Chapter - 1

1.1 INTRODUCTION
Marketing strategy is the goal of increasing sales and achieving a
sustainable competitive advantage. Marketing strategy includes all basic
and long-term activities in the field of marketing that deal with the
analysis of the strategic initial situation of a company and the
formulation, evaluation and selection of market-oriented strategies and
therefore contributes to the goals of the company and its marketing
objectives.
Marketing strategies serve as the fundamental underpinning of
marketing plans designed to fill market needs and reach marketing
objectives. Plans and objectives are generally tested for measurable
results. Commonly, marketing strategies are developed as multi-year
plans, with a tactical plan detailing specific actions to be accomplished in
the current year. Time horizons covered by the marketing plan vary by
company, by industry, and by nation, however, time horizons are
becoming shorter as the speed of change in the environment increases.
Marketing strategies are dynamic and interactive. They are partially
planned and partially unplanned. See strategy dynamics. Marketing
strategy needs to take a long-term view, and tools such as customer
lifetime value models can be very powerful in helping to simulate the
effects of strategy on acquisition, revenue per customer and churn rate.
Marketing strategy involves careful and precise scanning of the
internal and external environments. Internal environmental factors
include the marketing mix and marketing mix modeling, plus
performance analysis and strategic constraints. External environmental
factors include customer analysis, competitor analysis, target market
analysis, as well as evaluation of any elements of the technological,
economic, cultural or political/legal environment likely to impact success.

A key component of marketing strategy is often to keep marketing in line

with a company's overarching mission statement.
Once a thorough environmental scan is complete, a strategic plan can
be constructed to identify business alternatives, establish challenging
goals, determine the optimal marketing mix to attain these goals, and
detail implementation. A final step in developing a marketing strategy is
to create a plan to monitor progress and a set of contingencies if
problems arise in the implementation of the plan.
Marketing Mix Modeling is often used to help determine the optimal
marketing budget and how to allocate across the marketing mix to
achieve these strategic goals. Moreover, such models can help allocate
spend across a portfolio of brands and manage brands to create value.

Marketing Strategies
Marketing strategies may differ depending on the unique situation of the
individual business. However, there are a number of ways of categorizing
some generic strategies. A brief description of the most common
categorizing schemes is presented below:
Strategies based on market dominance - In this scheme, firms are
classified based on their market share or dominance of an industry.
Typically there are four types of market dominance strategies:

Leader

Challenger

Follower

Nicher

According to Shaw, Eric (2012). "Marketing Strategy: From the Origin of

the Concept to the Development of a Conceptual Framework". Journal of

Historical Research in Marketing., there is a framework for marketing

strategies.

Market introduction strategies

"At introduction, the marketing strategist has two principle strategies to

choose from: penetration or niche"

Market growth strategies

"In the early growth stage, the marketing manager may choose from two
additional strategic alternatives: segment expansion (Smith, Ansoff) or
brand expansion (Borden, Ansoff, Kerin and Peterson, 1978)".

Market maturity strategies

"In maturity, sales growth slows, stabilizes and starts to decline. In early
maturity, it is common to employ a maintenance strategy (BCG), where
the firm maintains or holds a stable marketing mix".

Market decline strategies

At some point the decline in sales approaches and then begins to exceed
costs. And not just accounting costs, there are hidden costs as well; as
Kotler (1965, p. 109) observed: 'No financial accounting can adequately
convey all the hidden costs.' At some point, with declining sales and
rising costs, a harvesting strategy becomes unprofitable and a divesting
strategy necessary".

1.2 OBJECTIVE

To analyze the marketing strategies of the company with

To determine the market share of Bisleri Brand of Bottle
Water.
To find out the preference level of respondents regarding
Bisleri Brand of Bottle.

To assess the brand awareness of the Bisleriin the

Mineral Water Segment.
To Study the brand positioning of Bisleri.

