Project on catch

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SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT REPORT

ON

“MARKETING STRATEGIES OF DS DRINKS & BEVERAGES PVT. LTD.”

FOR THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT

FOR THE AWARD OF

MBA IN RETAIL MANAGEMENT

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF:

Mr. RAJESH SARAO

SUBMITTED BY:

ROHIT SINGH

ROLL NO.- 17028

(Batch: July 2014-16)

(UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF APPLIED MANAGEMENT AND SCIENCES)

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INTERNSHIP REPORT ON MARKETING STARATEGIES

OF DS DRINKS & BEVERAGES PVT. LTD.

PROJECT GUIDE: SUBMITTED BY:

Mr. RAJESH SARAO ROHIT SINGH

(COMPANY GUIDE) MBA Sem-II

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COMPANY CERTIFICATE TO

WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify that Mr.Rohit Singh, a student of UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF APPLIED MANAGEMENT SCIENCES, PUNJAB UNIVERSITY CHANDIGARH undertook a project on “Marketing Strategies of DS Group” at Dharampal Satyapal Ltd from 1ST June to July 15th, 2015.

Mr. Rohit Singh has successfully completed the project under the guidance of Mr. Rajesh Sarao. He is a sincere and hard- working student with pleasant manner.

We wish all success in his future endeavours.

Signature with date

Name

Designation

Company name

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CERTIFICATE TO ORIGIN

This is to certify that Mr. Rohit Singh, a student of MBA in Retail Management (2014-16), UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF APPLIED MANAGEMENT SCIENCES, PUNJAB UNIVERSITY , CHANDIGARH has worked in Dharampal Satyapal Group under the able guidance and supervision of Mr. Rajesh Sarao (AGM), Catch Beverages Raison.

The period for which he was on training was 7 weeks starting from 1st June to 15th July’ 15. This summer internship report has the requisite standard for the partial fulfilment of the Post Graduate Degree. To the best of our, knowledge no part of this report has been reproduced from any other report and the contents are based on the original research.

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Signature Signature (Faculty Guide) (Student)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my sincere gratitude to my industry guide Mr. Rajesh Rao (AGM), Catch Beverages Raison, for his able guidance continuous support and cooperation throughout my project, without which the present work would not have been possible.

I would also like to thank the entire team of the Dharampal Satyapal Ltd. For their constant support and help for the successful completion of the project.

Signature (Student)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter No. Topic

1. Dharmapal and Satyapal group

1.1 Company Profile

1.2 Stirring Saga of An Enterprise

1.3 Mission Vision Statements

1.4 About The Plant

1.5 Company Hierarchy

2. Introduction To Mineral Water Industry

2.1 Bottled Water Industry In India

2.2 Govt. Failure To Address Basic Services

2.3 Water Resources Over Exploited

2.4 Bottled water? How Safe?

2.5 Growing Prospective Of Packaged drinking Water Industry

3. Processing methods, Manufacturing process and Product . preparation

3.1 Processing methods

3.2 Manufacturing Process

3.3 Product Preparation

4. Research

4.1 Research Methodology

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4.2 Research Process

4.3 Need and Importance Of Study

4.4 Data Presentation, Analysis & Interpretation

5. Major Competitors And Market Share

6. Target market And Major Segments

7 Marketing Strategies

7.1 Product Range

7.2 Pricing Strategy

7.3 Promotion Strategies

7.4 Distribution Channel

8. Reasons For Company’s Lack Of Interest In

Mineral water Industry

8.1 SWOT Analysis

8.2 BCG Matrix

8.3 PEST Analysis

9. Conclusion

10. Appendix

11. Bibliography

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Need for the study

To identify the difference between mineral and packeted drinking water.

To study the market of catch on big scale in FMCG. To compare various parameters of marketing strategies, manufacturing

process, technology adopted production policy, advertising, collaboration, export scenario, future prospect and government policies.

To study the level of customer satisfaction. To study customer buying behavior and factors which influence the

purchase decision process. To study consumer preferences. To study the consumer trend in the beverage sector.

Objective of the study

Every organization has to achieve its organization goals. For this it is very essential for an organization to know about the view of consumers and their competitive products. This survey research may be also aimed as to estimate potential buyer for the product. The objective of the study is as under:-

To identify the difference between market performance of catch beverages.

To compare various parameters of marketing strategies, manufacturing process, technology adopted production policy, advertising, export scenario, future prospect and government policies.

To study customer buying behavior and factors which influence the purchase decision process.

To know how the company has been successful in encountering the aggressive marketing strategies of competitors.

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SCHEDULE

The complete project was of 6 weeks. The project has been divided into 2 stages with approximate time period allotted to each stage. Both the stages

along with their approximate timelines are as follows:

STAGE 1 (APPROX 3 WEEKS)

The study of company’s working profile, previous history and its current position. Under this phase the store and inventory were visited and how raw material and finished goods moves in and out of the plant was studied.

STAGE 2 (APPROX 3 WEEKS)

The study of the overall working of the management of the company. Under this stage both the production units were visited daily for better understanding of production processes and operating plans prepared to study the analysis of the products. This phase also constituted of various surveys that was done to study the marketing strategies of the plant.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

To study the market attractiveness toward beverage industry and to study the marketing stratergies of catch.

LIMITATIONS

In spite of my continued efforts to make the project as accurate and wide in scope as possible, certain limitations are becoming evident while implementing the project. These limitations cannot be removed and have to be accepted as permanent constraints in implementing the project.

Some limitations, which have been identified, by me are:

1. Generalizations and calculated assumptions had to be made in some areas while analyzing the market, due to non-availability of complete information. 2. The segment wise and product wise study of the various product segments and units of the company have been excluded from the scope of the project due to data and time constraints.

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1. THE DHARAMPAL SATYAPAL GROUP

1.1 COMPANY PROFILE

Dharampal Satyapal Group (DS Group) is more than Rs. 5000 crores diversified conglomerate, which is committed towards high quality products & credited with several innovations over last seven decades. The sagacity to weave its business around consumer needs has conferred DS Group with a distinct value. Efficient capital structure, cutting edge technology, operational discipline and a widespread distribution network, have together attributed to enhance ‘Brand DS’, and enabled the organization to deliver continued growth in all areas of operation. The Group has consolidated its position into diversified sectors like FMCG, Packaging, Hospitality, Rubber thread, Cement and other businesses.

