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Introduction
Bottled Water Industry in India
Bottled water top players in India
History of Bottled water in India
Variety of packages
Why Bottled water?
Bottled Water: How Safe?
Water resources over-exploited
Bottled water companies earn high profits
Plastic Bottles Pollution
The anti-bottling protests
Pro-tap water consciousness
Bottled Water law in India
Health Issue-Purity of bottled water
New development in bottled water industry
Bottled water full line : Video
Introduction
Water is the most important necessity for life.
The drinking-water needs for individuals vary depending on the climate, physical activity and
the body culture. but for average consumers it is estimated to be about two
to four litres per day. The growing number of cases of water borne diseases, increasing water pollution, increasing urbanization,
increasing scarcity of pure and safe water etc. have made the bottled
water business just like other consumer items. Scarcity of potable and wholesome water at railway stations, tourists
spots, and role of tourism corp. etc. has also added to the growth.
Indians currently spending about $330m a year on bottled water, analysts
estimate. The packaged water market constitutes 15 per cent of the overall packaged beverage industry, which has annual sales of at least
$2.6bn, Deepak Jolly, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola India said.
Almost all the major international and national brands water bottles
are available in Indian market right from the malls to railway stations,
bus stations, grocery stores and even at panwala's shop. Before few years bottle water.
was considered as the rich people's choice, but now it is penetrated even in rural areas. The growth and status of Indian Bottled Industry
in comparison with Western or Asian market, India is far behind in terms of
quantum, infrastructure, professionalism and standards implementation. The per capita consumption of mineral
water in India is a mere 0.5-liter compared to 111 liter in Europe and 45-liter in USA.
Also As per UN study conducted in 122 countries, in connection with water quality,
India's number was dismal 120. In comparison to global standards India's bottled water segment is largely unregulated.
Former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has urged youngsters
on July 17, 2010 to be aware of water conservation techniques to avoid grave water crisis in
future.`"It is so sad that today, people are forced to buy water in
plastic bottles. I am told that bottled water industry is worth nearly 10000 crore rupees and even big companies like the Coke and Pepsi are involved in this bottling of water and making money. So, it is imperative that we ought to save water," he added. Do not be surprise if today's bottles water industry becomes next Oil industry by 2025.
If oil is the focal point of world conflict now, it is possible that
water will be the next battleground among monopoly capitalists and even
among nations. Prices of water and water services keep on increasing because most of
our public water utilities have already been privatized by the government.
Private beverage and water companies have been granted by the government with permits to practically control and operate our natural springs and
water sources in natural parks and protected areas for water production and processing plants.
```The bottled water category is growing at a rapid pace. The branded`market is 40 % of the category and
non- branded contributes to 60% of the market. The category is growing at a rate of 30%. Bisleri is the
market leader in mineral water in India with a 60% market share within organized mineral water category. Three key players mainly dominate the
Indian Bottled Water Market Parle Bisleri, Coca Cola India Inc Kinley and Pepsico India Holdings
Pvt. Limited. This market is expected to grow at a 30% rate in the next 7 years. In 2010 the revenue generated by this market was over $250 million.
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Bottled Water Industry in India
Water Shortage and Health Awareness Driving Bottled Water Consumption in India.
The Indian market is estimated at about Rs 1,000 Crore and is growing at whopping rate of 40 per cent. By 2010, it will reach Rs 4,000 -5,000 Crore with 33 per cent market for natural mineral water.
According to a national-level study, there are more than 200 bottled water brands in India and among them nearly 80 per cent are local brands.
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.
While India ranks in the top 10 largest bottled water consumers in the world, its per capita per annum consumption of bottled water is estimated to be five litres which is
comparatively lower than the global average of 24 litres. 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. The total annual bottled
water consumption in India had tripled to 5 billion liters in 2004 from 1.5 billion liters in 1999. Global consumption of bottled water was
nearing 200 billion liters in 2006.
Bottled water top players in India
The market leader is Bisleri International, which boasts a 40 per cent
share. It is followed by Coca- Coca’s Kinley (around 25 per cent) and
PepsiCo’s Aquafina (around 10 per cent). The top
players in bottled water industry in India are the major international giants like Coca cola, Pepsi, Nestle and noticeable presence of national players like Mount Everest,
Manikchand, Kingfisher, Mohan Meakins, SKN Breweries , Indian
Railways so on. With increasing competition, this sector will register a robust growth in 2010, predict industry analysts.
To take on rivals in this sector, PepsiCo India is drawing up a fresh game plan which
includes, investment in capacity enhancement, packaging initiatives and below-the-line activities to pump up volumes in the over-crowded category.