1.3 PROCEDURE OF DATA COLLECTION

Data compilation is an intermediate stage between data collection and

analysis. Data compilation involves classification and summarization in
order to make data amenable to analysis.
In dealing with any problem, once the sample has been selected the data
must be collected from the sample population. There are several ways of
collecting appropriate data which differ considerably in context of money
cost, time and other resources. They can be broadly classified in to two
categories.
sources to collect data are namely:
1.Secondary Source

SECONDARY SOURCE OF DATA COLLECTION

Secondary Data involved in my research were the information that I

collected through the various broachers and pamphlets of the company
which were provided to me during the analysis.

RESEARCH DESIGN :
MEANING OF RESEARCH DESIGN
The formidable problem that follows the task of defining the research
problem is the preparation of the design of the research project, popularly
known as the research design. Decisions regarding what, where, when,
how much by what means concerning an inquiry or a research study
constitute a research design. A research design is the arrangement of
conditions for collection and analysis of data in manner that aims to
combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure.
In fact, the research design is the conceptual structure within which
research is conducted; it constitutes the blueprint for the collection,
measurement

and analysis of data. As such the design includes on

outline of what the researcher will do from witing the hypothesis and its
operational implications to the final analysis of data.
The research design which has been used in the project report is
descriptive in nature.
SAMPLE DESIGN:
The sample design which has been use in this project report is simple
random sampling.
SAMPLING UNIT :
A decision has to be taken concerning a sample unit before selecting the
number of samples. It may be geographical as well as individual. Here all
NCR region has been taken as a geographical unit and retailers as an
individual unit.

SIZE OF SAMPLE:
This refers the number of items (Outlets) to be selected from the finite
universe to constitute a sample size. The survey was conducted of 200
outlets.

TOOLS AND INSTRUMENTS USED FOR THE STUDY

It is necessary for a researcher to define conceptual structure

which research would be conducted. The function of research design is
to provide for the collection of relevant evidence with minimal
expenditure of efforts, time and money. In this research the research
design was as follows:1) Time available for the research is every day in the week.
2) The means of obtaining the information is through :
Primary data like questionnaire
Secondary data like magzines, net and Pumplets etc.

There is cost factor related to researcher.

1.4 SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS
Old and famous brand name
Better packaging
Effective distribution network
Famous as pure & safe among consumer
Good product mix

 Frequent quality checking

Much used by corporate world
Better management
Give regular follow up to distributor
Indian image
Better sales force
Sponsoring various cultural program
Better visibility
Good intensives to dealer

WEAKNESS-:
one liter packs which accounted for 50 per cent of the companys
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.15 each. Aqua Minerals attributes the Price slashing to retailer
margins being on the higher side earlier.
The competitive Rs.15 price tag has been working well for the
brand.

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.
OPPORTUNITIES
So

far,

Chauhan

has

not

used

the

franchising

route

very

aggressively unlike Parle Agros Bailley which has grown very fast
using this route. He has around six franchisees in Mumbai, Delhi,
Chennai, Bangalore, Goa and Rajasthan. We shunned this route so
far because in most areas where we had no presence, it was
imperative that we did it ourselves. Now for further expansion we
can afford to use the franchisee route.
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 he ensure purity?
Strategy to counter threats and others?
We subject the bottles to chlorine washes, hot water washes and
ozone washes before we refill the bottles.
The company is betting on the home segment. 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

10

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.
The company has so far appointed 180 such dealers. 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 or atta.

Chapter - 2
2.1 COMPANY PROFILE
11

The origins of Bisleri

in Italy, and the brand owes its name to

founder Felice Bisleri, an Italian entrepreneur. In 1967, Bisleri set up

a plant in Mumbai for bottling and marketing mineral water, which
was first of its kind in India. However, it didnt work well. 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

( 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 as people still considered boiling water to be a
safer and better 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 Parles soft drink brands- Thumps-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 it 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.

12

The real shift in companys 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.