Beginning its journey with Tobacco, DS Group successfully ventured into the arena of Foods & Beverages, alluring the consumers with a wide range of beverages, spices, and ready-to-eat snacks under the brand ‘Catch’. While ‘Catch’ Natural Spring Water and its variants continue getting great response from consumers, ‘Catch’ Salt & Pepper tabletop dispensers hold their supremacy as India’s first tottery table top dispensers. Catch Spices excessively continues to be connoisseurs’ favorites.

In the Mouth Freshener Category, non-tobacco, Rajnigandha rules the market as the world’s largest selling premium pan masala. ‘Pass Pass’ has created a new product category all-together as India’s first ever branded ‘all natural’ non supari assorted mouth freshener. Taking forward the Indian tradition of eating and serving mouth freshener softer meals, Rajnigandha, the premium mouth freshener brand, has introduced a mild new flavour, “Meetha Mazaa- the Indian Mouth freshener”. Reinforcing the emphasis on the quality at all levels,Meetha Mazaa is revitalizing.

Recognizing the immense potential in the Hospitality Segment, DS Group forayed into this segment with “The Manu Maharani’ at Nainital, in 2001. The Group acquired the Airport Hotel at Kolkata. The hotel is currently being revamped and renovated and will soon emerge as an International standard destination with Five Star Hotel, a budget hotel & large Convention Centre, in addition to a sprawling Commercial area. The five star hotel building projects have also commenced in Guwahati and Jaipur. In addition to the above ventures, land has been acquired in cities like Udaipur, Shimla, Mussorie, Corbett Park, Manali and Goa with plans to set up hotels & resorts. With a boom in tourism sector, the group is all set to emerge as one of the leading players in the hospitality segment.

Further pursuing its quest for diversification, DS Group has launched colossal projects in the Packaging sector. DS Canpac Ltd., an ecofriendly revolutionary packaging technology, was launched in India in association with Canpac – a leading Switzerland based packaging major. A state-of-the-art plant at Noida

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offers packaging solutions to the FMCG marketers as well as exporters of food products. The group has also commissioned an ultra modern Flexible Packaging Unit in Bonda.

A heat resistant latex Rubber thread plant has been set up at Agartala to produce international quality rubber threads. Latex rubber threads are made from natural rubber applying the most sophisticated European technology. Following close behind is a first-of-its kind Steel sheets plant coming up soon in the North East to produce cold rolled sheets, CRCA and galvanized steel sheets.

In line with its vision of diversification, DS Group has entered the fast growing Cement Industry. The Project is located at the Khliehriatsub division of District Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya. The capacity of the upcoming plant will be approximately 1 million tons Per Annum and will have a captive power plant based on coal. This will be one of the largest investments on new projects, by the Group.

As a significant step in Infrastructure Sector, DS Group has signed a MOA with state Govt. of Meghalaya to set up a 240 MW Thermal Power Plant, based on coal.

The group has manufacturing units in Noida, Delhi, Baroitwala in HP, Kullu, Assam and Tripura. DS Group boasts of World Class Facilities spread across the length and breadth of the country, to execute its manufacturing processes with full adherence to international standards of quality. Every stage of manufacturing is monitored with utmost care and attention.

The company also has a widespread distribution network supported by dealers and retailers. The group constantly upgrades its strength through dealer network expansion, up -gradation of production facilities and bringing greater consumer orientation, while maintaining its commitments to high quality, innovation and consumer value carried forward in all its diversification endeavours.

DS Group constantly nurtures its responsibility as a committed corporate citizen, by regarding Corporate Social Responsibility as an integral part of its Business Objectives. The Company has been working in Assam and Tripura, on a wide range of CSR programmes ranging from education to health and making tribal and ethnic communities self reliant. Under the CSR initiatives the group is renovating local schools, setting up a State level College anddeveloping heritage properties and construction of an eco lodge to beowned and run by the tribal community. While DS Group pursues leadership in its business spheres; it simultaneously endeavors to promote common welfare through multidimensional activities to work towards an all round development of the society.

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International Alliances

DS Group collaborated with the Switzerland based packaging technology major, CANPAC International AG, to bring a never-before packaging revolution in Asia. CANPAC is a convenient, eco friendly, corrosion free packaging for ready to serve packs.DS Group joined hands with Wallner, Germany to introduce electronically beaten silver foil in India. The collaboration brought in the process of electronically beating silver between a special paper, in hygienically controlled dust free atmosphere and thus making DS Group the only producer of 100 % pure & vegetarian Silver foil in the country.

1.2 The Stirring Saga of an Enterprise

In the early 20th century, when trade and commerce had not witnessed the advent of brands and marketing warfare in India, Shri Dharampalji – the founder of DS Group, set up a small perfumery shopin Chandni Chowk, Delhi in the year 1929. The urge to create abusiness around consumer tastes and preferences led Dharampalji to innovate quality products. His sagacity revolutionized the market ofchewing tobacco and the shop in Chandni Chowk became renowned not only in Delhi but even amongst the connoisseurs of tobacco inother parts of India and the world. Blending modernity, technology and tradition, Dharampalji’s son Satyapalji brought the dawn of a new era an era that saw a revolution. Satyapalji inherited qualities of high virtues, innovation and aspiration for being the best in the business.His in-depth knowledge of perfumes honoured him the title of “Sugandhi” (perfumer). He is credited with blending tobacco with various exquisite fragrances. He is also known for bringing the element of quality and research hitherto unknown in this category. Under the able stewardship of Satyapalji, the nation’s first ever-branded chewing tobacco BABA was launched in 1964 which became an instant success and widely popular in its category. And what followed later was anarray of premium brands like Tulsi and a host of others which have established their leadership in their own category and created newmarkets in its wake. Continuing the fervour of innovation and quality, the Group set new benchmarks in Foods & Beverages. Innovative tabletop sprinklers changed the way Indian households had been enjoying salt and spices. Be it Catch spices or Catch Beverages, today Catch stands for international quality and convenience. Mouthfresheners like Rajnigandha and Pass Pass created new offerings and established new categories. The Group has also ventured into a rapidly growing hospitality sector with extensive five star properties in thelarger cities and boutique & heritage properties at tourist destinations.The Group has also successfully ventured into Packaging, Rubber Thread, Steel in the last few years. Since the launch of BABA, the Group has never looked back, reaching for milestones year after year.Thus, evolving from a single product to multiple brands, DS has successfully woven over eight decades legend of innovation andenterprise. And the quest for innovation continues

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Establishing Benchmarks with Innovations First -

1. First to offer saffron flavoured chewing tobacco in the world.

2. First to launch branded chewing tobacco in India in metalpackaging

3. First and only chewing tobacco company in India to get ISO9001:2000 certification

4. First to introduce various kinds of spices in one-time usePackaging

5. First to launch free flowing salt in revolutionary table top rotary Dispensers in India

6. First to introduce 100 per cent biodegradable, composite cans packs which are pilfer proof, rust proof and leak proof using brine and through vaccum evaporation process for food products

7. First to introduce electronically beaten finest malleable silver Foils in India.

8. First in India to bottle natural spring water which has been Awarded NSF certification from FDA, US: a hallmark of quality And purity

9. First to introduce soda processed with natural spring water

10. First to introduce zero calorie tonic water

11. First to launch 100% herbal mouth freshener - Pass Pass

1.3 MISSION & VISION STATEMENTS

MISSION

To achieve excellence in all our endeavour’s to create sustainable value for our stakeholders & the community at large.

