Bisleri Marketing & Competitor Analysis New Project

A COMPARATIVE BRAND ANALYSIS & MARKETING RESEARCH OF

BISLERI VIS – A – VIS ITS COMPETITORS:

AQUAFINA, HELLO & KINLEY

SUBMITTED PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (BBA) GURU GOBIND SINGH INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY S UBMITTED BY: KARTIK SAHAI ENROLLMENT NO. 0941411706

SESSION 2006-2009

GURU GOBIND SINGH INDRAPRASTHA UNIVERSITY

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The present work is an effort to throw some light on “Brand Analysis & Market Research Of Bisleri A comparative analysis with three competitors 'Acquafina', 'hello' & '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 today's 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 ‘Acquafina’ by Pepsi and ‘Kinley’ 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 & Kinley.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.

INTRODUCTION

1-3

•

Introduction to mineral Water Industry-current Scenario

4

•

Mission of Bisleri

5

2.

RESEARCH METHODOLGY

6

•

Objective

•

Source of data

8

•

Sample design

9

3.

COMPANY PROFILE

7-9

10-19

•

Marketing mix of Bisleri

20-23

•

Promotional Activity

24-41

•

SWOT analysis

42

4.

FINDINGS OF RESEARCH

43-70

5.

CONCLUSION

71-73

6.

RECOMMENDATIONS

74-76

7.

ANNEXURE

77-82

8.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

83-84

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 today's 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.

1980's 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 1980's 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 – drinking water – 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."

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 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. 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. Coke's Kinley, Pepsi's Aquafina, Brittania, Nestle, Kingfisher, Auswater-are keen on raising their stakes in the Rs. 700 crore, 700 million litre market. The entry of Danone’s 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 – 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, Parle’s' Bisleri 'is the market leader with a share of more than 45%. Parle Agro’s' 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.

MISSION OF BISLERI “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”.

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

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The following are the main objectives of my Research study:1.

To make a brand analysis of Bisleri as a brand.

2.

To conduct a market survey of Bisleri.

3.

The affects on Bisleri sale, profit and market share after the launch of ‘Acquafina’ by Pepsi and ‘Kinley’ by Coca Cola.

4.

To find out the current position of Acquafina, Hello and Kinley mineral water.

5.

Threats caused by Aquafina, Kinley and Hello to Bisleri.

6.

Strategies and measures adopted by Bisleri to counter the competition by Hello & Kinley.

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 A&M 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 e.g. publish broachers, official reports etc. External source: This originates outside the field of study like books, periodicals, journals, newspapers and the Internet.

DATA COLLECTION Primary Data:

The primary data has been collected by conducting a survey in the following areas.

1.

Rajendra place 2.

Naraina Industrial area

3.

Karolbagh market

4.

Janak puri district center

SAMPLE DESIGN Sampling unit:

Residents & Retailers in the above mentioned areas.

Sample size:

100 persons

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

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. Parle's taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic difference to the brand's fortunes immediately. While it did gain in terms of visibility and reach (piggybacking on Parle's 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 parle’s soft drink brands- thums-up, limca etc. While Coca-Cola actually bought over Parle's 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 CocaCola. 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 Bisleri's equity.

The real shift in company’s 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.

PRODUCT PROFILE

“It’s 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 Chauhan’s 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 Rs.60 lacs.

i. e x e

MANUFACTURING

A quick look at Bisleri's manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the country – 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, Jaipur, 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 Rs.50m. 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 company's 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 company's bottling plants from 16 at present, to 25. The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants. It doesn’t have any intentions to acquire any existing plants.

DISTRIBUTION

It's 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 brands,which explains the proliferation of smaller brands. Bisleri’s 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 brand’s 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.

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 options:150 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 fivelitre packs, launched in December 1999 in Goa, are currently available in six cities, including Delhi, Bombay and Bangalore, and sell over 5,000 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

Target consumer

bottle 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.

1.2 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 – for Indian Airlines travellers, and 300 ml cups – for marriages and parties.

The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes:

% s h a r e o f p a c k s iz e s in s a le s 10

15

500 m l 1 litr e 2 litr e s

35

30 10

5 litr e s o th e r s

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 – 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.

i. e x e

MARKETING MIX OF BISLERI The set of controllable tactical tools- product, price, promotion, and place (4 Ps) that the firm blends to produce the response it wants, in the target markets.

The 4Ps

PRODUCT The main product of the company is the mineral water by the name of Bisleri Mineral water. Other than mineral water the company has also the soda water under its brand

name called the Bisleri Soda Water. The concept of bottled mineral water was introduced in India, first by Bisleri, and that is the reason, it has become a generic name for the mineral water. Bisleri has become a perfect synonym of the mineral water for the Indian consumers. The main challenge facing the company or any other player in this mineral water industry is that there is no scope of invention and innovation in the product, which can be added as the additional benefits of the product.