Meanwhile, swadeshi major Parle Agro is extending the manufacturing facility for Bailley from 29 to 60 plants this year. While swadeshi major Bisleri International is beefing up its distribution, manufacturing and marketing
operations, Coca-Cola India is sharpening its focus on packaging initiatives of Kinley to woo new consumes. In essence, the packaged water industry in India
will soon witness a major tussle between swadeshi and videshi players to gain market and mind share.
The western region accounts for 40 per cent of the market and the eastern region just 10. However, the bottling plants are concentrated in the southern region - of the approximately 1,200
bottling water plants in India, 600 are in Tamil Nadu. But a major problem is southern India, especially Tamil Nadu, is water starved.
Top multinational players such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have been trying for the past decade to capture the Indian bottled water market.
Today they have captured a significant portion of it. However, Parle Bisleri continues to hold 40 per cent of the market share. Kinley and
Aquafina are fast catching up, with Kinley holding 20-25 per cent of the market and Aquafina approximately 10 per cent. The rest, including the smaller players, have 20-25 per cent of the market
share.
History of Bottled water in India
Mineral bottled water in India under the name 'Bisleri' was first introduced in
Mumbai by Bisleri Ltd., a company of Italian origin in 1965. Mineral bottled water were in
glass bottles in two varieties - bubbly and still in 1965 This company was started by Signor Felice
who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India.
Parle bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd. In 1969 and started bottling
Mineral water in glass bottles under the brand name 'Bisleri'. Later Parle switched over to PVC non- returnable bottles and finally advanced to
PET containers. Since 1995 Mr.Ramesh J. Chauhan has started expanding Bisleri
operations substantially and the turn over has multiplied more than 20 times over a period of 10 years and the average growth rate has been
around 40% over this period. Presently it have 8 plants and 11 franchisees
all over India. Bisler command a 60% market share of the organized market.
Currently, Bailley has a national presence in 5 lakh retail outlets across the
country. “We plan to increase manufacturing plants for Bailley from 29 to 60,
presently 40 plants are operational and few more will be ready for operations
over the next few months,” informed Nadia Chauhan, joint managing director of Parle Agro. |
Bisleri is
enjoying market share of 60 to 75% in the bottled water industry
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Variety of packages
Bottled water is sold in a variety of packages: pouches and glasses, 330 ml bottles, 500 ml bottles,
one- litre bottles and even 20- to 50-litre bulk water packs. The formal bottled water business in India can
be divided broadly into three segments in terms of cost: premium natural mineral water, natural mineral water and packaged drinking water.
Premium natural mineral water includes brands such as Evian, San Pelligrino and Perrier, which are
imported and priced between Rs.80 and Rs.110 a litre. Natural mineral water, with brands such as
Himalayan and Catch, is priced around Rs.20 a litre. Packaged drinking water, which is nothing but treated water, is
the biggest segment and includes brands such as Parle, Bisleri, Coca-Cola's Kinley and PepsiCo's Aquafina. They are priced in the range of Rs.10-12 a
litre. The FDA also classifies some bottled water according to its origin.
Artesian well water Water from a well that taps an aquifer--layers of porous rock, sand and earth that contain water--which is under pressure from surrounding upper layers of rock or clay.
Mineral water. Water from an underground source that contains at least 250 parts per million total
dissolved solids. Minerals and trace elements must come from the source of the underground water. They cannot be added later.
Spring water Derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the earth's surface. Spring water must be
collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground formation feeding the spring. If some external force is used to collect the water through a borehole, the water must have
the same composition and quality as the water that naturally flows to the surface.
Well water. Water from a hole bored or drilled into the ground, which taps into an aquifer.
Tap Water Some bottled water also comes from municipal sources--in other
words--the tap. Municipal water is usually treated before it is bottled.
Why Bottled water?
Millions of people, both in rural and urban India, suffer from inadequate or no tap water
supply. Even some parts of Mumbai, the country's financial capital, get a mere two hours of daily water supply. The city's Virar suburb gets 45 minutes. So bottled water is much in demand by residents - even
though the businesses profiting from the sales are thriving from access to public water sources.
Bottled water fills a void created by government failure to address basic services, Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute writes in its World Water report.
"In many parts of the world, tap water is not available or safe to drink," writes . "In these regions, the failure of governments
to provide basic water services has opened the door to private companies and vendors filling a critical need, albeit at a very high cost to consumers."
The institute reasons that governments should tap into spending on commercial water by consumers to secure funds to provide safe water at fraction of the cost.
Bottled water has been treated by distillation, reverse osmosis, or
other suitable process and that meets the definition of "purified water". The bottled water treatments include:
* Distillation. In this process, water is turned into a vapor. Since minerals are too heavy to vaporize, they are left behind, and the vapors are condensed into water again.