VISION

To be a leading quality and innovation driven global conglomerate.

We all are leaders in our area of responsibility, with a deep commitment to deliver results. We are determined to be the best at doing what matters most.

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People are our most important asset. We add value through result driven training, and we encourage & reward excellence. We have superior understanding of consumer needs and develop products to fulfil them better. We work together on the principle of mutual trust & transparency in a boundary less organization. We are intellectually honest in advocating proposals, includes recognizing risks.

Continuous innovations in products & processes are the basic of our success. We are committed to the achievements of business success with integrity. We are honest with consumers, with business partners and with each other.

1.4 ABOUT PLANT

This plant is situated in the beautiful valley of kullu manali,being surrounded by a beautiful environment brings extra charm to the plant. The plant is situated in Raison near the bank of river beas, it is 20 km from Kullu airport and is 30 km from Manali. This plant has begun its working in 1999 since then its providing significant role in the market share of the DS group.

This plant has two units which constitute around 100 sq m of area. Mr Salfraaz Husaain is the unit head of this plant. Unit- 1 is related to the water segment and Unit-2 is related to the beverage segment. Catch beverages and water comes in 250ml, 500ml, 1000ml and in 1500ml packings.

The plant has been divided into two units

Unit -1 comprise of water segment whose main product is catch natural mineral water and rohtang mineral water, catch is the main product of this unit which is being sold in north india, as catch is being targeted for high class hence Delhi NCR constitute its main market. Where as rohtang is being restricted inside Himachal Pradesh.

Unit- 2 comprises of Catch Club soda (sparkling water and premium black soda), catch cola, catch lemon, Catch orange, classic tonic water and Ginger Ale. This unit also produces Catch Diet flavoured Water (lemon n lime, Peach, Black Currant and Green Apple) this is a growing segment of catch. This segment can be threat for the established ones in future due to its taste and flavour and various health issue which this plant provides as the management says.

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1.5 The hierarchy of catch Company is as follows.

This plant has around 250 employees. As being in the hilly area it is providing employment to the people which is certainly helping them to improve their living and providing them an alternate career option too

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Unit head

Assistance general manager

deputy manager

Executives

Supervisor

Workers

2. INTRODUCTION TO THE BOTTLED WATER INDUSTRY OF INDIA

2.1 Bottled Water Industry in India

The Indian packaged water business is estimated at around Rs 2,500

crore with a growth rate of close to 35 per cent. While India ranks in

the top 10 largest bottled water consumers in the world, its per capita

per annum consumption of bottled water is estimated to be five litres

which is comparatively lower than the global average of 24 litres.

Today it is one of India's fastest growing industrial sectors. Between

1999 and 2004, the Indian bottled water market grew at a compound

annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent - the highest in the world.

With over a thousand bottled water producers, the Indian bottled

water industry is big by even international standards. There are more

than 200 brands, nearly 80 per cent of which are local. Most of the

small-scale producers sell non-branded products and serve small

markets. In fact,

making bottled water is today a cottage industry in the country. Leave

alone the metros, where a bottled-water manufacturer can be found

even in a one-room shop, in every medium and small city and even

some prosperous rural areas there are bottled water manufacturers.

In Mumbai analysIS show that the consumer, product, channel trends,

key growth areas, target groups and the overall market influences of

aqua vita (which some social activists and even film-makers contend

will trigger off the next war between the haves and the have-nots).

Bottled water or the packaged water category, estimated to be over Rs

1,500 crore (not including the other smaller regional brands, which

according to the Bureau of Indian Standards are more than 1,800 in

number), is "witnessing an unprecedented amount of action."

In other words, domestic companies Parley, United Breweries, Tata’s,

DS Foods and multinationals PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, the world's

largest aerated drinks maker, are all "battling for leadership" in the

rapidly growing packaged water market in India. As things stand,

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food and beverages (not to speak of tobacco) account for the largest

consumption categories (40%) in India, which has emerged as one of

the fastest growing economies in the world with about 8% annual

GDP growth.

Bisleri (the current market leader) was the first-of-its-kind packaged

water brand in the country when it was launched in 1967. It has now

made a foray into packaged natural spring water, a category which

has been witnessing exponential growth, in double digit figures, over

the past couple of years. It must also be noted that India was the first

market outside the US to have PepsiCo's Aquafina launched in 1999

when the market was just beginning to grow.

Coca-Cola's $4.1 bn global acquisition of the US-based vitamin water

brand Glaceau (formally known as Energy Brands Inc) to expand its

non-carbonated beverage line made headlines, even as the Tata group

which agreed to sell its 30% stake to Coke by the year end, had cash

registers ringing with its acquisition of mineral water brand,

Himalayan. few years back, Tata Tea acquired the Mount Everest

Mineral Water Company that manufactures the Himalayan brand of

spring water ( a 44% stake for Rs 210 crore), making it the largest

acquisition of a packaged water firm in the domestic market.

In India, the per capita bottled water consumption is still quite low -

less than five litres a year as compared to the global average of 24

litres. However, the total annual bottled water consumption has risen

rapidly in recent times - tripling between 1999 and 2004 - from about

1.5 billion litres to five billion litres.

It must also be noted that the rise of the Indian bottled water industry

commenced with the economic liberalisation process in 1991. “The

market was virtually stagnant until 1991, when the demand for bottled

water was less than two million cases a year. Since 1991-1992, it has

not looked back, and the demand in 2004-05 was a staggering 82

million cases."

Bottled water is sold in a variety of packages: pouches and glasses,

330 ml bottles, 500 ml bottles, 1 & 5-litre bottles and even 20-50-litre

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bulk water packs.

The bottled water business is divided broadly into three segments in

terms of cost:

1.Premium natural mineral water,

2.Natural mineral water and

3.Packaged drinking water.