It is just water after all. This is what the Indian customers think of the bottled water. If we are talking about a product like television we can think that the innovations could provide extra benefits derived from the product. For example other than its core usage the product can provide for Internet facilities using conversion.

VARIANTS OF THE PRODUCT The company is offering wide variants of the product. These include the different quantities available of the product. Starting from the Jumbo pack (18 lt. Jar) to the 500 ml. Bottles. In between, it also has 1 lt., 2 lt. and 5 lt. Packs. In terms of another variant the company has also come up with small glasses of 300ml. that are priced at Rs.3. per glass. The company has introduced these glasses for the social occasions like marriages and get together. This again is very competitive in the price field and also the customer is getting a convenient product with the benefit of purity at such a low price. Now the customers would not have to drink impure water served in unhygienic glasses.

PACKAGING The packaging of the product is an important factor in the marketing of the product. The packaging of the product was absolutely accepted by the customers till now. But

it has been along time the company has changed the packaging of 1ltr. mineral water bottle. One of the competitors of the company, Pepsi, has mineral water by the name of ‘Aquafina’. The packaging of the Aquafina is creating the need for the company to change its packaging and make it look sturdier. The brand Aquafina has been targeted towards the youth and that is why they have made the bottle look more hip. Bisleri would have to give a new look to its product to stopping Aquafina from snatching its market share.

To conclude: Looking at the facts above the company according to me should pay attention on the packaging of the product so that it is able to attract more customers. Second, the company should go for Brand Extension. The company should take the benefit of the brand name it has created over a long period of time. It can introduce new products in the category of beverages.

PLACE Place stands for the company activities that make the product available to the target customers. To make the product available to the target consumers a good distribution network has to be there to support the good quality of the product. Here in the case of the mineral water industry the distribution network is the important factor in being competitive and the catch lies in making water available to maximum number of places in the country.

DISTRIBUTION NETWORK: The small-scale players built their sales by piggybacking on the generic category built up by Bisleri. It’s a battle that Bisleri can win by sheer distribution muscle. One of the reason why Bisleri is running strong in this industry is its strong distribution network built over the years since its inception. Further, Bisleri

plans to increase its distribution network over the southern and

eastern region, where it is behind popular brands like Team in Tamil Nadu and in Andhra Pradesh.

Conclusion : It is very important for the companies to understand that winners would be those who will endure a strong

regional presence. Therefore the

companies should take some immediate actions to make presence in the whole country and more important is every hook and corner of the states where they are present today.

PRICE AN ECONOMIC FACTOR AFFECTING THE BUYER’S BEHAVIOUR Price is the sum of values that consumer exchange for the benefits of having or using the product or service. Price is the only element in the marketing mix that produces revenue. All other elements represent costs. In India, where the majority of the population comprise of the middle-income group and lower income groups it is not hard to understand that pricing is one of the most important factor in the buying decisions. Bisleri has met the expectations of the consumers in terms of pricing the product and also making the product available in variations of litres, making Bisleri both convenient and affordable. The company is following a very aggressive pricing. Its product is available at a very reasonable price. Company charges Re.1for every 100ml. This strategy by the company is very effective in the Indian context where the consumers are highly price conscious. The company has come up with another variant of the product. It is 1.2 lt. Bottle that is priced at Rs.12 keeping the price fixed at Re.1 per 100 ml. The company has an edge over its competitor Aquafina recently launched by Pepsi that has priced its product at Rs.10 for 750 ml.

Conclusion:

To conclude from the facts that the pricing strategy of the

company is very competitive and therefore the company is giving value to the customers for money.

PROMOTION Modern marketing calls for more than just developing a good product, pricing it attractively, and making it available to the target customers, companies must also communicate with their customers, and what they communicate should not be left to chance. A Company’s total marketing communications program- called its Promotion Mix consists of specific blend of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relations tools that the company uses to pursue its advertising and marketing objectives.

PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITY Advertising Campaign of Bisleri before Launch of Acquafina & Kinley Every brand needs a good ad campaign to establish itself in the market. So it becomes very imperative to look at various ad campaigns that Bisleri undertook to build itself as a brand. Bisleri started its game-plan with the punch-line of ‘Pure and Safe’ and used the same catch-line for advertising. But with the advent of many new players, all claiming the purity, it became very imperative for Bisleri to differentiate its product so as to stand out in the market. Bisleri found the answer in ‘sealed cap bottles’. It claimed 100% purity. While the bottles of the other brands, it claimed, could be refilled with ordinary, or even germinated water, Bisleri’s seal capped bottles ensured the consumer of purity of water and single-used ness of the bottles. The ad showed a milk-man and a child showering their buffaloes and filling the ‘so-called’ mineral water bottles with the same water and packing them with the simple polythene seal and the consumer not knowing about the ‘purity’ of the water he is drinking. Next clip shows the Bisleri bottles being sealed with plastic caps and ensuring the purity of water. The ad did work for Bisleri and it got its much needed product differentiation. In 2000, some giant brands like Pepsi and coca-cola entered the mineral water industry with a big bang. Bisleri now had a big threat of maintaining its market cap. While Coca-cola introducing its brand ‘Kinley’ as a health care product, Pepsi projected ‘Aquafina’ as something as pure as ‘Your own body’. Pepsi targeted the young generation and introduced Aquafina as a fancy product to carry. The ad campaign of Aquafina emphasized as ‘70% of your body is water’ and thus give your body the purest water. The ad showed young vibrant models and created the atmosphere of youthfulness. Water, Pepsi claimed, was no longer a simple beverage, but was something highly fashionable. They complimented it by giving

