Bottled Water Industry Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Bottled Water Industry - Case Study Example In 1990, it was found that Perrier bottles contains Benzene contents which are poisonous and even though Perrier assured it was a minor mistake done during operations, people didn't believe and had to reposition their brand after calling back 160 million dollars worth of sale. Perrier then introduced the lime and lemon flavors, and to introduce new stuff, they have also introduced Grape mint flavor after 2000. The bottled water boom was actually an unpredicted and strange phenomenon because the demand rose when Britain was at a height of recession, but now that it is mature and people are consuming it, there is cut-throat competition to capture the 1 million Euros per day market (second-opinions.co.uk). The UK market for natural bottled water has grown by 54% between 1993 and 1997, with volume sales reaching 804 million lt and worth an estimated 402 million pounds sterling. Still mineral water sales amount to 504 million lt in 1997, representing 62.6% of the market, with sparkling water sales estimated at 300 million lt. Premier Waters, with its Evian and Voltic brands, leads the branded market with a 17.6% share. The mineral waters market is forecast to reach volume sales of 1.42 billion lt by 2002, worth 493.6 million pounds sterling (faqs.org). Spokeswoman for P... This resulted in Perrier having 5.7% of total market share in bottled water market and it was ranked third, with Arrowhead and Sparkletts at number 1 and 2 respectively. Unlike most of the similar products that promote health and safety through the water, Perrier shows the way to be cool and target youth. The restaurant chains make a big time business for Perrier as the brand is widely used and even after so many ups and downs with the brand, it still remains at the top with a relatively good image. Perrier's sales in 1987 were 180 million Euros and they captured 40% of the market that year (books.google.com). Although the UK government and the ministry has tried several times to tell people that tap water is as safe as mineral water and they should not spend Euros on it, but nothing helped and people still use it in a large quantity. The market has now grown to more than 92 mineral water producers and another 30+ flavored mineral water producers. Most of the companies market themselves as a drink that is a family need, with sophistication and love. On the other hand, only Strathmore water and Perrier markets itself as a cool and chilling drink for the youth which should be taken on beaches and events. The most common observation is the sport event sponsoring done by most of the companies. Highland Spring sponsored UK cycling marathon held in January 2010 and British tennis in November 2009 (highland-spring.com), similarly Buxton water called itself 'the official water of England cricket'. This shows that there is a cut throat competition and companies are constantly trying to be at the to p by spending millions on advertising and promotional campaigns. Deside water even announced that they have scientifically proven that