Premium natural mineral water includes such imported brands as

Evian, San Pellegrino and Perrier, which are priced between Rs 90

and Rs150 a litre.

Natural mineral water brands like Himalayan and the indigenous

Catch brand owned by DS Foods Ltd are priced around Rs 20 a litre.

Packaged drinking water is the biggest segment and includes brands

such as Parle Bisleri, Coca-Cola's Kinley and PepsiCo's Aquafina

which are priced in the range of Rs15-20 a litre.

Bottled water is sold in a variety of packages: pouches and glasses, 330 ml bottles, 500 ml bottles, 1 & 5-litre bottles and even 20-50-litre bulk water packs.

2.2 Government failure to address basic services

Millions of people, both in rural and urban India, suffer from inadequate or no tap water supply. Even some parts of Mumbai, the country's financial capital, get a mere two hours of daily water supply. The city's Virar suburb

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gets 45 minutes. So bottled water is much in demand by residents - even though the businesses profiting from the sales are thriving from access to public water sources. Bottled water fills a void created by government failure to address basic services, Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute writes in its World Water report. "In many parts of the world, tap water is not available or safe to drink," writes . "In these regions, the failure of governments to provide basic water services has opened the door to private companies and vendors filling a critical need, albeit at a very high cost to consumers." The institute reasons that governments should tap into spending on commercial water by consumers to secure funds to provide safe water at fraction of the cost. Gigi Kellett, US national director of the Think Outside the Bottle campaign, argues that demand for bottled water is due to industry creating "a market by casting doubt on the quality of tap water, when in fact bottled water is subject

to far less scrutiny and often comes from the same source".

2.3 Water resources over-exploited

The majority of the bottling plants are dependent on groundwater. They create huge water stress in the areas where they operate because groundwater is also the main source - in most places the only source - of drinking water in India.This has created huge conflict between the community and the bottling plants. Private companies in India can siphon out, exhaust and export groundwater free because the groundwater law in the country is archaic and not in tune with the realities of modern capitalist societies. The existing law says that "the person who owns the land owns the groundwater beneath". This means that, theoretically, a person can buy one square metre of land and take all the groundwater of the surrounding areas and the law of land cannot object to it. This law is the core of the conflict between the community and the companies and the major reason for making the business of bottled water in the country highly lucrative. Take for instance the case of Coca-Cola's bottling plant in drought-prone Kala Dera near Jaipur. Coca-Cola gets its water free except for a tiny cess (for discharging the wastewater) it pays to the State Pollution Control Board - a little over Rs.50,000 a year during 2010-12 and Rs.2,42,460 in 2013. It extracts half a million litres of water every day - at a cost of 14 paise per 1,000 litres. So, a Rs.20 per litre Kinley water has a raw material cost of just 0.02-0.03 paisa. (It takes about two to three litres of groundwater to make one litre of bottled water.) On April 7, more than 1,500 villagers defied a police cordon and marched to Coca-Cola's bottling plant in Mehdiganj village, Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh

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state, demanding that the company immediately shut down its bottling plant. In January, the New Delhi-based Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) advised Coca-Cola to shut a bottling plant in the drought-stricken state of Rajasthan. India's Ministry of Water Resources has ranked 80% of ground water resources in Rajasthan as "over- exploited" and nearly 34% resources as "dark/ critical", the gravest ranking across the country.

2.4 Bottled Water: How Safe?

The bottled water industry has spent billions over the past decade to sell you on the idea that bottled water is better than tap water. Well the short answer is they are both unhealthy. One of the most ironic parts of the bottled water tragedy is that the water bottling industry gets the water free, filters it, bottles it and sells it back to us at 1,900% profit. The ironic part is that tap water is legislated to be 7.0 pH neutral. They first dump a TON of chlorine in the water to kill off all the bad bacteria, this makes it highly acidic. In India around 100 companies sell an estimated 424 million litres of bottled water valued at around Rs 200 crore in the country annually . Most bottlers claim that their water is 100 per cent bacteria-free and contains minerals that make it tastier and healthier. But is the water in these bottles really safe to drink? Do they conform to international or national standards? To find out, the Ahmadabad-based Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS), an independent non-profit institution with a sophisticated product-testing laboratory, recently carried out a detailed study on 13 major brands of bottled water available in the country. The national brands -- Bisleri (separate samples were taken from their units in Bangalore, Ghaziabad, Calcutta and Baroda) and Bailley (Mumbai and Surat) -- were selected on the basis of their dominant position in the overall market. Bisil (Mehsana), Golden Eagle (Chennai), Aquaspa (Mumbai),Saiganga (Ahmednagar), Nirantar (Thane), Trupthi (Chennai) and Yes (Nadiad) were included because of their regional popularity. To conform to international standards for such testing, 21 bottles of each brand were tested in the CERS laboratory against "analytical" and "sensory" parameters as well as for "microbiological" contamination. To ensure fairness, the results were sent to the individual companies for their comments. So how safe is bottled water? Not that safe, says the CERS survey. As many as 10 of the 13 brands had foreign floating objects in clear violation of norms. None of the brands tested was free from bacteria although the consolation is that they were not of the harmful kind. Two of the big brands contained toxic

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heavy metals much higher than permitted levels. The term "mineral water" is misleading because our laws do not stipulate the minimum mineral content level required for water to be labelled as such. All this from a sector that is flourishing because of the public fear that water supplied by civic bodies is

impure.

2.5 Growing Prospects for Packaged Drinking Water Industry

Water everywhere, not a CLEAN drop to drink! Who would have thought that there will be a day when sanitation of available water would be more of a

concern than availability of water itself? Hygiene is of great concern to everyone today, and this is evident with the surging rise in the consumption

of packaged/bottled water. India has 16 percent of the world's population, 2.5 percent of the land mass and 4 percent of the world's water resources. These limited water resources are depleting rapidly while the demands on them are increasing. Drinking water supplies in many parts of India are intermittent.

