growth stage.
Influence of tourists and expatriates.
Bisleri as a daughter company of Parle has a strong presence in India.
Unreliable municipal water quality.
People are becoming health conscious.

Threats
Numbers of players like Kinley and other local players are present in
the market have already captured the market.
Tough competition from MNC's like Coke & Pepsi.
Fluctuation in sales due to seasonality.
Local manufacturers who refill used bottle Hampers the image of the
industry.
Water filters and soft drink industry is a major threat to industry.
Coke and Pepsi are already having strong distribution network in bottle
water industry with their own fleet of trucks & vans.

PEST ANALYSIS

Political Analysis
Government failure to provide safe drinking water.
Laws encouraging ground water exploration.
Environmental regulations.

Economic Environment

Developing Economy.

Better infrastructure:

Social Environment

Scarcity of water.

Health conscious people.

Population growth rate.

Technological Environment

Economies of scale

CHAPTER SIX
DISCUSSIONS OF STUDY
100 consumers & 50 retailers were identified in some of major areas in the
city for conducting the survey.
FOLLOWING

INFERENCES

WERE

DRAWN

FROM

THE

FINDINGS....
Brand awareness of the customers is mainly more about the top, more
publicized brands which they also brought more.
Initially we enquired about the numbers of brands that the retailers sell
and most of them specified not more than 3 - 4. This indicates that the
retailers prefer only the main brands.

 Most of the retailers usually keep highly advertised brands.

Here two basic questions as to which brands are selling more and
which one is being supplied more were combined. The answer was
obvious and i.e., the one which is sold more is supplied more and it is
'Bisleri' (in most cases).
51% of respondents said that their preferred brand was readily
available everywhere which is 5% lower to that of the people who said
that their preferred brand is Bisleri which means that there is a
probability that some consumers are not able to readily find Bisleri
always.
Mostly the demand by the customer is the main reason for selling of
particular brand of packaged drinking water by a retailer but there were
considerable number of retailers who said higher margins was also one
of the deciding factors.
It was a mixed reaction of the retailers when asked about the highest
margin paid to them by a company out of the total 50, majority said
that Bisleri paid the highest.
Consumers answer to which size of bottle they prefer was 500ml and
1ltr bottles.
The retailers' answers as to which size of bottle is selling more were
inclined towards the 1 ltr and 500 ml bottles with certain exceptions.
Majority consumers also agreed that advertisements affected their
purchase decision of a particular packaged drinking water brand.

 With the increasing heath consciousness of the consumers they prefer

packaged drinking water more to tap water due to hygienic
considerations.
Regarding the growth and future prospect of the mineral water market
nearly all of the retailers were optimistic and ranked it as a very rapidly
growing excellent market.

CHAPTER SEVEN
RECOMMENDATION AND SUGGESTIONS
FOR BISLERI

Bisleri should spend more on sales promotions to reinforce its brand

image in the market.

 Campaign, stalls to beat local brands & create awareness.

They can tie up with large commercial complex, hotels & airlines
industries as they are the emerging sector.
New Market segments
Retailers need to concentrate on 5 and 20 ltr bottle which can be
possible only if properly advertised & home delivery of jars is
done to the end customers.
The market is too congested and confused in the Delhi & its
Ncr region, so the company should properly promote &
strengthen the distribution channel to survive the competition.
Can enter into premium segment market. It can also explore
international markets specially developing market
They can target the youth segment.
Launching trendy packs to attract more and more customers.
In Bottled water industry people purchase those products which are
easily available in market
So transportation is key activity for bottled water industry.
Hence development of transportation is important.
Action plan for covering the sample population: There are
four major segments selected for the jar and dispenser business
which Bisleri should focus to have better availability of its
product:

Hospitality

industries:

Hotels,

restaurant,

Bakers

&

confectioneries Ice cream parlors, bars, and catering services.

Institutional sales: Factories, Export house, School&

Education institution and hospitals.

Offices & Households: Commercial complexes, main market,

residential flats & housings colonies.

Retail segment: All Panwalas, general store, and Juice & Ice
cream parlors.

As the future of the industry is very bright if is important to leverage

this growth by Investing in Research and development.

Looking out for product differentiation.

CONCLUSION

 After analysis of the data & facts we have collected from consumer &
the retailers & matching them with the objectives one can say that
there is very good future for mineral water market. Soft drink
market might be some threat to the mineral water at present but
within few years the scenario is going to change. Trend signifying
increasing health consciousness amongst Indians could also be
observed.
Market has seen a tremendous growth from the early nineties & now
it is increasing by 40% every year so one can easily say there is great
potential in the mineral water market.
It could also be observed that the living standards of the people
improving & as they are becoming health conscious are ready to pay
for water now. On the question of survival of so many companies
government has made policies & restrictions from April 2001 which
will force many manufactures to shut down their factories. But due to
potential in the market companies with quality product will survive.
Finally from the data collected at both primary and secondary level
one can confidently say that Bisleri as packaged water brand is the
current market leader.