their bottles an attractive look. This soon caught the eye of the consumer. All these factors made Pepsi the biggest upcoming competitor of Bisleri . Where as Kinley lagged behind the race, showing a doctor advising a family to take Kinley for pure water – not a very attractive ad campaign. Bisleri, to counter-attack the new ‘Feel-Young’ fever had to even bolder steps. They first changed their base-line from ‘Pure and Safe’ to ‘Play Safe’. They tried a brand new ad campaign to catch the fancy of consumer. The new ad showed a young romantic couple on a marooned island, when the girl seductively attracts the guy and he follows her in trance. The moment he gets hold of her, she whispers something in his ears. The next few shots show the guy looking for something in frenzy…can not find it….rushes towards the chemist’s shop….buys ‘something’ (keeping the audience in suspense…or rather implicitly pointing for ‘……’). The girl opens it and….POOF….takes out a bottle of Bisleri and quenches her thirst. Caption: “Play Safe”. This campaign was to catch the attention of youth and a new Indian society which is supposed to be ‘not-soprudish’. Thus Bisleri has taken a very bold step. The T.V. ads have been complimented by print ads also. The campaign is reported to be doing pretty well.

Advertisement Campaign of Competitors: A drop-dead gorgeous body flexes its muscles on the screen. This starkly arresting black and white image is then splashed with water. A voice-over informs you that 70 per cent of your body is water. Why not give it the purest ... Aquafina Bottled water from Pepsi. This kind of advertisement campaign used by the competitors is giving the company a tough time. The competitor, Pepsi, is utilizing the brand image built by it and is again targeting the “Generation

X” maintaining the company image.

It’s an unusual ad for this category. Till now, most marketers have focussed on educating the consumer on how bottled water is a safer option, with the lead, of course, taken by the popular national brand Bisleri.

But Pepsi chose to junk this approach, and it could well afford to. Bisleri, after all, had already done most of the hard work needed to build the bottled water category. What Pepsi needed was to establish its brand in this crowded, fragmented market. Our task was made easier because Bisleri had concentrated on educating the consumer, instead of building its own brand values,” says Rohit Ohri, vice president and client services director, Hindustan Thompson Associates Limited (HTA). "We wanted the imagery to position Aquafina as a youthful, premium and fun brand,” says Vibha Rishi, executive director, Pepsi. The idea, she says, was not to objectify bodies so that one could drool over them. “Instead, we are talking about your body and the need for each one to take care of his or her body.” The ad copy, which spoke of the water content in our bodies, was actually trying to establish how important water was to our well- being and how we need to continuously replenish it. While the thinking was clear that the imagery had to be built in and around purity, HTA did toy with a couple of other ideas and situations. Initially, the idea was to focus more strongly on the fun aspect and create a story line complete with a smart idea and a twist at the end. “But we gave it up because we felt that the story might take the mind away from the purity aspect that was a must to highlight,” says Ohri. So HTA adopted a minimalist approach and created a film with little clutter and no props, which tried to capture the emotion of “feeling good about yourself”. While the film and the imagery are completely the work of HTA, the strategic thinking comes from the Mother Company in the US. Aquafina, in fact, is the largest-selling bottled water brand in the US with a 12 per cent market share, and India is the first country outside of the US where Aquafina is being bottled. Even in the US, the ad talks of the percentage of water in our bodies, but the handling is a little more serious. For example, the film will show an emotional moment where someone starts crying, and then you will hear the voice-over, “85 per cent of your eyes are water.” “There is no internal law that forces us to follow the international positioning. But seeing the quality of thinking that has gone into this, we decided to stay with this positioning, though the statements here are quite different,” explains Rishi.