Transmission and distribution networks for water are generally old and badly maintained, and as a result, are deteriorating. India is one of the biggest and most attractive water markets in the world. The boom time for Indian bottled water industry is to continue- more so because the economics are sound, the

bottom line is fat and the Indian government hardly cares for what happens to the nation's water resources. Corporate control over water and water

distribution in India is growing rapidly: the packaged water business is worth $250 million, and it's growing at a huge 40-50% annually. Around 1,200 bottling plants and 100 brands of packaged water across the country are battling over the market, overdrawing groundwater, and robbing local

communities of their water resources and livelihoods. Most multi-national (MNC) companies view India as the next big market with a lot of potential

and growth possibility. Several MNCs are waiting in the wings to expand a $ 287 billion global water market into India. There is a huge market being

exploited by the packaged water industry, and it's growing at 40% per annum. With over a thousand bottled water producers, the Indian bottled water industry is big by even international standards. There are more than 200

brands, nearly 80 per cent of which are local. Most of the small-scale producers sell non-branded products and serve small markets. In fact, making bottled water is today a cottage industry in the country. There is investment

worthy mid-cap companies in this segment. From being confined to the uppermost echelons of society, packaged water has now become a

commonplace commodity and almost a necessity in metros. After witnessing historic growth in recent years, it has become a Rs 3,000-crore industry, one that is slated to only post healthy growth rates to become a Rs 10,000-crore

business in just three years, The bulk water industry, or water in 12-, 20- and

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25-litre packages, has also witnessed a parallel growth of Rs 700-1,000 crore. Basically, the market can be divided into two segments — the retail

consumer market where the pack sizes are 500 ml, one litre, 1.2/1.5/2-litre and five-litre, and the household and institutional market, where the pack size

is usually are 20- or 25-litre. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the governing authority on all quality and production regulations related to natural mineral water as well as packaged drinking water. The all-India

market for packaged water is between $145 million (Rs. 8 billion) and $21 million (Rs. 10 billion) and is growing at the rate of nearly 40 per cent per annum. Even though it accounts for only 5 percent of the total beverage

market in India, branded bottled water is the fastest growing industry in the beverage sector. While the single largest share in the mineral water market might still belong to an Indian brand -- Parle's $52 million (Rs. 2.5 billion)

Bisleri brand has a 40 percent share -- multi-national corporations are not far behind. Nestle and Danone are vying to purchase Bisleri, and Pepsi's

Aquafina and Coke's Kinley brands have been extremely successful in edging out many of the small and medium players to buy-outs and exclusive

licensing deals. In less than two years since its launch, Aquafina has cornered 11 percent of the market and Kinley has almost a third of the market. News reports indicate that other MNCs like Unilever are also eying the market.

DEMAND OF WATER WOULD NEVER GO DOWN… & WATER WOULD NEVER BE OUT OF BUSINESS.

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3. PROCESSING METHODS , MANUFACTURING PROCESS AND PRODUCT PREPARATION

3.1 PROCESSING METHODS

Water Treatment Plant

Introduction:

The plant receives water from the catchment. It is a natural spring source. The water is rich in natural mineral. So it is used without any chemical treatment. This water is first treated and then used for beverage preparation.

Need to treat water:

Water is treated to remove-

Colloidal and suspended particles

Undesirable odour, taste and color

Reduction in alkalinity to desired level

Micro organisms

Common Impurities in Water:

Suspended solids- Includes all matter suspended in water that is large

enough to be retained on a filter with a given porosity.

Alkalinity- Indicates the quantifiable quantities of carbonates, bi

carbonates and hydroxides in water.

Total hardness- Indicates the quantifiable quantities of calcium and

magnesium.

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Total dissolved solids- Indicates total content of dissolved solids in

water.

Effect of Contaminated Water on Product:

Contaminants present a danger to taste, aroma and appearance of

beverage.

Physical discrepancies in water as turbidity, colour, odour, taste can

have an almost immediate effect on beverage flavour or appearance.

Even when present in small amounts, there remains a danger to product

shelf life.

Turbidity or small levels of colloidal matter can cause foaming

problem either at the filler or while the beverage is being filled or later

when the bottle \can is opened by the consumer.

Micro organisms like yeast affect taste & odour and can cause

sediment or floc to develop.

Organic matter affects beverage sensory characters and shortens the

shelf life. Chemicals and minerals affect adversely the taste of

beverage. High alkalinity can quickly neutralize and delicate acidity of

the beverage.

Water Treatment Plant Testing

It includes various tests under physical and chemical parameters. These tests are-

Physical Parameters

Odour

Taste

Turbidity

Appearance

Chemical Parameters

Calcium hardness

Sulphate

Total Hardness

Total and Partial Alkanity

Chloride

25

Use of Product Water

Syrup making

Beverage preparation

Filler for cleaning and flushing

Water coolers

Bottle washer

Fig. : Flowchart showing Process of Water Treatment

26

Sand Filter

Micron filter 1 (5 micron)

Micron filter 2 (3 micron)

Micron filter 3 (1micron)

Micron filter 4 (0.5micron)

Carbon filter

Receiving Raw Water

3.2 MANUFACTURING PROCESS

Most soft drinks are made at local bottling and canning companies.

Brand name franchise companies grant licenses to bottlers to mix the soft

drinks in strict accordance to their secret formulas and their required

manufacturing procedures.

Clarifying the Water

The quality of water is crucial to the success of a soft drink. Impurities,

such as suspended particles, organic matter and bacteria, may degrade taste

and colours. They are generally removed through the traditional process of a

series of coagulation, filtration and chlorination. Coagulation involves mixing

a gelatinous precipitate, or floc (ferric sulphate or aluminium sulphate) into the

water. The floc absorbs suspended particles, making them larger and more

easily trapped by filters. During the clarification process, alkalinity must be

adjusted with an addition of lime to reach the desired pH level.

Filtering

The clarified water is poured through a sand filter to remove fine particles of

floc. The water passes through a layer of sand and courser beds of gravel to

capture the particles.. Next, an activated carbon filter dechlorinates the water

and removes residual organic matter, much like the sand filter.

Mixing the ingredients

The dissolved sugar and flavor concentrates are pumped into the

dosing station in a predetermined sequence according to their compatibility.

The ingredients are conveyed into batch tanks where they are carefully mixed,

too much agitation can cause unwanted aeration.

27

Micron filter 5 (0.2micron)

Used in production area

The water and syrup are carefully combined by sophisticated

machines, called proportioners, which regulate the flow rates and ratios of the

liquids. The vessels are pressurized with carbon dioxide to prevent aeration of

the mixture.

Carbonation of beverage

Carbonation is generally added to the finished product, though it may

be mixed into the water at an earlier stage. The temperature of the liquid must

be carefully controlled since carbon dioxide solubility increases as the liquid

temperature decreases. Many carbonators are equipped with their own cooling

systems. The amount of carbon dioxide pressure used depends on the type of

soft drink. For instance, fruit drinks require far less carbonation than mixer

drinks, such as tonics, which are meant to be diluted with other liquids. The

beverage is slightly over-pressured with carbon dioxide to facilitate the

movement into storage tanks and ultimately to the filler machine

Filling and Packaging

The finished product is transferred into PET bottles or cans at

extremely high flow rates. The containers are immediately sealed with

pressure-resistant closures, either tinplate or plastic closures with corrugated

edges, twist offs. Because soft drinks are generally cooled during the

manufacturing process, they must be brought to room temperature before

labeling to prevent condensation from ruining the labels. Labels are then

affixed to bottles to provide information about the brand, ingredients, shelf life

and safe use of the product. Most labels are made of a plastic film. Finally

bottles are packed into cases.