* Reverse osmosis. Water is forced through membranes to remove minerals in the water.
* Absolute 1 micron filtration. Water flows through filters that remove particles larger than one micron in size, such as
"Cryptosporidium", a parasitic protozoan.
* Ozonation. Bottlers of all types of waters typically use ozone
gas, an antimicrobial agent, to disinfect the water instead of chlorine, since chlorine can leave residual taste and odor to the water. |
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Rail neer plant opened at Palur
A rail neer plant (water manufacturing unit) catering to the packaged
drinking water needs of all railway stations in South India particularly Tamil Nadu was inaugurated at Palur, nearly 60 kms from
here, on Monday. This is the third in the country and the first in South
India. It has the capacity to manufacture bottles that can hold up to
180,000 litres of water per day.
PepsiCo signs up Sharman Joshi as 7UP brand ambassador
Food and beverage maker PepsiCo on March 21, 2011 said it has roped in Bollywood actor Sharman Joshi as the brand ambassador for its carbonated lemon
drink brand 7UP.
The company's marketing campaign – ‘Gussa Hatao,
Chill Machao’ -- to promote the brand on multiple media platforms |
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Bottled Water: How Safe?
The bottled water industry has spent billions over the past decade to sell you on the idea that bottled water is better than tap water. Well the short answer is they are both unhealthy.
One of the most ironic parts of the bottled water tragedy is that the water bottling industry gets the water free, filters it, bottles it and sells it
back to us at 1,900% profit. The ironic part is that tap water is legislated to be 7.0 pH neutral. They first dump a TON of cholrine in the water to kill off all the bad bacteria, this makes it highly acidic.
In India around 100 companies sell an estimated 424 million litres of bottled water valued at around Rs 200 crore in the country annually
. Most bottlers claim that their water is 100 per cent bacteria-free and contains minerals that make it tastier and healthier. But is the water in these bottles really safe to drink? Do they conform to international or national standards?
To find out, the Ahmedabad-based Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS), an independent non-profit institution with
a sophisticated product-testing laboratory, recently carried out a detailed study on 13 major brands of bottled water available in the country.
The national brands -- Bisleri (separate samples were taken from their units in Bangalore, Ghaziabad, Calcutta and Baroda) and Bailley (Mumbai and
Surat) -- were selected on the basis of their dominant position in the overall market. Bisil (Mehsana), Golden Eagle (Chennai), Aquaspa
(Mumbai),Saiganga (Ahmednagar), Nirantar (Thane), Trupthi (Chennai) and Yes
(Nadiad) were included because of their regional popularity. To conform to international standards for such testing, 21 bottles of each brand were tested in the CERS laboratory
against "analytical" and "sensory" parameters as well as for "microbiological" contamination. To ensure fairness, the results were sent to the individual companies for their comments.
So how safe is bottled water? Not that safe, says the CERS survey. As many as 10 of the 13 brands had foreign floating objects in clear violation of norms.
Again during a surprise inspection by the health committee chairman Manjunatha
Reddy and team at two mineral water units in the Bangalore on January 11, 2011, it was
found that mineral water production unit owners were bottling borewell water. The units were also illegally using several branded labels on the
bottles to market the water. The standing committee visited a mineral water production unit called AM
Enterprises and found the owner selling water without an ISI mark from
the Bureau of India Standards. He was found mixing mineral water with borewell water and selling it in cans to the public.
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Life Water and Drop4Drop donate 40 wells in India
Life Water founders, Simon Konecki and Lucas White, were in India in last
week November 2011 with Drop4Drop on its mission to help alleviate the
world water crisis through installation of wells to provide clean water.
Currently the Drop4Drop team is in the Routhulapudi district of East
Godavari, Andhra Pradesh where they are installing 40 bore well projects
in 40 communities providing 50,000 people with clean drinking water.
The charity provides up to 1000 litres of clean drinking water to
developing communities for every bottle of Life Water sold. For the current project in India, proceeds from the sale of Life Water will help
to provide 40 wells in East Godvari providing thousands with clean drinking water.
Source: Life Water
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Water resources over-exploited
The majority of the bottling plants are dependent on groundwater. They create huge water stress in the areas where they operate because groundwater
is also the main source - in most places the only source - of drinking water in India.This has created huge conflict between the community and the bottling plants.
Private companies in India can siphon out, exhaust and export groundwater free because the groundwater law in the country is archaic and not in tune
with the realities of modern capitalist societies. The existing law says that "the person who owns the land owns the
groundwater beneath". This means that, theoretically, a person can buy one square metre of land and take all the groundwater of the surrounding areas and the law of land cannot object to it.
