Parle Bisleri is slowly phasing out its premium brand Natural Mountain Water and will launch a new product Bisleri Vedica, which will have medicinal properties. The company plans to promote Bisleri?s new launch Vedica in the next two months. ?We decided to discontinue our brand Natural Mountain Water, made in Himachal Pradesh, as we found the quality was not up to the mark,? Ramesh Chauhan, chairman, Bisleri International, said. Chauhan added, ?We are setting up a new facility at Uttaranchal for Vedica. Priced at Rs 20(500 ml), Vedica will be positioned as a premium brand with medical values.?
Meanwhile, Bisleri?s arch rival Coca-Cola India is strengthening its distribution network and marketing strategy to promote its flagship brand Kinley this summer, having recently revamped its packaging strategy. In essence, Parle Bisleri and Coca-Cola India will slug it out in the Rs 1,850 crore Indian packaged water sector. To announce the launch of Vedica, Bisleri is mainly relying on outdoor media and retail initiatives and according to Chauhan, the company is also beefing up its e-commerce activities to pump up volumes in competitive markets.
Two years ago, Bisleri had forayed into the premium water segment with the launch of Bisleri Natural Mountain Water.
Across the road, Coca-Cola India is fine-tuning its summer strategy to take on swadeshi rival Bisleri in domestic markets.? We are strengthening our distribution network to enhance the availability of Kinley in many retail outlets across the country. We have got encouraging response to our new Kinley packs,? said a spokesperson from Coca-Cola India.To gain high visibility for Kinley in competitive markets, Coke is planning to use both traditional (mass media ads) and non-traditional media this summer.
According to industry analysts, with increasing competition, the packaged water sector will soon witness a lot of action in the next two months.