Quality control

Soft drink manufacturers adhere to strict water quality standards for

allowable dissolved solids, alkalinity, chlorides, sulfates, iron and aluminum.

Microbiological and other testing occur regularly. The National Soft Drink

Association and other agencies set standards for regulating the quality of sugar

and other ingredients. If soft drinks are produced with low quality sugar,

particles in the beverage will spoil it, creating floc. To prevent such spoilage,

sugar must be carefully handled in dry, sanitized environments

28

It is crucial for soft drink manufacturers to inspect raw materials before they

are mixed with other ingredients because preservatives may not kill all

bacteria. All tanks, pumps and containers are thoroughly sterilized and

continuously monitored. Soft drink manufacturers also recommend specific

storage conditions to retailers to insure that the beverages do not spoil. The

shelf life of soft drinks is generally at least 6 months.

3.3 PRODUCT PREPARATION

It includes three types of product preparation-

Sugar based product preparation process

Diet product (sugar free) preparation process

Soda making preparation process

Fig. : Flowchart showing Sugar based Prepared Products

29

Recieving of raw material

Storage in cold room

Invert sugar transfer into syrup

tank

Ingredients weighing

according to recipe

Mix the ingredients in

seperate container

Filter & transfer into syrup tank Mixing

Desired volume make up & final

mixing

Syrup ready

R.O SYSTEM

Fig. : Flowchart showing preparation of Sugar Free Products

30

Beverage

Water

CO2

Syrup

Recieving of raw material

Storage in cold room

Ingredients weighing

according to recipe

Mix the ingredients in

seperate container

Filter & transfer into syrup tank

MixingDesired volume make up & final

mixing

Syrup ready

R.O SYSTEM

Fig. : Flowchart showing Soda Making Process

31

Sugar free Beverage

Water

CO2

Syrup

Soda

Water CO2

R.O SYSTEM

4.1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Primary research objective

To determine the factors influencing the consumer decision while buying mineral water.

Secondary research objective

To determine the product attributes influencing purchase decision of mineral water brands.

To determine the reasons for consuming various mineral water brands.

To determine the most preferred SKU (quantity) in mineral water category.

To determine the most preferred channel in the mineral water category.

Data which research plans to generate

Factors influencing the choice of mineral water over other beverages.

Factors influencing choice of a particular mineral water brand.

32

Value of Information to Management

This report aims to generate information on various factors influencing consumer decision while purchasing a mineral water. Companies can utilise this information for identifying the awareness levels of their respective brands in the mineral water category. Also companies can evaluate their positioning and promotion strategies based on the factors influencing the choice of a particular mineral water brand. Companies can also utilise the factors influencing the choice of SKU for managing their portfolio of different SKUs in the mineral water category. The information on factors influencing the choice of a channel can be used to focus on the growing channels and also in managing existing channels. This report also contains broad based trends on consumer profile, awareness levels, usage patterns and mineral water category as a whole which can be utilised to make inferences about the future.

Research Methodology Used

Information sources

Information has been sourced from namely newspapers, trade journals,

industry portals and through access to many databases on net.

Sampling:

It denotes the number of elements to be included in the study. The sample size

chosen is 82. The Questionnaire has been personally filled by the customers in

hand to get feedback on the criticalities.

Measurement and Scaling Procedures Measurement and Scaling Procedures

We have used Itemized rating scales like Likert scale in order to rate the choices

for purchase considerations. Also, we have used rank order method wherein,

consumer is asked to rank the products.

Data Collection

The data used in the research is of two types Primary Data and Secondary Data

mentioned as follows:

a. Primary Data:

33

Primary data has been collected through interviews and survey method. The

data is collected from the customer point of view, and has been checked for

the privacy of the respondents or confidentiality has been maintained

wherever required.

b. Secondary data:

Secondary data will be collected from documentary and multiple sources such as:

Internet articles and web references

Internal data of the company

Various trade journals

4.2 Research Process :

34

Identifying the Problem

Devloping Approach

Research Design

Data Collection

Data Analaysis

Report

Data Analysis Procedure

The analysis methods include the following:

Historical Trend Analysis, Judgmental Forecasting and Cause and Effect Analysis.

Usage of SPSS software has been made for the purpose of drawing tables, analyze the

data, graphs etc to depict the picture of the study under consideration.

4.3 Need and importance of the study

Catch is a very well known brand and has a reputation for its quality products. Yet,

the catch beverages are not able to generate the revenue as they should. This may be

due to reasons such as less promotion, high cost, hard competition, or any other

factor. The investment on promotional schemes has been increasing tremendously

because it has become the most important factor in driving up the sales volume and

trial of new products. These huge investments in trade promotions need to be

effective. Relatively small improvements in promotion effectiveness can significantly

impact performance, and by truly understanding the drivers and market impact of

promotions, consumer products manufacturers can achieve major competitive

advantages.

35

4.4 DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND

INTERPRETATION

Q 1) Are you aware of any of these following Mineral water Brands? A) Bisleri B) Kinley C) Catch D) Aquafina E) All

Response of the respondents:

Interpretation:

The graphical representation shows that out of 82 respondents

76% were aware of all the brands

9% were aware of bisleri

5% aware of only kinley

7% aware of only Catch

4% aware of Aquafina

36

A B C D E7 4 6 3 62

Q 2) Are you a consumer of a Mineral water? A) Yes B) No

Response :

Graphical Representation:

Consumers of mineral water

96%

non-consumers4%

consumers & non cosumers

Interpretation:

The graphical representation of the table shows that out of 82 respondents

96% were consumer of mineral water

37

8.64% 4.94%

7.41%

3.70%

75.31%

Popularity of Brand

BisleryKinleyCatchAquafinaAll brands

A B79 3

4% were not consumer of mineral water

Q 3) From where did you come to know about these mineral water brands?