This law is the core of the conflict between the community and the companies and the major reason for making the business of bottled water in the country highly lucrative.
Take for instance the case of Coca-Cola's bottling plant in drought-prone Kala Dera near Jaipur. Coca-Cola gets its water free except for a tiny
cess (for discharging the wastewater) it pays to the State Pollution Control Board - a little over Rs.5,000 a year during 2000-02 and Rs.24,246 in 2003. It extracts half a million litres of water every day - at a cost
of 14 paise per 1,000 litres. So, a Rs.10 per litre Kinley water has a raw material cost of just 0.02-0.03 paise. (It takes about two to three litres of groundwater to make one litre of bottled water.)
On April 7, more than 1,500 villagers defied a police cordon and marched to Coca-Cola's bottling plant in Mehdiganj village,
Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh state, demanding that the company immediately shut down its bottling plant. In January, the New Delhi-based Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) advised Coca-Cola to shut a bottling plant in
the drought-stricken state of Rajasthan.
India's Ministry of Water Resources has ranked 80% of ground water resources in
Rajasthan as "over- exploited" and nearly 34% resources as "dark/ critical", the gravest ranking across the country |
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Ufilta water bottle
A fantastic alternative to the use once- and-throw plastic water bottles,
Ufilta come in several sizes. The 1 litre ones (RM70 for aid agencies,
RM170 retail price) are conveniently portable and can filter up to 2,000
litres in its lifespan. After that, the bottle may still be used, only the Ufilta straw has to
be changed. The Ufilta 20 Rural can provide clean drinking water for cooking, drinking, bathing etc for a family of five up to five years.
For starters, Ufilta bottles are certified and approved by recognised
scientific institutions in more than 8 countries, and tests conform to the stringent protocols of the WHO |
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Bottled water companies earn high profits
What is amazing is that people are prepared to pay
Rs. 12 for a liter of water-in India especially when the cost of material input (0.25 paisa per liter
excluding labors cost) pales into insignificance before the price of the product.
Up to 40% of bottled water comes from the same source as tap water, but is sold back to consumers at hundreds of times the cost,
says the website of the North American "Think Outside the Bottle" campaign. Not only the Coca-Cola but there are thousands of brands in India's
$445 million packaged water industry.
Not just bottlers are involved. In south India, thousands of fuel trucks converted to be water carriers sell ground water to households
and establishments at about $10 for 5,000 liters. More than 13,000 tankers carry water drawn from farmland surrounding
Chennai, according a social activist R Srinivasan. He estimates a $148 million tanker industry is cashing in on Chennai's acute water scarcity. The story is replicated
across India, including in New Delhi.
Plastic Bottles Pollution
Tap water is a local product that needs no packaging. Globally, bottled water
accounts for as many as 1.5 million tons of plastic waste annually, according to
the Sierra Club. In addition, billions of bottles end up in the ground every year. Sadly, only
20% ever get recycled, according to the Container Recycling Institute. The other
80%? Besides landfills, many bottles end up in oceans, posing a risk to marine life. By purchasing bottled water, you’re indirectly raising the price of
gasoline and contributing to Global
Warming and climate change.
In 2007, the manufacturers of plastic water bottles generated more than 2.5
million tons of carbon dioxide emissions and required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil, according to the Pacific Institute.
Americans drank more than 30 billion single-serving bottles of water last year.
Yet the vast majority of us have an unlimited source of clean, EPA-regulated tap water flowing from our faucets. |
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Bisleri To Open Own Outlets To Sell Bottled Water
Bisleri, India’s largest bottled water brand, has announced plans to
open a chain of exclusive retail outlets across the country to stock its
own brand on November 24, 2011. The company said it was embarking on the ambitious
move, which could be the first such by any major bottled water brand in the
world, due to growing pressure from rivals at regular retail outlets.
The group said that setting up a chain of ‘Bisleri Shopees’ would
“require a lot of working and deployment strategies to be in place,
which is presently being worked upon”. The company did not provide any
further details for the concept, including a launch date or the number
of outlets planned. |
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Plastic Bottles requires costly Oil
Making the plastic in the bottles requires 47 million gallons
of oil annually. And that doesn’t include the jet fuel and gasoline required to transport the bottles- sometimes halfway around the world.
The anti-bottling protests
The anti-bottling protests in India against Pepsi
and Coca-Cola echo increased concern in
Europe and the United States over the proliferation of bottled water, including the creation of billions of soon unwanted
plastic containers. In India, protests against the bottling plant in drought-prone Kala Dera near Jaipur
focus on the source of the packaged water and how bottling companies are grabbing underground water.
