On Thursday, Bisleri International announced the expansion of its premium beverage category -- Himalayan Spring Water -- with the launch of 'Vedica Himalayan Sparkling Water' in Mumbai.

“Sourced directly from the snowy peaks of the Himalayas, Vedica Himalayan Sparkling Water is a testament to nature's splendour. This sparkling elixir assures exceptional quality, pureness, crisp taste and an ideal balance of carbonation and mineral composition,” says Jayanti Khan Chauhan, Bisleri International’s Vice-chairperson, unveiling the product.

The product is priced at Rs 175 for a 300 ml glass pack as the company targets niche audiences in metros and tier 1 cities. Actor Dino Morea has been roped in as a brand ambassador.

Chauhan, who is the only daughter of Ramesh Chauhan, the chairman of India’s largest packaged drinking water company, oversees the business empire with a turnover of Rs 2,300 Cr in FY22. She said the firm decided to launch its own sparkling water brand after seeing its growing acceptance in India and other parts of the world.

On this occasion, Chauhan who grew up in Europe and calls herself a staunch animal lover, also expressed her commitment towards street animals. Chauhan is currently working with PETA to sterilize cats and dogs and provide them with therapies. She has also joined hands with the animal welfare society to provide needy animals a shelter.

exchange4media spoke to Chauhan and George about their sales projections for the new product, company’s growth targets, expansion plans and marketing strategies.

Excerpts:

Bisleri has been growing consistently and the company’s turnover crossed Rs 2300 crore in FY22. What are your next targets?

Chauhan: We have set out a plan to double the turnover by 2026. The company witnessed good growth despite the COVID impact which has been kind of reassuring us that we are inherently on the right trajectory and we would like to build on that.

You have forayed into the UAE sometime ago. How has been the response? How does the UAE market differ in terms of packaged water from the Indian one?

Chauhan: We entered the UAE only a couple of months ago. It's a completely packaged water-led market. There is no tap water at all. The packaged water players are small and scattered. As an Indian brand, we are not trying to target Indian consumers in the UAE. That's a spot that doesn't look viable to name. So that's why our launch took time.

It was launched with the limited edition packs with the Shah Rukh starrer movie “Jawan”. Shahrukh is also the brand ambassador for UAE and hence our collaboration helped to get that initial acceptance for the brand. But the long-term game is about being present in the right kind of channels and ensuring that your service and capability are established and all locals come and buy your brand.

We plan to create the right engagement out there from a consumer angle and you will see more of it coming.

Are you planning to foray into other markets as well?

George: Once we get a hold of the UAE market, only then we have the freedom to think about other things. Once we are clear that we got the UAE game right, we would surely expand to other markets.

How much investment is being done for the sparkling water category? Have you set up a separate bottling plant for this? Besides, what are your sales projections for this product?

Chauhan: We can’t reveal numbers, unfortunately. Anyway, we have just launched the product. I would be able to give you a better picture on this after a few months. However, there's a huge demand for sparkling water in the Indian market and our product will be a great alternative.

All I can tell you is that the Vedica category makes up about 5% to 7% of our overall business. It took almost eight years, including the break of COVID which really affected us. Otherwise, we were on a great track. If COVID hadn't happened right now, we would be like five times what we are at the moment.

Our product comes from a single aquifer in the Himalayas. It is being bottled at our Uttarakhand plant only.

With such a price band, wonder who is your target audience? Can you share your marketing strategy around this product?

Chauhan: It's obviously a niche market, so urban India is our focus. It will be available on e-commerce platforms, fine dining places and even malls. We will be mainly focusing on digital for marketing along with billboards around the major metros. But I feel digital works the best because our consumers are more on digital than on TV.

We also have actor Dino Morea on board as our ambassador. We have shot a beautiful film and will be doing more films soon. Most brands are very passionate about CSR, but they are not focusing on rehabilitation, rescue and welfare of animals.

So in that sense, it's like a very 360 way of looking at different avenues where we can be relevant and be involved. We have started our social media campaigns and partnered up with many of the premium events like Lollapalooza, MotoGP, Vogue and Condé Nast events where our target consumers can interact with us, look at the bottle, get a feel of the bottle, then go home and order it online.

We want to be the most dominant premium water brand.

George: You need to be wise about how you spend your money. Vedica is a premium brand for discerning consumers. I think the TV consumption of that group of people has collectively gone down as they have shifted to digital today. So the media mixes are oriented towards that. We will also be advertising on billboards in metros soon.

How does Dino Morea blend with your brand?

George: We wanted our brand ambassador to be somebody who is accessible and people can relate with him, who carries himself gracefully.

Chauhan: Also, Dino also hasn't done too many ads like other actors which often confuses the audience. He is associated with a few but good brands. Moreover, he campaigned for us in 2005.