CHAPTER EIGHT
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
Any research or study always has some limitations under which this has to
be undertaken. This one too was not an exception. These limitations are
poised by the environment some external and some inherent. This study
has been conducted with utmost consideration to the adequacy of data and
quality of information, though as mention earlier the reliance on the
sources cannot be minimized to zero in context of precision. The limitation
can be enlisted as hereunder:1. The perception level of the respondents. The responses given by
respondents were not always accurate because the respondents gave
the response according to their understanding.
2. Availability of documents as sources of secondary information.
3. Reliability of information collected from various public information
sources such as magazines and website.
4. Respondents are not willing to fill the questionnaire.
5. Very often the respondent do not express their true feelings, in such
case their habit, preference, practice, cannot be assessed correctly.
6. Some of the respondents refuse to give the important information best
known to them.
7. Time was a limiting factor for the study
8. Cost and coverage of survey area
However in spite of these limitations all efforts have been put to make the
report correct, genuine, and fulfilling the objectives of the reports.

CHAPTER NINE
REFERENCES
BOOKS & JOURNALS
Kotler Philip, Marketing Management New Delhi, Prentice Hall
of India, 2003(9th edition)
Kothari C.R, Research Methodology New Delhi, VishwaPrakash,
2003(2nd edition).
S H.W. Boyd, R. Westfall and S.F. Stasch, Marketing ResearchText and Cases (7th Edition)
Britannica Encyclopedia
Mr. Hari Sundar(2008), Indian Packaged drinking water industry,
Advertising Express page no-55
Jaspreet Bhasin Chandok (2003), Strategies for Survival of Indian
FMCGs Journal of Retailing Vol. 68,Pg 34
Catherine Ferrier(2001), Bottled water: Understanding a social
phenomenon , WWF Reports

OTHERS
Internet
Magazines

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisleri

www.finewaters.com/Bottled_Water/India/Bisleri.asp

www.bisleri.com/

www.bottledwaterindia.web

www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/

ANNEXURE
CONSUMER QUESTIONNAIRE
Name of the respondent

__________________________

Address of the respondent __________________________

Contact no. ________________________________________

QUESTIONS
Ql. How often do you consume mineral water?
a) Always

b) Sometimes

c) Often

d) Never

Q2. When feeling thirsty you opt for Mineral water over Soft drink,
juices etc
a) Always

b) Sometimes

c) Often

d) Never

Q3. How many brands of mineral water are you aware of?

a) 0-2

b) 3-5

c) 6-10

d) 10 and above

Q4. Is your preferred brand of mineral water easily available?

a) Yes
b) No
c) Cant Say

Q5. Which size of bottle do you prefer?

a) 500 ml
c) 5 Itr

b) 1 ltr.
d) 20 Itr

Q6. Do you think mineral water is much more hygienic than normal
water?
a) Yes

b)No

Q7. Do you think the price the companies are charging, is worth the
product?
a) Yes

b) No

Q8. Does advertising of this product has any effect on your purchase?
a) Yes

b) No

Q9. Do you think Indians are getting more health conscious day by
day?

a) Yes

b) No

Q10. Which brand do you prefer while buying mineral water?

a) Bisleri

b) Kinley

c) Aquafina

d) other

RETAILER'S QUESTIONNAIRE

Name of the respondent ___________________________

Address of the respondent _________________________
Contact no. ______________________________________

QUESTIONS
Q1. How many brands of mineral water do you sell (specify)?
a) 2-3

b)3-5

c) More ___________
Q2. What types of brands do you have?
a) Advertised
c) Both

b) Non-Advertised

Q3. Which brand is selling more?

a) Bisleri

b) Aquafina

c) Kinley

d) Others

Q4. Which size of bottle is selling more?

a) 500 ml

b) 1 ltr

b) 51tr

d) 20 Itr

Q5. What is your basis of keeping a particular Packaged Drinking

Water Brands at your shop?
a) Demand by the customer
b) Schemes offered by the companies
c) Advertisement
d) More margins
e) Others

______________

Q6. On which brand do you get more margins?

a) Bisleri

b) Aquafina

c) Kinley

d) Others

Q6. Do you feel there is growth in the mineral water market in the last
5 years?
a) Yes

b) No

Q7. If answer to above question is yes, then what do you think is the
reason for this
growth?
a) Increase in Health consciousness of people
b) Increase in Advertisements
c) Scarcity of drinking water
d) Others
Q8. What is the future prospect of this market?
a) Excellent
c) Average

b) Good
d) Poor