The truth is, many water companies get their water from sources in developing
countries, such as India and Fiji. In those places, the companies take water that once belonged to an entire village and buy it for themselves, forcing the
villagers to pay for water that they used to be able to use as a community, free of charge.
On February 25, 2011 the Indian state of Kerala has passed a
bill allowing compensation claims against soft drink giant Coca-Cola
over alleged environmental damage caused by a bottling plant. The legislation adopted by the state assembly on Thursday creates a
tribunal empowered to process claims for alleged losses resulting from
violations of environmental regulations. The Palakkad bottling factory in Kerala was closed in 2005 after
protests from activists and residents. A high-level state panel concluded last year that the plant had caused
environmental and soil degradation as well as water contamination, and
recommended a fine of 47 million dollars. Coca-Cola denied all the allegations.
Pro-tap water consciousness
The London Evening Standard newspaper ran a "Water on Tap" campaign in April to have tap water available for drinking in city restaurants and bars.
The tabloid reported getting support for its anti-packaged water campaign from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the mayor's office, leading restaurants and chains such as Starbucks,
Costa Coffee and McDonald's. Following growing pro-tap water consciousness, bottled water sales in Britain dipped 9% in the year to March 08. |
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The anti- bottling protests in India against Pepsi and Coca Cola in India
Coca-Cola India Deploys Solar- Powered eKOCool |
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Economists at the California-based Pacific Institute that estimated the $100 billion value of the global industry, ask why consumers are readily paying for
bottled water typically costing a thousand times more per liter than high-quality municipal tap water.
"Are consumers willing to pay this price because they believe that bottled water is safer than tap water?" Pacific Institute experts ask.
"Do they have a real taste preference for bottled water? Or is the convenience of the portable plastic bottle the major factor? Are they taken in by the images portrayed in commercials and on the bottles?"
The study, conducted by the US-based Earth Policy Institute, says the global consumption of bottled water has grown by 57 per cent over the past five years, despite the fact that
the product is often no healthier than tap water and costs up to 10,000 times more. Emily Arnold, the author of
report, says that the $100 billion spent each year on bottled water is nearly
7 times the sum invested in providing safe drinking water in developing countries.
Bottled Water law in India
The term "mineral water" is misleading because our laws do not stipulate
the minimum mineral content level required for water to be labelled as
such. Ahmedabad-based Consumer Education and Research Society
(CERS), an independent non-profit institution with a sophisticated product-testing laboratory, recently carried out a detailed study on 13
major brands of bottled water available in the country. As many as 10 of the 13 brands had foreign floating objects in clear
violation of norms found in the survey. The CERS study indicates that there is an urgent need to revise standards for bottled water.
Health Issue-Purity of bottled water
City water systems must issue “right to know” reports about what’s in the water.
Bottlers successfully killed this requirement for bottled water. Up to 70% of bottled water is unregulated by the Food & Drug Administration.
Acceptance of the supposed purity of bottled water is being undermined in India by the government Health Department's warning of pesticides and
contaminating organisms being present in some bottled products.
The notion that commercial products taste better has also taken a knock from Decanter, a British
magazine, which last December featured top wine tasters testing unmarked samples of water from 22
brands, along with tap water from utility company Thames Water and water from the Decanter office water cooler.
The Decanter panel ranked serviced tap water third in the list, above the world's leading brand,
Evian (15th), and the world's most expensive bottled water 420 Volcanic (18th) and Bling H20 (22nd out of 24 brands tasted). 420 Volcanic sells
at $99 a liter, and Bling H20 (in Swarovski crystal-studded bottles) at $79 a liter. Decanter editor Guy Woodward said
the tasting test exposed the "outrageous" prices of mineral water. |
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Coca-Cola India has found an eco- friendly way to boost its beverage sales in remote places in rural India that do not have sufficient electric power. The Indian business arm of the Atlanta-based company has developed eKOCool, a chest cooler powered by solar energy.
The cooler is designed to keep two crates of bottles, each containing 48
numbers of 300 ml glass bottles in chilled condition. The solar cooler can also be used to charge cell phones or supply power to homes. The new
introduction provides the company a competitive advantage over its rivals in exploiting the Indian rural markets.
The company, under a pilot project, has introduced the eKOCool in 20
rural regions in Agra (UP) this summer. It found that the sales from the outlets have almost increased by five times. The beverages kept inside
the cooler during the previous night or early morning get chilled and are ready to be served in the morning. The solar cooling equipment also
cuts down the costs incurred in the use of electric power or purchase of ice to keep the bottles in chilled condition.