13

2.2 MARKETING STRATEGY

It is complete and an unbeatable plan designed specifically for attaining the
marketing objective of a firm. The marketing objective indicate what the firm want to
achieve. The marketing strategy provides the design for

achieving them the

linkage between marketing strategies and over all corporate success is indeed
direct and vital. Realizing the marketing objectives is the purpose of two generic
categories .
1. price based
2. Differentiation based

price based marketing strategy

a business that opts for the price route in its competitive battle will enjoy certain
flexibilities in matter of its product and use prices as main competitive level . it will
price its product to suit the varying competitive demands . it will be enjoying certain
inherent cost advantages , which permits it to resort a price based fight . the
major forms where such cost advantage can occurs are economies of sale ,
absolute cost advantages ,. Benefits of early entry a large market share build over
a time . it provides freedom in the matter of pricing but after producing a particular
product and getting stuck in the face of the competition , one can not successfully
opt for a price led strategy .

14

The differentiation based strategy

marketing strategy based on differentiation works on the principle that any aspect
of the offer and any activity of the firm can be made distinctive compared with the
competiting offers. Right from technology, plant location to post sale and service a
company can perceptibly differentiate and many buyer values. Companies usually
choose those functions , Which give them the greatest relative advantage.

Different firms adopts different strategy stances as their situational design differBroadly strategy stances can be classified under three heads1- Offensive StrategyOffensive Strategy also known as confrontation
strategy , is a strategy of aggression. A firm that is not presently the leader
usually employs it, but it aspires to leadership position in the Industry.

2- Defensive StrategyThe leader who has the compulsion to defend his

position against the confrontation of powerful existing competitors or to dislodge
the leader from his topmost position usually employs it.

3- Niche StrategyA firm pactising the niche strategy neither confronts other
nor defends itself. It cultivates a small market segment for itself with unique
products / services supported by a unique marketing mix.

15

Formulating the Marketing StrategyFormulating the marketing strategy consists of two main steps1- Selecting the target marketIt does not fully bring out import of the
inseparable linkage between the two. When the selection of the target market is
over an important part of the marketing strategy of the firm is already
determined, defined and expressed.
2- Assembling the marketing mixAssembling the marketing mix means
assembling the four ps of marketing in the right combination.
The firm has to find out how it can generate the best sales and profit. It plans
different marketing mixes with varying levels of expenditure on each element
and tries to figure out the effectiveness of each combination in terms of the
possible sales and profit.

16

2.3 ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN OF BISLERI

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
many

the same catch-line for advertising. But with the advent of

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,
Bisleris seal capped bottles ensured the consumer of purity of
water and single-used ness of the bottles. The ad showed a milkman 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

17

bottles an attractive look. This soon caught the eye of the

consumer. All these factors made Pepsi the biggest upcoming
competitor of Bisleri (whereas 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 chemists shop.buys something
(keeping the audience in suspenseor 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-so-prudish. Thus Bisleri has taken a very bold step. The T.V. ads
have been complimented by print ads also. 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.

18

AQUAFINA ADVERTISEMENTS AND BISLERI

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. Its an unusual ad for this category. Till now, most
marketers have focused 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 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 posit~on 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.

19

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 HT A, 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 offeFings 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.

20

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 1825 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.
It is being positioned as a premium product, not via pricing, but in
imagery and packaging. Priced at Rs. 10 in Delhi for a 750ml. bottle, it is
priced marginally higher than the competition that gives you one liter for
Rs. 10. 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 commg 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.

21

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 plan.
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".

2.4 Packaging
Variety is spices of life. Today for any business organization to be
successful it has to provide its customer with the differentiated product
that is a value buy for them. In order to cater to changing needs of the
customer the business has to continuously come out with the variants of
the products so that it can target the maximum segments.
Today Bisleri Minerals offers a variety of packaging options: 1 lit, 2 lit, 5
lit, 20 lit. The 5 litre bottles account for 35 % of sales showing a growing
health concern among the Indian society. 1 litre bottles account for 30%
of the share . The 2 litres bottle introduced to slowly and steadily replace

22

the conventional 1 litre bottle. The 5 litre packs, launched in dec 1999
now available everywhere.

