A light into the bottled water

Indian packaged drinking water industry started way back in 1960s when Bisleri started their operation in 1965 by selling their “glass bottles” (later changed to PVC bottles) in Mumbai suburbs. The numbers in those days were strikingly not more than 100 or 150 a day. Nearly 5 decades later, what we see now, is almost 2 million

The per capita consumption of mineral water (packaged drinking water) in India is a mere 0.6-litre compared to 115-litres in Europe and 45-litres in USA. This figure can however be ruled out by pointing out the presence of wells, water purifiers etc. But despite all these, it is quite an alarming figure in this part of 21^st century when the ground water is almost draining off irrespective of the place we live in India. Infact as per UN study conducted in 122 countries in 2008, in connection with water quality, India's number was a pathetic 120. 

A less advertised product

Unlike other products, packaged drinking water is one of the rare segments where we can hardly find advertisements very often. Is it because the product is a necessary one? Of course it’s not a huge hit in many of the rural areas in India and so a TV commercial endorsing actors, cricket stars etc. is not worth showing, every now and then. Then the advertisers' focus surely will be on seasonal advertisements especially during summer (when water would be the perfect drink during the summer in Tropics). 

Have you ever thought why these companies are not giving any sales promotion for packaged water (E.g. Buy one-get-one free, or price discounts, or giving "free" with any of the snacks like lays, bingo etc.). Though it sounds funny and hilarious, there is a reason why they never do. Firstly, the need for pure water is always increasing because of increased health awareness, high media exposure, high disposable incomes and the like. So people are ready to spend their income on water without much hesitation. Secondly, there is no substitute for water, just like Coke for Pepsi, Tea for Coffee, Lays for Bingo, Dosa for Chapatti etc. No other drink will do the job of water and so the demand is always up. And finally there is nothing like “Target customers” for drinking water. It is unanimously needed across all demographics (age, sex, income level, nationality, religion, caste etc.). And the next probable question may be; Have the water purifiers actually killed the packaged drinking water industry or the other way around? And the answer is a big NO. Though they look like mutual category killers, the numbers (sale of the products in both the industry) however say that, they both live in symbiosis to each other. 

Strategy

There is a hidden strategy as many of us never know or rather never noticed. It is in every summer, the multinational giants like PepsiCo, Coca-Cola etc. intentionally spread the awareness of the need for water in summer through health magazines in urban areas and flyers in rural or semi urban areas. They also insist the audience/people through these reports to avoid their local counterparts mentioning some of the safety issues. Even though these reports are true to some extent, their main idea is to kill their local counter parts and to enjoy a major share in the market. Not all local players are to be blamed for the safety issues and so this however can be treated as a strategy, rather a negative strategy done by the multinational companies.

Safety Issues – plenty of local players

In India, the branded market is 40 % of the category and non- branded contributes to 60% of the market which itself tells how big is the role played by the local counterparts. Bisleri (a product of Parle Agro) is the market leader in mineral water in India with a 55% market share within the organized mineral water category. The 60% (unorganized sector) however creates an anxiety in everyone that how this 60% ensures hygiene for their products.

Sources report that many local companies are still using drainage water or its equivalent and low quality carbon filters to purify it which hardly kill the germs inside it. In many urban and semi urban areas, thousands of children are deployed by these lobbies (agents of unorganized bottled-water companies) in order to collect the used bottles from the garbage which later use to refill with water without even cleaning it. Many reports even from Kerala (supposedly considered as the best state in India in health and hygiene) showed the presence of harmful microorganisms like coliform bacteria in many bottled water which cause diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera etc. 

Microorganisms may cause these diseases, but the presence of lead, cadmium and other poisonous chemicals in the impure water cause cancer and will lead to death of a person as a result. Moreover, the compounds of many of these chemicals (E.g. Arsenic trichloride which is infact colourless and present in industrial sewage, Arsenic acid etc.) cause even mutations and will thus affect not only this generation, but also the subsequent generations. 

However the labels on the bottles of all these companies will have ISO 9001 certification and proof of UV treatment. A Ultra-violet (UV) treatment is the disinfection process of passing water by a special light source which emits UV waves that can inactivate harmful microorganisms. However prolonged storage of water after UV treatment is not recommended. This method is gaining popularity because of the nature of its chemical-free treatment.

It is pretty obvious that UV treatment purification needs huge amount of money as capital investment and for its maintenance thereafter. Remember, a UV treatment will only kill the microorganisms in it, and never purifies the harmful chemicals like Lead, Arsenic, Cadmium etc. So the question remains is; should the source of water for these companies be drainage or other impure water bodies, then what are the measures or methods in which they purify completely and make it so called “drinkable”?  

Finally

There should be a proper system or authority to check and validate consistently the purity of water. And this authority should be given an autonomous power to take actions against the culprits. Normally what happens is; the “regulatory department” and the companies go hand-in-hand and eventually sell the unhygienic products to the public. They should regularly monitor (the samples) on a daily basis and gives a warning to the companies if found guilty once and should terminate the licence if found guilty thrice. Infact the companies which show fake ISO certification on their bottles should be banned. The closing down of these companies may affect a lot of workers who are associated with the un-organised sector, but this is a necessity to save a generation ahead, for a better tomorrow!!!