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Traditional Indian methods of cooling and purifying
water
Now people of India
turning their backs on the country's ancient methods of cooling and purifying water. Stored in earthen pots, for instance, it is not only refreshingly cool and tasty but is said to
become bacteria-free. Yet the common summer sight of water matkas (earthen pots) in public offices
and spaces is giving way to upturned plastic drums dispensing packaged water.
Rainwater is safe, doesn’t bring about adverse effects.
For centuries people have thought rainwater as unsafe, but contrary to their beliefs, as per an Australian study, drinking of
untreated rainwater is safe for human health. The study was conducted under the auspices of eminent researchers from Melbourne’s
Monash University. The entire team took a look at 300 homes that used rainwater collected in water tanks as their primary drinking
source.This endeavor has been described as a world first study that comes in the midst of growing criticism of bottled water. |
Bottled water Manufacturing plant
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New WHO guidelines for safer drinking water supply systems
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued revised drinking water
guidelines on July 26, 2011, urging governments to strengthen water quality management
and asking water suppliers to improve their faulty service to consumers,
in order to prevent often fatal water-borne diseases. |
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New development in bottled water industry
February 3, 2012: Food & beverage major PepsiCo, which has a joint venture called
NourishCo with Tata Global Beverages (TGB) to develop and market good-for-you beverages, has indicated that packaged water brand
"Himalayan" is still part of the JV despite the annou-ncement by the
Tata-Starbucks combine to sell the product at cafes in India.
February 1, 2012: The Ahmadabad-based Sheelpe Enterprises has launched Aava natural
mineral water in Goa.
January 20, 2012: Luthra Water Systems, promoted by Mumbai-based Naveen Luthra, plans to
invest INR30-35 crore ($5m-$6m) to set up a bottling plant in Ahirwadi
village near Lonavla in the Sahyadri mountain range in India. The upcoming unit is the third plant dedicated to bottle natural spring
water brand Mulshi Springs for the European market.
January 18, 2012 Dharampal Satyapal (DS Group), producer of Catch natural mineral water,
is celebrating their 11th year as a NSF Certified Brand. Catch Natural
Spring Water is bottled at the source without being subjected to any
chemical treatment. As the only NSF-Certified Indian brand of pure and natural spring water,
Catch has enjoyed a distinct competitive advantage in India's marketplace as their NSF Certification communicates their commitment to
producing a safer, higher-quality product to consumers worldwide.
November 22, 2011: The railways had decided to set up packaged drinking water bottling plants on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and
Transfer (DBFOT) basis and were seeking proposals from interested private parties for the same. The plan was meant to be implemented in
March this year.
October 20, 2011:
Juvenex Inc. announces the introduction of KarmaLife Coconut Water, the first
line of Indian Coconut Water available to US consumers. Unique to the category, KarmaLife uses only Coconut Water from India.
Indian Coconut Water have the best taste among coconut waters given
the indigenous soil and growing conditions.
October 2, 2011:
Red Lion has come up with a new campaign for mineral water brand Bisleri
that features a new thought 'Stay Protected'. The baseline remains 'The
sweet taste of purity'. Ramesh Chauhan, chairman, Bisleri International, explained, "'The sweet
taste of purity' is still there as a baseline, being the product attribute.
Bottled water company SCPF sets up microbreweries in West Bengal
August 25 , 2011: Shivsu Canada Pure Fillers Pvt.Ltd.
(SCPF) a bottle water, soft drink and juice maker, announced that
it is setting up "microbreweries and brew pubs" in
West Bengal . “We expect 5 Microbreweries and 5 Brew pubs to be opened in the next 6
months through prospective investors,” said an official spokesperson
here on Saturday. According to latest data, India’s demand for beer is growing at the rate of 25 to 30% per annum.
PepsiCo sales growing twice as fast as Coca-Cola
August 10, 2011: In the Rs 11,000-crore soft drinks market, where volume growth is
significantly lower than two years back in any case, PepsiCo reported 17% volume growth during April-June while Coca-Cola grew 8%. This is the
biggest gap in growth between the two cola rivals in the past 3-4 years when they were growing neck-to-neck.
Eureka Forbes to enter packaged drinking water market
MUMBAI: July 15, 2011: Water purification appliances-maker Eureka Forbes is making a
foray into the packaged water segment and will roll out the bottled water product on a pan-India basis by next year, a top company official
said.The company will sell the product under the brand name 'AquaSure', in
20-litre and one-litre bottles, but has not divulged the prices.
Bisleri looking to enter Middle East countries
NEW DELHI, June 30, 2011: Bottled water major Bisleri International said
it is looking at entering Middle East countries as part of its strategy
to expand its overseas presence.As part of the plan, the company said it will consider setting up more
manufacturing facilities outside India.