Distribution
Its obvious that availability holds the key to the market .For any product
to be successful 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.
Bisleris strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an all India
level that means serious investment In company owned trucks and carts,
this would make it the largest fleet owner in the country. Bisleri has
around 80,000 retail outlets in the country with about 12,000 each in the
Delhi and Mumbai. It is intended to be increased this no. to 10,00,000 in
order to expand brands reach. The company will invest approximately
Rs.200 cr. to procure 2000 trucks and hire same no. of sales people. The
company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has
its own plant

2.5 MARKETING MIX

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.

23

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.

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

24

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. Its a battle that Bisleri can win
by sheer distribution muscle. One of the reasons 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.

Prices for following packaging variants

(AN ECONOMIC FACTOR AFFECTING THE BUYERS BEHAVIOR)
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.

25

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.
1 Ltrs
2 Ltrs
5 Ltrs
20Ltrs

Rs. 13&15/Rs. 22/Rs. 40/Rs 70/-

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 Companys 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.

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

26

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. \

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 consumers mind of the
purity of the other brands. That is, Bisleri is the only one that
guarantees purity and keeps you Safe.
To conclude: We find that 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. In the survey we found
that the consumers are aware of the breakaway seal but are not
aware that the company has the patent right.

27

Apart from a high dose of investments on expanding bottling

capacities and an ad budget thats 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.

28

Chapter - 3
3.1 COMPETITION IN MARKET
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs.2,000crore 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 Agros Bailey has been
growing steadily. Small local players too are breathing down
Bisleris

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
Pepsi Aquafina
Coca Cola Kinley
With Parles Bailey being the main competitor and second in market
share in the organized market, Bisleri faces tremendous competition
from the unorganized sector.

29

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 diffi culty for Pepsi in creating space in such a market, which is
completely different from the soft drinks market, where it will be
very diffi cult 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 750 ml pet bottle, the
pricing, 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 targeting institutions.

30

Parle Agros- Bailley

Bailley the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhans 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
Bailley since the company plans to spread its presence in that part
of the country. Another thing that makes the competition diffi cult
for the company is the price at which its 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 its 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.

31

3.2 PRODUCT PROFILE

i . exe

Its 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 Chauhans Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of
56% in the Rs1100 crores mineral water markets 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.

32

3.3 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 is run by franchisees. Bisleri has 5
plants in the North, 5 in the West- two of which were setup in the
last year at Ahmedabad and Surat, 4 in the South and 2 in the East.
The company has bottling units located in Chennai, Bangalore,
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 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
crores in the upgradation of facilities. The 120-bottles per minute

33

(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 liters to 500 million liters. Parle
Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning to invest Rs 200 crores 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 doesnt have any intentions to acquire any existing
plants.

PURE BOTTLED DRINKING-WATER

Is Dangerous
The Safety of Bottled Drinking-water
Because of the large number of possible hazards in drinking-water, the
development

of

standards

for

drinking-water

requires

significant

resources and expertise, which many countries are unable to afford.

Fortunately, guidance is available at the international level.

34

The World Health Organization (WHO) publishes Guidelines for Drinkingwater Quality which many countries use as the basis to establish their
own national standards.
International Standards for Bottled Drinkingwater
The intergovernmental body for the development of internationally
recognized standards for food is the Codex Alimentarius Commission
(CAC). WHO, one of the co-sponsors of the CAC, has advocated the use of
the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality as the basis for derivation of
standards for all bottled waters.