Aquafina, like all offerings that come from the Pepsi stable, also imbibes the core values of the mother brand. It addresses the Pepsi-user base, largely the youth, and like Pepsi it is also being positioned as a hip brand. But Aquafina is a lot that Pepsi is not. It is a little bit older, mature and affluent, and not as mass based as Pepsi. Pepsi’s role in the communication is that it is the source of credibility for the product and, of course, establishes the youthfulness of the brand. “But Aquafina is a brand in its own right and with each piece of communication, its personality will emerge” feels Ohri. But while Aquafina is being given a distinct identity, it is also being targeted at the Pepsi consumer and is addressing their need for safe and reliable drinking water. Will this not cannibalize Pepsi sales? “Water does eat into the cola market,” agrees Rishi, “but we can’t build a business for Pepsi based on people’s lack of access to safe drinking water. How can any business be built on deprivation?" Both will have to co-exist and carve a market out for themselves. And while Pepsi targets the 18-25 year olds, Aquafina also includes the 30-somethings together with the college crowd. Like Pepsi, Aquafina too is looking to command a premium without being unaffordable. The swirl shaped PET bottle resembles the Pepsi family and is sturdier and more hip than most others in the category that take their design cues, it seems, from the one liter refined oil bottles in the market. The decision to break the norm and come up with a 750 ml pack size was more driven by the fact that water is fundamentally consumed on the go and the 750 ml size is easy to carry around. “It is ideal for an half-an-hour in the sun, one liter gets too bulky,” says Rishi. Pepsi’s future plans at the moment don’t include coming up with size variants. They have also ruled out the possibility of catering to the bulk market, which actually constitutes 30 per cent of the total bottled water market that stands at 70 million liters annually, and is growing anywhere between 30 and 50 per cent.

Pepsi, obviously, is looking for a big slice of this burgeoning market, but as Subroto Chattopadhyay, executive vice president, marketing, Pepsi, says, “We have a building blocks approach, first we have to build the brand, and then the volumes. Bisleri is tackling the situation by building the brand on the purity plank. Akin to brand building in soft drinks, an aggressive print-and-TV campaign is being backed by hoarding, point-of-sale material, and every interface with the consumer is being used as an opportunity to reinforce the message. For instance, all the vehicles used for supply have been painted in bright blue, bear the Bisleri logo and sport catchy baselines like “Play Safe”.

ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN While designing the advertisement campaign, it is necessary to keep in mind the opinion leaders. Youth are the opinion leaders of the present time. And thus it becomes necessary to design the campaign keeping the youth in mind. The opinion leaders would further trickle down the message to the less active members of the society. This is exactly what Bisleri is doing. Bisleri has started an advertisement campaign stressing the point of purity and flaunting the patent right the company has over the breakaway seal. The company has tried to put the message across louder, by using the ad campaign that catches the eye of everyone, specially the youth. Otherwise, we find no reason of making an advertisement of mineral water look like an advertisement of condoms.

MESSAGE CONTENT OF THE CAMPAIGN: Bisleri that was looking for a differentiator decided to make the breakaway seal the symbol of purity. The tamper-proof seal was developed, around which the communication was woven. The campaign stresses the safety provided by the breakaway seal by illustrating the ease with which conventionally sealed bottles can be refilled and recycled. The objective with the campaign would have been to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in the consumer’s mind of the purity of the other brands. That is,

Bisleri is the only one that guarantees purity and keeps you Safe

Conclusion: New advertisement campaign of Bisleri is eye catching. This is what the company should do. And also the company should make the message clearer to the customers that it has the patent right over the breakaway seal. Apart from a high dose of investments on expanding bottling capacities and an ad budget that’s risen six-fold over last year, if Bisleri wants to penetrate every

possible segment of the market, it can do that by introducing more

pack sizes and establishing the brand strongly with trendy new packaging. Apart from creating consumer pull with campaign, the company, to increase its sales would have to do the sales push as well. For that it would have to give the retailers and other stockiest high trade margins and incentives for keeping the product. This is very important in case of this product because consumers would take up what is available to them at ease and whatever retailer is giving. Bisleri has

introduced attractive schemes to push the 5ltr. bottles and margins are as high as Rs 8. Detractors feel that, in the long run, retailers will not push this. They say it’s a kind of dart board game. You have to throw again and again till you hit bull’s eye.

3 Cs CONSUMER: 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 that— water. 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.

What the company is doing to take care of the consumer’s 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.

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

COMPETITION: The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs.2,000-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 Agro’s Bailley has been growing steadily. Small local players too are breathing down Bisleri’s 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 Parle’s 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 Rs.10, 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.

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 Agro’s Bailey Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhan’s 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 it’s competitor is offering the product. Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt. For Rs.10. The only strength point of the company which it can capitalize is it’s 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:

1.The 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. 2. 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. 3. 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 Agro’s 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 Rs.5, 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 company’s 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 Rs.12 for the same size. But beginning last year, it has been selling its one- liter bottles at Rs.10 each. Aqua Minerals attributes the Price slashing to retailer margins being on the higher side earlier. The competitive Rs.10-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 Rs.5 some six months back. There’s also a two-liter bottle for Rs.18. In what could be a masterstroke, Aqua Minerals is testing out the possibility of mass marketing 20-litre Bisleri bottles for an MRP of Rs.40. That works out to Rs.2 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.