Egypt, India plan $160 mln PET plant in Ain Sokhna
June 21, 2011: A joint Indian-Egyptian venture will see the construction of a
polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plant in Ain Sokhna at a cost of $160
million, officials said. The factory’s production capacity will reach 1,200 metric tons per day
producing about 420,000 metric tons of PET plastic chips per year. These plastic products will include bottles, food containers, bottled
water, bottled drinks, shampoos and cosmetics.
Railways hikes capacity of Rail Neer plant at Khagau
June 8, 2011: The Rail Neer (mineral water) plant at Khagaul has proved to be a
good revenue earner for the railways. The railways has increased its
production capacity to one lakh bottles daily to cope with the growing
demand in other zones.
Soft-drink major hikes prices on rise in VAT
Mumbai, May 23, 2011: Soft-drink major Coca-Cola has hiked
prices by up to five per cent in at least two major markets such as Maharashtra and Delhi.
This is the second price increase being done by the company in the last
two months. In April, the firm that sells Thums Up, Sprite, Fanta and
Maaza, had hiked prices of its aerated beverages by up to nine per cent due to surging packaging and transportation costs.
After the price hike, a 1.25-litre bottle of Thums Up is now available
for Rs 39, up from Rs 37. Prices of 200 ml bottles of Sprite, Maaza and
Limca are up by Rs 1 from Rs 9. The company has also increased prices of its two-litre bottles of Sprite and Thums Up to Rs 63 from Rs 60.
The Indian subsidiary of the US cola giant blames increase in the value
added tax (VAT) levied by state governments of Maharashtra and Delhi for the price hikes. The state value-added tax (VAT) has increased to 20 per
cent from 12.5 per cent earlier, said senior Coca-Cola India officials.
Report prepared by Crisil
For the total soft drink (carbonated beverages and juices) market,
the report prepared by Crisil estimates it at over 285 million crates (about 20 billion units) a year. The market is highly seasonal in nature
with consumption varying from 25 million crates per month during peak
season to 15 million during off-season. The market is predominantly urban with 25 per cent contribution from rural areas. Coca Cola and
Pepsi dominate the Indian soft drinks market. Mineral water market in
India is a 65 million crates industry. On an average, the monthly consumption is estimated at 4.9 million crates, which increases to 5.2
million during peak season.
Brands Rebranded
To share the largest pie this summer 2011, major companies have rebranded
their range of beverages products. For instance, PepsiCo has removed its once famous Fido Dido mascot and appointed Bollywood actor Sharman
Joshi as its brand ambassador for its 7Up cold drink, whereas the competitor Coca Cola has removed its tag line
"Sedhi Baat No Bakwas" with "University of Freshology" for its Sprite brand.
Growing use of packaged mineral water set to boost sales
The growing use of packaged mineral water for cooking and washing is set to boost sales in the branded water segment this summer 2011.
Bisleri, Tata's Himalayan, Pepsi's Aquafina and UB Group's Kingfisher are some of the brands vying for the top slot in the packaged drinking
water space, where prices range from Rs 20 to Rs 120 for a 20-litre can.
Railways to set up own bottling plant
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) are planning
to set up their own bottled water plant in Ambarnath a news on February 20, 2011. The site where the
plant is expected to come up is called GIP (Great Indian Peninsula) railway tank in the MIDC area. ‘Rail Neer’ is the brand name under which
the railways sell purified bottled water across the country.
Tata’s Loses Dispute Over ‘Himalayan’ Brand on 17th February 2011
The Tata Group has lost its attempt to gain exclusive rights over the word ‘Himalayan’, after its Mount Everest bottled water brand lost out
to Bisleri International. India’s Intellectual Property Appellate Board has ruled that registering the word 'Himalayan' does not give exclusive
rights to any company to use the term as a trademark for its products.
Report Warns Energy Drinks Can Be Dangerous for Kids
Popular energy drinks made with caffeine can be dangerous for children
and teens, according to a report in the journal Pediatrics on February 14, 2011, which says
young people shouldn't consume the beverages. The report found that kids with diabetes, mood disorders and heart,
kidney or liver diseases could suffer from heart palpitations, seizures,
cardiac arrest or death from consuming the drinks, Bloomberg reported.
SC quashes action against Pepsi over pesticide content on Nov. 19
The Supreme Court on November 19, 2010 quashed the prosecution of soft drink giant
PepsiCo by the Kerala government over the pesticide content found in its
bottles picked at random from the market. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Altamash Kabir set aside the
criminal proceedings, mainly accepting the argument of the company that there was no law or standard governing pesticide adulteration in cold
drinks. The company had argued that it was following universally accepted norms with regard to pesticide residue in food articles.