A) TV ads B) Print media C) Shop keeper

Response of the respondents

81.71%

8.53% 9.76%

Information medium

TV 81.71%

Print Media 8.53%

Shopkeeper 9.76%

Interpretation:

The graphical representation of the table shows that out of 82 respondents

82% come to know about these brands through TV ads

8.5% through Print Media

9.5% through Shopkeeper

Q 4) Have you seen the TV advertisement of mineral water? A) Yes B) No

Response :

38

A B C

67 7 8

A B

77 5


94%

6%

TV ad

Yes 94%

No 6%

Interpretation:


94% seen the TV ad of mineral water

6% haven’t seen the ad.

Q 5) What do you see in the ad which influence you to buy the product? A) Price B) Quantity C) Quality D) Brand E) Other factor

Response:


Price Quqantity Quality Brand other factors0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00% 36.58%

4.87%

20.73%19.51% 18.29%

39

A B C D E

30 4 17 16 15

Interpretation


36.58% were influenced to buy the product on the Price factor

4.87% were on Quantity factor

20.73% were on Quality

19.53% were on brand

18.29% on other factors.

Q 6) Rank the following according to the importance you give to them while

purchasing Mineral water.

Brand Price

Quality Packaging

Quantity

Response as ranked first:


40

Brand price Quality Packaging Quantity0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

20.73%

25.60%

17.01% 18.29% 18.29%

Percentage response

Brand Price Quality Packaging Quantity

17 21 14 15 15

Interpretation: The graphical representation shows that out of 82 respondents

21% give importance to the brand of Mineral water while purchaising.

26% for price & 17% go for quality

18% each go for packaging & quantity

Q 7) when do you consume the Mineral water?

A) When you are out of station B) During the journey

C) Rarely D) Daily E) Never

Response:


Interpretations: The graphical representation shows that out of 82 respondents

43% use when they are out of station

26% on journey

18% rarely consume

41

out of station Journey rarely daily never0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

42.68%

25.60%

18.29%

9.76%3.66%

Responce

When out of station

During journey

Rarely Daily Never

35 21 15 8 3

10% consume daily

Rest never consumed

Q 8) Do you know the difference between mineral water and packaged drinking water?

Yes No

Response:

64.63%

35.37%

No 64.63%Yes 35.37%

Interpretation

More than 60% of people do not know the difference between packaged &mineral water.

42

Yes No

29 53

Q 9) Does price of a particular Mineral water brand makes you to shift to others?

Yes No can’t say

Response:


Yes No Can't say0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%47.56%

37.80%

14.63%

Interpretation


47% change their demand for a brand if they find price to be more than what

they want to pay

38% do not find price as a factor to change to other brand

15% can’t say.

Q 10) You prefer only one brand Y/N

43

Yes No Can’t say

39 31 12

Brand keeps on changing If change, why?

A) Price constraints B) Brand doesn’t matter

C) Non availability of a particular brand

D) New product launched/experiment E) Others

Response :


Brand loyal

Brand shifts

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

Chart Title

Axis Title Perc

enta

ge re

spon

ce

Interpretation


21% are loyal towards their brand

Rest all change their brands from time to time. Out of which 26% change due

to price and 23% due to non-availability of the brand which they want.

44

A B C D E

21 12 19 5 8

RESPONSE FOR SOFT DRINKS QUESTIONAIRE

Q1) Do you drink soft drinks? Y/N

Response:


YES

NO

Interpretation: As per the response obtained by conducting the questionnaire survey 95.12% of respondents consume soft drinks

45

YES NO 78 4

Q2) If YES, Which soft drink ? A) Carbonated B) Fruit C) Flavoured Water D) Energy Drink

Response:

Graphical

Representation:

54.87%

26.82%

13.41%

14.63%

soft drinks

CarbonatedFruitFlavoured WaterEnergy drink

Interpretation The graphical representation shows that out of 82 respondents

54.87% of the total respondents prefer drinking carbonated drinks

26.82% of the total respondents prefer drinking Fruit Drink

13.41% of the respondents drink Flavoured Water

14.63% of the respondents drink Energy Drinks

46

A B C D

45 22 11 4

Q3) Which soft drink do you like the most?

A) Coca cola B) Pepsi C) Catch D) Blue

Response:


45%

34%

16%

5%

Soft drinksCoca cola Pepsi Catch Blue

Interpretation: Out of 82 respondents 45% prefer drinking Coca cola 34% prefer drinking Pepsi 16% prefer drinking Catch beverages And only 5% prefer drinking Blue

Q4) Do you know Catch is available in many Flavours? Y/N

If Yes What are they ?

Response:

47

A B C D 37 28 13 4

YES NO 57 25


70%

30%

YES NO

9%

27%

65%

names of products

AllSomeNone

Interpretation: Out of 82 respondents

70% were aware that catch is available in many flavours while 30% were not Whereas only 8% of the respondents were able to name them clearly

and 65% of them didn’t even knew names of Catch beverages

Q6) Is CATCH a healthy drink? Y/N

Response:


76%

24%

Is catch a healthy drink ?

YESNO

Interpretation: according to the survey 76% of the respondents assume catch as a healthy product whereas 24% of them do not.

48

YES NO 62 20

Q7) Is catch readily available in market? Y/N

Response:


95%

5%

YES NO

Interpretation :

95% of the respondents said that Catch was available readily in market

Q8) Do you think advertising influence you to drink catch drinks? Y/N

Response:


49

YES NO 78 4

Yes No 82 0

yes

Q9) Would you visit another store if you do not find CATCH Drinks at your store? Y/N

Response:


33%

67%

yesno

Interpretation:

Only 33% of the respondents would like to visit another store if they did not find Catch products whereas 67% of them would not.

Q10) What is your opinion of the brand?

A) Excellent B) Good C) Fair D) Poor

Response:

50

Yes No 27 55

Excellent Good Fair Poor 18 42 20 2

Graphical representation:

22%

51%

24%

2%

ExcellentGoodFairPoor

Interpretation: The graphical representation shows that out of 82 respondents

22% of the respondents consider catch beverages to be Excellent 51% of the respondents consider Catch beverages to be Good 24% of the respondents consider Catch beverages to be Fair And only 3% of the respondents consider Catch beverages to be Poor

Other Evaluations: Total respondents =82

Response

Very important

Important Least important

Not important at all

Value for money

63 16 3

Creative Advertisement

60 21

Healthiness 77 5Good Quality 74 8Packaging 70 10 2Taste 69 13

51

Refreshing Attribute

67 11 4

value f

or money

Creative

adver

tising

Helthiness

Good Quality

Packagi

ngTas

te

Refresh

ing Attrib

ute0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

not important at all

Least inportant

Important

Very important

QUESTIONAIRE

This questionnaire is a part of market survey, the aim of the study is to analyse the strategies adopted by DS Drinks Pvt. Ltd. Any information provided would be used only for academic purpose and kept confidential.