PURIFICATION PROCESS

Bisleri is producing by painstakingly rigorous process. Source water is put through- 7 –stage 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 10 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 & 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 100 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 Bailey's 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

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%, Bailey's 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

17%

45%

20%

8%

Bisleri

10%

Aquafina

Kinley

Hello

Others

4. Frequency of distribution visit Distribution is an important parameters which holds on key position for any fastmoving 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 i.e. 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 100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

100%

90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

0% 0% Bisleri

0%0% Aquafina

Daily

0% 0%

0%0% Kinley

Bailey's

Alternatively

0% 0% Hello

Weekly

0%0% Others

5. Analysis on the credit policy of the distributor/company 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 doesn't 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.

6. Analysis regarding information about the scheme The consent regarding the prior information about the schemes from the retailers show varying percentage BRAND

Yes

No

Bisleri

56%

44%

Aquafina

60%

40%

Kinley

63%

37%

Bailey's

57%

43%

Hello

70%

30%

Others

40%

60%

70% 60% Yes

50%

No

40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Bisleri

Aquafina

Kinley

Bailey's

Others

Hello

Retailers are very sensitive regarding the schemes. They prefer those product which gives them more margin and for this they depend mainly on schemes provide by the company. However, from the analysis it was found out that retailers prior information regarding the schemes is maximum in case of Kinley that is 63% of retailer gave consent regarding the prior information on of the scheme in the case of Kinley where as rest of the 37% are not informed about the scheme. Followed by Aquafina, 60%, Yes ad 40% No, then Bailey’s 57% yes and 43% NO, and Information regarding Bisleri scheme is 56% Yes and 44% No. Thus it can be interpreted that, new entrants like Aquafina, Kinley are on aggressive path in order to increase their market share and at the same time its

creating effect on the sale of Bisleri by giving incentive of schemes which the retailers prefers a lot and like to keep their product.

7. Availability of the various mineral water among retailers shows varying percentage Easily

Get but not

Does not get

often Bisleri

73%

18%

9%

Aquafina

75%

15%

10%

Kinley

60%

15%

10%

Bailey's

70%

20%

10%

Hello

65%

20%

15%

Others

60%

20%

20%

From the data, it can be interpreted that availability of Bisleri mineral water among the retailers is 73% of retailers gets the product easily, whereas 18% of them feels that they do not get the product offer and rest of the 9% retailers feels that they do not get this product at all. Thus it can be said that, distribution system of Bisleri is good and should try to maintain this pattern in order to compete with Kinley and Aquafina which have strong distribution network due to their soft drink link. However, in the case of Aquafina 65% of retailers gets the product regularly, 18%f get the product on an irregular basis whereas rest of the 15% retailer do, not get the product at all, therefore Aquafina should use its full distribution network of Pepsi in order to capture large chunk of market size. In the case of Kinley 60% retailers get the product easily whereas 15% of the retailers get this mineral water on an irregular basis and rest of the 25% retailers do not get the product at all. In the case of Hello 65% retailers get the product easily whereas 20% of the retailers get this mineral water on an irregular basis and rest of the 15% retailers do not get the product at all.

Therefore Coca-Cola should do something with its distribution network in order to capture more market share as it does not need to create it separate distribution network for mineral water, this is because they have already strong presence in the market due to its soft drink link. Thus it can pose major threat to Bisleri in a long run, if its potential is used at full capacity. •

Bisleri’s has strong presence in the market as it can be seen from the table that 70% of retailers gets the product easily. 20% retailers gets the mineral water on an irregular basis, where as rest of the 10% retailers feels that they do not get the product at all.

•

Other mineral water accounts 60% in case of easy availability, 20% feels that they do not get the mineral water in a regular basis and rest of the 20% retailers feels that they do not get the product all.

8. Analysis regarding the sale of Bisleri and other mineral water prior to the launch of Kinely and Aquafina The total number of outlet covered for this purpose is 100; and coverage sale of mineral water from a single outlet is approximately 15 cases of 1 lit. each. Prior to the launch of Aquafina and Kinley, the market size of each of the mineral water is as follows : Bisleri

8/15

53%

Bailey’s

3/15

20%

Others

4/15

27%

Piechart showing market share of Bisleri, Hello, Bailey’s and prior to the launch of Aquafina and Kinley

20%

46%

14%

20%

Bisleri

Bailey's

Hello

Others

If we compare this data from the analysis of third question data, then we will find that sale of Bisleri has gone down by 8-10% after the launch of Aquafina and Kinley Thus we say that new entrants like Aquafina and Kinley which has very strong brand name attached to its tag ad with strong distribution network and aggressive promotional strategy can push away Bisleri ad may pose threat to it by capturing larger chunk of market size.