CSE Report on pesticide residues in bottled water

The

Centre

for

Science

and

Environment,

non-governmental

organization based in New Delhi, has set up the Pollution Monitoring

Laboratory to monitor environmental pollution. Its main aim is to
undertake scientific studies to generate public awareness about food,
water and air contamination.
The bottled water market share of major brands is Bisleri (51%), Bailley
(17%), Yes (11%) followed by Kinley (10%), Aquafina (4%).
Drinking water filled in hermetically sealed containers of

various

compositions, form, and capacities that is suitable for direct consumption

without further treatment

FACTS
Bottled drinking water samples of some top brands Bisleri (Parle
Bisleri Pvt. Ltd.), Bailley (Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd.), Aquafina (Pepsico India
Holding Pvt. Ltd.), Kinley (Hindustan Coca Cola Beverage Pvt.
Ltd.) and of other less popular brands like Best, Royal Aqua, Seagull etc.,
which were being sold and manufactured in Mumbai and nearby areas

35

like Pune and Daman, were purchased randomly. All the samples were
purchased from retail outlets in the market and from railway station and
were checked for proper seal, date of manufacture and batch number.
Even the top brands, which claim to use treatment methods like
purification filtration, activated carbon filtration, demineralization and
reverse osmosis were found to contain residues of pesticides. It might be
due to the reason that the manufacturers may be by-passing the raw
water after partial treatment and remixing it with the fully treated
stream so as to cut down the cost of treatment. On the basis of the
results different brands can be rated in terms of total organ chlorine and
organ phosphorus pesticides from least to most contaminated asAquafina Macblue Bailley Kinley Seagull Sheetal Bisleri Brilliant Bally
Apurva

Chapter - 4
4.1 FINDING
1.

According to market share figure, Bisleri is the leading brand which

55.45% market share. While Kinley 23.33%, Kingfisher 3.97%,
Aquafina 13.95% and others 6.30%.

60.00%
50.00%

Bisleri

40.00%

kinley

Kingfisher

30.00%
20.00%
Aquafina

Others

10.00%
0.00%

36

2. 80% retailers prefer to sell Bisleri brand because of demand, brand

and profit margin.

80%

Bisleri

60%

KEEP Other brands

40%

Dont keep any Brand

20%
0%

3. Bisleri is the most selling brand in the specific region it is at 45%

selling among the competitors.

50%
40%

Bisleri

Kinley

Aquafina

30%
20%

Kingfisher

10%

Others

0%
4. Retailers those are selling Bisleri brand of bottle water is 50%.
5. The company has recently launched Bada Bisleri, Same Price at
Rs. 10/- for 1.2 Ltrs means 2% extra.

37

6. There is discrimination in the prices of distributor or the prices at

which retailers directly purchase from the market.
7. Most of the customers first ask for Bisleri bottle water just because
of its Generic name not because of brand loyalty.

4.2 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 Pepsis 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.

38

According to Deepak Jolly, executive vice president, corporate

communications, Pepsi Foods Ltd. Aquafina will be helped by
Pepsis 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 traveling.

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.

Strategy which the company could adopt, are as follows:

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 are 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

39

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.

4.3 RECOMMENDATIONS

Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the

required ground to establish the authenticity to the product.

40

POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs. 3

per liter, as the perception of the people is that mineral water
cost Rs. 10 per Lt.

Awareness programs at health club, schools & Nursing homes.

To win over the consumer belief and faith over the genuity of
the product.

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.

The company should organize 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.

To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of

how the mineral water would cot less and benefit more,
because people using purifier system cost too much.

4.4 LIMITATIONS

41

 A small segment of the market has been covered

only, so the conclusion cannot be generalized.
The data collected cannot be free from errors, since
some of the respondents failed to give correct
information.
Study accuracy totally based upon the respondents
response.
Stipulated short span of time for survey.

42

Chapter - 5
5.1BIBLIOGRAPHY

Marketing Management

Philip Kotlar

Annual Report, Bisleri 2012

Business Magazines

India Today Annual Addition

2012 Business Today, Business World August 2012

Websites
www.bisleri.com
www.discovery.com
www.google.com

43