South hosts over 55% of bottled water factories

While hot summer sweeps across the northern states, it is the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala that have become the thirst quenchers for the country. Over 55% supplier of bottled water are now hosted in the southern states, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) whose certifications are mandatory for the manufacturing and sale of bottled/packaged water across the country.

A year ago, there were only around 1,800 BIS certified manufacturers of bottled water but as of May this year, there are close to 3,000 such manufacturers in the country with 54% located in the four southern states. Tamil Nadu alone has the highest number (700) of BIS-compliant bottled water manufacturers, one every 185 kilometers. Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are next in the list having 570 and 200 BIS-compliant bottled water firms.

According to analysts, the bottled water industry will cross R3,000 crore in 2011, registering 40% growth compared to last year. While only half-a-dozen packaged water brands dominate the mindspace ? Aquafina, Kinely, Bisleri, Himalaya, among others ? it is these 2,800 local brands that do robust business within their local markets, experts said.

Among the top brands, it is Bisleri that still dominates the national packaged water brands followed by Aquafina (Pepsi) and Kinely (Coca Cola). ?The main reason for the robust growth of the packaged water business is its localisation and spread in the tier-II and tier-III towns. Most of the regional brands sell the packaged water within 100-kilometers of their manufacturing sites and are mostly the dominant players.

But the nationally recognised brands have captured the markets in bigger towns giving us a perception of their all-round dominance,? said an senior analyst representing a leading brokerage firm.

Sample this. In Tamil Nadu some of the popular packaged water brands include Acqua Spring, Aqua Citizen, Right Choice, and Aqualine among others. While in Andhra Pradesh, some of the leading brands include Kinger, Arien, and Aqua Breeze among others. Up north, it is brands like Rigol, Fizzy and ?OK? which can be found in the smaller town of Uttar Pradesh. Other popular brands include Cool Valley, Dew Drops, Dislaren, Golden Eagle, Golden Valley and Hello among others.

Another significant reason for the faster growth of state-level packaged water brands, according to experts is the huge cost of transportation of the popular national brands.

?Driving a truck load of bottled water to a distance of say 100 kilometers incurs an average cost of R20-25 per case which bigger brands like Bisleri, Aquafina and Kinely are not happy to foot. Therefore, more local manufacturers have come up with their own local brands which are also popular locally,? said a person who tracks FMCG firms for a research agency.