9. Analysis regarding the forecast of demand in the near future The analysis regarding the forecast of demand of particular brand is derived out by taking an average of 100 retailers ranking. The percentage of demand for the particular brand of mineral water in the near future are as follows: Bisleri

3/5

60%

Aquafina

4/5

80%

Kinley

4.5/5

90%

Bailey’s

2.5/5

50%

Hello

2.5/5

50%

2/5

40%

Others

Pie chart showing % of demand for the particular brand of mineral water in the near future

40%

60%

50%

80% 50% 90%

Bisleri

Aquafina

Kinley

Bailey's

Hello

Others

The demand for the Bisleri mineral water will be little higher than the medium i.e. it will have approx. 60% of the demand, where as Aquafina demand will be high suggesting that its demand will go up to 80%, Kinley is predicted to be higher in demand due to its pricing, quality and brand image, the average of 100 retailers feels that, it will have 4.5 (on a scale of 5,) demand i.e. its demand will be approx. 90% in the near future. Bailey's demand will be some where around 50% as its average is coming out to be approx. 2.5 on a scale of 5, whereas other mineral water demand is predicted only 40%. Thus its very clear from the chart that in near futrue demand for new entrants like Kinley and Aquafina will be very high and this may lead to major threat to Bisleri and other mineral water.

10. Analysis of the particular brand that retailers are satisfied with regard to the following parameters Margins Satisfied

Not satisfied

Bisleri

37%

63%

Aquafina

73%

27%

Kinley

78%

22%

Bailey's

80%

20%

Hello

67%

33%

Others

80%

20%

Margin is key factor due to which the retailers keep the product their product is being able to push away to further to the final consumer.

•

The survey conducted among 100 retailers convey that only 37% of the retailers are satisfied with the margin of Bisleri mineral water as they feel that the margin provided by them is minimum as compared to other mineral water. They only get a margin of Rs. 1 in a 1 lit. of bottle, whereas in other mineral water they get the margin of Rs. 1.50 to Rs 2. 0.

•

They enjoy keeping local brand as they get maximum margin on them. in the case of Aquafina they get a margin of Rs. 1.50 and Rs. 2 in the case of Kinley and Bailey's. Therefore rest of 63% retailers are not satisfied in this particular point.

Aquafina

In the case of Aquafina, 73% of the retailers feels that margin that they are getting is good enough and rest of the 27% retailers are not satisfied with the margin.

Kinley In the case of Kinley, 78% of the retailers are satisfied with the margin level whereas 22% retailers are not happy about the margin level.

Bailey's Bailey's stands parallel with Bisleri with a 80% of satisfaction level from the retailers and rest of the 20% retailers, does not feel good about margin level. This is again on positive point for Bailey's to compete in the market and increase its market size.

Hello In the case of Hello, 67% of the retailers feels that margin that they are getting is good enough and rest of the 33% retailers are not satisfied with the margin.

Others Other mineral water like Hello, Yes, Ganga, gives good margin to the retailers and therefore 80% of retailers enjoy its margin level where 20% are still not happy about it.

Graph showing % satisfaction level in terms of margin Satisfied

Not satisfied

Bisleri

37%

63%

Aquafina

73%

27%

Kinley

78%

22%

Bailey's

80%

20%

Hello

60%

40%

Others

80%

20%

80% 70% 60%

80%

78%

73%

63%

60%

50% 40%

40%

37%

27%

30%

80%

22%

20%

20%

20%

10% 0%

Bisleri

Aquafina

Kinley

Satisfied

Bailey's

Hello

Others

Not satisfied

Satisfaction level of the retailers with regard to stock pressure Out of 100 retailers surveyed almost cent percent retailers are satisfied with stock pressure of the various brand. Therefore this is not a major issue that has to be dealt with great concern. Instead the all of this brand should force the retails to keep to thrive product in order to increase their sale level.

Satisfaction level of the retailers with regard to replacement policy The satisfaction level regarding the replacement policy is cent percent among the major competitors i.e. Bisleri, Aquafina, Kinley, Hello and Bailey's. where as 30% of the retailers are satisfied with the replacement policy of other mineral water (Ganga, Glacier Yes, etc.) and rest of 70% has not shown their consent regard the replacement policy. Thus his parameter too, does not need to be taken care off by the major competitor and should carry on like this in order to meet the challenges in the near future.

Satisfaction level of the retailers with regard to the quality of the product Bisleri

65%

Aquafina

95%

Kinley

80%

Bailey's

60%

Hello

70%

Others

40%

Pie-chart showing satisfaction level among the retailers regarding quality of the product from the various players

40%

65%

70%

95% 60% 80%

Bisleri

Aquafina

Kinley

Bailey's

Hello

Others

After calculating % of retailers satisfied with the quality of mineral water, it was found out that the Aquafina is leading ahead with its competitors, as 95% of retailers feels that quality of this particular brand is much better than the other mineral water, followed by Kinley, where 80% retailers are satisfied by its quality then the Hello 70%, followed by Bisleri 65%, Bailey's 60% and other mineral water 40%. This shows that the quality of new entrants like Aquafina and Kinley is much better; thus it can give tough competition to the retailers in the particular parameter. Therefore Bisleri and Bailey's should do something in terms of its quality in order to maintain its existing market share.