Coca-Cola Company looking ahead for water
Coca-Cola uses 309 billion liters of water annually to produce its beverages. That's about what Atlanta uses in
five months, according to the city's Department of Watershed Management.
In 2008, the company said, Coca-Cola used 2.43 liters of water to produce an average one-liter beverage. One liter goes
into the beverage itself, and 1.43 liters are used for manufacturing
processes such as rinsing, cleaning and cooling. The company says its
global system of about 1,000 bottling plants is on track to improve water efficiency by 20 percent between 2004 and 2012.
India to Serve as Hub for Imported Alaskan Water
S2C Global Systems, based in San Antonio, Texas, has announced plans to export 12 billion gallons of water per year from
the Blue Lake Reservoir in Sitka, Alaska, to a new, yet-to-be-built water hub on the west coast of India
The first shipment to the new hub in India — whose location remains undisclosed for security reasons — is at least 18 months away, Rod
Bartlett, president and CEO of S2C Global, told India-West October 15, 2010.
The water hub will be built in the next six months, while custom-built water-transport tankers, costing about $75 million, will be built over
the next 18 months. Existing oil tankers cannot be used because of potential contamination from leftover oil residues, he explained.
The water will be packaged at the hub, and then distributed in India as well as several GCC – Gulf Cooperation Council – countries, including
Saudi Arabia, Iraq and UAE.
TN Govt urged to take over the sale of bottled water
The Tamilnadu Water Supply And Drainage Board
(TWAD) Workers Federation on May 15, 2010 suggested the State government take over the sale of bottled drinking
water and make it available at Rs. 2 a litre. The State government which was generating a huge income from sale of Indian made
Foreign liquor (IMFL) through TASMAC outlets should think of making available good drinking water to people, Federation General Secretary said.
The government could earn revenue of Rs 5,000 crore even if it sold water at
Rs. 2 a litre, he said adding that multi-national and private companies selling
packaged drinking water were earning crores of rupees as profit whereas actual cost of purifying water was less than five paise per litre.
Go Green
In December 2010 at the Copenhagen Climate talks, organizers wanted to go as green as
possible and so they did not provide delegates bottled water and instead offered Copenhagen tap water in corn starch cups.
Formation of Indian Beverage Association (IBA)
In July 2010 rivals Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have come together along with other beverages makers and bottlers to form the Indian Beverage Association
(IBA), which will be the industry’s single point of interaction with the government and help companies comply with food
safety guidelines and other regulations.
Juices maker Dabur, packaging company Tetra Pak, bottling companies
Pearl Drinks and Bengal Beverages, energy drink maker Red Bull, and drip and sprinkler s
Bottled water full line : Video
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Catch Natural
Spring Water is bottled
PepsiCo is exploring options
Food and beverages multinational PepsiCo is exploring options to push for more tie ups to market brands of other firms in India, similar to
its joint ventures with the Tatas and Unilever. PepsiCo is also adding more bottling plants to its existing 32 as sales
gather pace. The company will add two more of them in the country this
fiscal at an investment of about Rs 1,000 crore.
Beverage majors water footprints
With the growing demand for water putting pressure on a limited
resource, beverage majors are tracking their water footprints. Be it
soft drink ones such as Coca-Cola, beer maker SABMiller or packaged
water firm Bisleri, they are all measuring the water consumed for
bottling every litre of their retailed drinks, trying to cap this and
replenish the sources. SABMiller notes brewing is water-intensive. From the cultivation of
barley and hops to the final bottling, it takes a huge amount of water.
In India, the company consumed 4.71 litres of water last year to make a
litre of beer. It was 5.21 litres the previous year. With various initiatives, it reduced water
consumption by about 10 per cent in 2010-11. It sold 438 million litres of beer in India in 2010-11, with 11
breweries, 10 owned and one leased.Keeping such tabs on water consumption is a
necessity for beverage majors in India, say experts. Take Coca-Cola. Its
bottling plant in Kerala faced big problems after activists alleged the
company was depleting local water supplies. The company has 56 bottling
plants in India and uses 2.5 litres of water to make every 1-litre bottle of the carbonated drink.
On May 22, 2011 Soft drinks
major Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages has been ordered by a Delhi court to pay a sum of Rs 7,000 as compensation to a
businessman who found a dead fly inside a sealed Limca bottle.
"It stands satisfactorily proved that the Limca bottle purchased by the
complainant businessman from the retailer, manufactured by Hindustan
Cola Beverages, was found to contain a dead fly and in the circumstances
a case of unfair trade practice is clearly made out," a District Consumer Redressal Forum said.
Blue Lake Reservoir in Sitka, Alaska |
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