Analysis of satisfaction level among the retailers with regard to brand name

Bisleri

70%

Aquafina

95%

Kinley

90%

Bailey's

30%

Hello

60%

Others

13%a

Out of 100 retailers covered all over Delhi, it was found out that, Bisleri has got strong brand image in terms of mineral water. Infact mineral water has become generic with a brand name of Bisleri. 70% of the retailers are satisfied with the brand image of Bisleri whereas 30% are not. In the case of Aquafina 95% of the retailers are satisfied with the brand image of Aquafina, which is considered to be very good and thus it can give major threat to other mineral water by aggressive promotional strategy. With this type of brand image it can capture larger chunk of market size from the pie. •

Kinely too enjoy strong brand image as 90% retailers feels that being on Coca-Cola product, the brand value is more and therefore they find it easy to sell this particular product.

•

Bailey's brand name infront of competitors like Aquafina, Kinely and Bisleri is not that much; therefore only 30% of the retailers are satisfied with its brand name.

•

Hello brand name infront of competitors like Aquafina, Kinely and Bisleri is not that much; therefore only 60% of the retailers are satisfied with its brand name.

•

Other mineral water like, Glacier, Yes, Ganga etc. does not have strong brand image. It can be seen from the table that only 13% of the retailers are satisfied with its brand image rest of them does not.

Therefore it can be concluded by saying that brand image of Aquafina, Hello, Kinley and Bisleri is very high and if properly milked can lead to increase in the market share.

Pie-chart showing combined satisfaction level of brand name among the retailers 13%

70%

60%

30%

95% 90%

Bisleri

Aquafina

Kinley

Bailey's

Hello

Others

Analysis regarding the price of mineral water among the retailers High

Reasonable

Bisleri

10%

90%

Aquafina

70%

30%

Kinley

5%

95%

Bailey's

20%

80%

Hello

15%

85%

Others

10%

90%

Graph showing % of retailer’s perception regarding the price of following mineral water 100% 90%

95%

90%

80%

80%

85%

90%

70%

70% 60% 50% 40%

30%

30%

20%

20% 10% 0%

10% Bisleri

15%

5% Aquafina

Kinley

High

Bailey's

Hello

10% Others

Reasonable

From the data it’s very clear that the price of Bisleri mineral water is reasonable. As it can be seen that almost 90% retailers feels the price of Bisleri mineral water is reasonable whereas 10% feels price to be high, therefore Bisleri should stick with the same pricing policy and try to expand its market size. •

Aquafina price was felt high by the retailers as 70% fo the retailers say that 750 ml of water costs Rs. 10 which is comparatively higher than the other mineral water, therefore it caters to different sector and as a result its sales is not able to increase inspite of the fact that it has best quality and to support this they are very aggressive in advertising, therefore if they look on the parameter and try to do something, then definitely they will have an edge over their competitors.

•

Kinley 1 lit. bottle cost Rs.10 and 500 ml bottle is costing Rs.4 which the retailers feels that its price is reasonable by showing their consent. Almost 95% retailers feels that the price is reasonable and rest of 5% still consider its price as high.

However it can be interpreted out from this that if they follow this strategy of price then large market size as they have strong brand image of Coca-Cola attached with these tag, which will help them to capture larger market share.

•

Bailey's pricing is considered to be reasonable as 80% of the retailers rated in this column to support these point, whereas rest of the 20% does not feel so.

•

Hello pricing is considered to be reasonable as 85% of the retailers rated in this column to support these point, whereas rest of the 15% does not feel so.

•

Other mineral water like Ganga, Yes, etc. has been rated as reasonable on its pricing policy.

12. Analysis regarding role of advertisement in increasing market share of following mineral water Yes

No

Bisleri

60%

40%

Aquafina

92%

8%

Kinley

72%

28%

Bailey's

30%

70%

Hello

46%

54%

Others

10%

90%

Advertisement in today's competing environment plays an important role in increasing market size of any particular product. It can be interpreted from the given table that advertisement has played a major role in the case of Bisleri to maintain the current market size and compete in this competitive environment. 60% of the retailers feels that advertisement of Bisleri has played major role in maintaining its current market size whereas 40% does not think so. •

In the case of Aquafina, retailers feel that advertisement for this particular product has helped it to grow and capture the market size and with this aggressive advertisement strategy, it is expected that in market share will increase in near future. 92% of the retailers feels that due to its advertisement, this particular product is being accepted in the market, whereas rest of the 8% have varying reasons.

30% retailers feels that Bailey's sale is due to the advertisement whereas 70% of the retailers does not feel so. therefore if Bailey's want to increase its market share then it should do something in this field also.

46% retailers feels that Hello sale is due to the advertisement whereas 54% of the retailers does not feel so. therefore if Bailey's want to increase its market share then it should do something in this field also Other mineral water like Kinley too is banging on its add ad promotional strategy to capture larger chunk of market size. Its very clear from the data that approx. 70% retailers feels that sale of Kinley is due to its aggressive advertisement, whereas rest of them does not feel so (Ganga, Yes, Glacier, etc) does not follow aggressive advertisement, 10% of the retailers say that advertisement has played a role in increasing the market share whereas 90% does not feel so. Therefore to conclude, it can be said that advertisement has major role to play in the near future when the mineral water war has begun from the major giant players like Pepsi, Coke and Bisleri.

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 TamilNadu. Similar brands with a regional presence are Siruvani, and Koday. Thus, new players will be looking for a distinct positioning. One such brand is Pepsi’s 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 Rs.5 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 Pepsi’s 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 — 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 & implement different & 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 & 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 & 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 & colleges.

•

Displays of hot & 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 & 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 & 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 filter/purified water and to tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered water/purified 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 & 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. 16. Pirated or copied variants of branded water to be stopped. 17. Plastic quality of bottle can be improved as specially middle class segment don't want to throw plastic bottles after water consumption and like the same bottle to be used in future or domestic purposes. The redressal forum should be located zone wise and the company should see the zonal head reports every day regarding the grievances of the customers. The company should make proper arrangements to get away with the grievances of the consumers as soon as possible.

.

ANNEXURE

CUSTOMER QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Do you use mineral water Yes No

2. If no then why not Price is the concern Carry home water Health is not an issue

3. If yes then why mineral water Health conscious Convenience is the key Others

4. On what occasions do you usually use mineral water When travelling In college To the office At home Hotel others

5.Do you think of a specific brand when you think mineral water Aquafina Kinley Yes Bailey

Bisleri Hello Evian Others None

6. If any specific brand then the reason Price Purity of water Trust in the brand Availability Others

7. Do you have aqua guard, zero B, etc., at home Yes No

8. If the price of another brand of mineral water is reduced would you shift your brand? Yes No

THANK YOU

RETAILER QUESTIONNAIRE

Name of Retailers: Name of Shop/distributor/stockist: Location: 1. Are you aware of the fact that there are 186 brands in today's mineral water industry? Yes No

2. Which is the brand you stock more? (a) Bisleri

(b) Acquafina

(c) Kinley

(d) Yes

(e) Hello

(f) Kingfisher

(g) Evian

(h) Bailey

(g) Any other (Pl. Specify?__)

3. Which brand offer best retailer margin? (a) Bisleri

(b) Acquafina

(c) Kinley

(d) Yes

(e) Hello

(f) Kingfisher

(g) Evian

(h) Bailey

(g) Any other (Pl. Specify?__)

4. Which brand offer best credit scheme for retailers? (a) Bisleri

(b) Acquafina

(c) Kinley

(d) Yes

(e) Hello

(f) Kingfisher

(g) Evian

(h) Bailey

(g) Any other (Pl. Specify?__)

5. Which brand offer maximum variants of plastic bottles? (a) Bisleri

(b) Acquafina

(c) Kinley

(d) Yes

(e) Hello

(f) Kingfisher

(g) Evian

(h) Bailey

(g) Any other (Pl. Specify?__)

6. Which brand spends more on advertising? (a) Bisleri

(b) Acquafina

(c) Kinley

(d) Yes

(e) Hello

(f) Kingfisher

(g) Evian

(h) Bailey

(g) Any other (Pl. Specify?__)

7. Have ever receive complaints regarding any existing brand? If Yes which brand? (a) Bisleri

(b) Acquafina

(c) Kinley

(d) Yes

(e) Hello

(f) Kingfisher

(g) Evian

(h) Bailey

(g) Any other (Pl. Specify?__)

8. What is the weekly sale of your famous brand? ………………………………………………………………………………………….

9. How often do you promote local brands and why? ………………………………………………………………………………………….

10. Do you feel any major differences between branded and unbranded

mineral water? ………………………………………………………………………………………….

11.How often do your customers asked for Bisleri, Kinley & Acquafina? ………………………………………………………………………………………….

12. What advantages do you get by stocking Bisleri, Kinley & Acquafina? ………………………………………………………………………………………….

13. How frequently you receive Bisleri, Kinley & Acquafina from their

respective distributors? (a) Monthly

(b) Weekly

(c) Twice a week

(d) daily

THANK YOU

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS & JOURNALS •

MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLER.

•

"THE EFFECTIVE USE OF MARKET RESEARCH" BY ROBIN BIM.

•

BUISNESS WORLD, BUISNESS TODAY.

•

MARKET RESEARCH BY KOTHARI

•

WWW.BISLERI.COM

•

VARIOUS ISSUES BUSINESS WORLD, BUSINESS TODAY

•

A&M, BRAND EQUITY

•

WEBSITES

•

WWW.BISLERI.COM

•

WWW.COKE.COM

•

WWW.PEPSI.COM

•

WWW.PARLE.COM

•

WWW.GOOGLE.COM

•

WWW.INDIAINFOLINE.COM

•

WWW.REDIFF.COM

•

WWW.HELLOMINERALSWATER.COM