Name :- Occupation :-Age :- Place :-

Tick mark the appropriate option for the questions given below:-

Q 1) Are you aware of any of these following Mineral water Brands?

A) Bisleri B) Kinley C) Catch D) Aquafina E) All

Q 2) Are you a consumer of a Mineral water? A) Yes B) No

52

Q 3) From where did you come to know about these mineral water brands? A) TV ads B) Print media C) Internet

D) Others

Q 4) Have you seen the TV advertisement of Mineral water? A) Yes B) No

Q 5) What do you see in the ad which influence you to buy the product?

A) Price B) Quantity C) Quality

D) Brand E) Other factor

Q 6) Rank the following (1 to 5) according to the importance you give to

them while purchasing Mineral water.

A) Brand B) Price C) Quality D) Packaging

E) Quantity

Q 7) When do you consume Mineral water?

A) When you are out of station B) During the journey C) Rarely D) Daily E) Never

Q 8) Do you know the difference between mineral water and packaged drinking water?

Yes No

Q 9) Does price of a particular Mineral water brand makes you to shift to others? Yes No can’t say

Q 10) Do you prefer only one brand? Y/N If NO, why?

A) Price constraints B) Brand doesn’t matter

C) Non availability of a particular brand

D) New product launched/experiment E) Others

QUESTIONAIRE FOR SOFT DRINKS:

1) Do you drink soft Drinks - Y/N

2) If YES, which soft drink?

53

A) Carbonated B) Fruit C) Flavoured water D) Energy Drink

3) Which Soft Drink do you like the most?

A) Coca cola B) Pepsi C) Catch D)Blue

4) Do you know Catch is available in many flavours? Y/N

5) If yes what are they:-

6) Is Catch a healthy Drink? Y/N

7) Is Catch readily available in market? Y/N

8) Do you think advertising influence you to drink Catch drinks? Y/N

9) Would you visit another store if you do not find Catch drinks at your store? Y/N

10) What is your opinion of the Brand?

A) Excellent B) Good C) Fair D) Poor

Tick mark and evaluate the following

Very important

Important

Least Important

Not Important at all

Value for money

Creative Advertising

Healthiness

Good Quality

Packaging

Taste

54

Refreshing Attribute

5. Major Competitors

The categories of bottled water in India are Packaged Natural Mineral Water and Packaged Drinking Water .Bottled water industry, colloquially called, the mineral water industry, is a symbol of new life style emerging in India. The packaged drinking water in India, which is estimated at Rs.850 crores with over 200 brands floating in the market, most of which have restricted territorial distribution. This is a growing market in India as quality consciousness among the consumers is on the rise. The bottled water market is growing at a rapid rate of around 20%.At this growth rate, the Rs 7000million per year market is estimated to overtake the soft drinks market soon. Multinationals, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestle and others are trying to grab a significant share of the market. There are more than 180 brands in the unorganized sector. The small players account for nearly 19% of the total market. The per capita consumption of bottled water in India is less than half a litre per year, compared to 111 litres in France and 45 litres in the US.

Major Players with their brands include Parle Export which introduced Bisleri in India 25 years ago, Parle Agro with Bailley, Godrej Foods with its Golden Valley, Coca-Cola with Kinley, PepsiCo with Aquafina, Nestle India with Perrier, Mohan Meakins and SKN Breweries entered the market with Golden Eagle and Penguin mineral water, respectively. Nonetheless, Bisleri and Bailley, both of Parle Origin, enjoy about 50% market share and has become almost generic with the product. The premium bottled water market in India has brands like Evian, San Pelligrino, Perrier.

Bisleri, which pioneered the packaged drinking water business in India, catering to consumers need to have hygienic drinking water while on the move or even at home, is literally changing its colours and going for a makeover.

55

The brand that was till now marketed as packaged drinking water will now be available in a natural avatar. The natural water segment, which accounts for about 5% of the total bottled water segment, is expected to grow by leaps and founds as health awareness and disposable incomes rise. The bottled water industry is worth Rs. 1,000 crore in India and is growing at 40% per annum. It is projected to reach Rs. 5,000 crore by 2010. Thus any entrepreneur may go into this field, will be successful which is attracting various people into this industry thus adding to the competition.

Market share-

Bisleri (40%)

Kinley (20-25%)

Aquafina (10%)

others (20-25%)

CATCH(7%)

56

Bisleri Of Parley Leads the Market with 40% of the Market shares Bisleri’s turnover has multiplied more than 20 times over a period of 10 years and the average growth rate has been around 40% over this period. Presently the Company Has 8 plants & 11 franchisees all over India. Overwhelming popularity of 'Bisleri' & the fact that they pioneered bottled water in India, has made them synonymous to Mineral water & a household name.

Kinley Of Coca Cola International Acquires 20-25% of Market Share Followed by Aquafina of Pepsico Ltd. All the other Brands enjoy 20-25% of Market Share In which catch’s Market Share Are estimated to be about 7% only.

Target market and major Segments

TARGET MARKET

When the marketing strategy is developed, one has to determine with which customer group this would be most effective. For example, a "better value for the money" may be more appealing to the "family" consumer group while a "wider distribution" would be more attractive to consumers who travel. Remember that different market strategies may appeal to different target markets. Therefore, the collected data ahs to be applied to choose the combinations that will work best.

The market is defined by different segments. Some examples are:

Geographic: Specialize products to customers who live in certain neighbour hoods or regions, or under particular climates.

Demographic: Direct advertising to families, retired people, or to the occupation of consumers.

Psychographic: Target promotion to the opinions or attitudes of the customers (political or religious, for example).

Product benefits: marketing should be aimed to emphasize the benefits of the product or service that would appeal to consumers who buy for this reason in particular (low cost or easy access).

Previous customers: those groups of people should be identified and promoted who have purchased the product before.

The company has very different brand messages for each of their brands. This helps the customers in clearly identifying each brand from the other. When company talk of Catch, it’s clearly indicating food and beverages, and not

57

about tobacco or paan masala or for that matter paan masala containing tobacco. When it comes to Pass Pass, one’s dealing with an Indian natural herbal mouth freshener that has no supari, it’s a grandmother’s recipe. A mouth freshener is completely different from a Rajnigandha. It cannot be the same. Rajnigandha has supari while Pass Pass has no supari. So consumers should know exactly what they are consuming. It is a very clear distinction on the basis of content of the product, price points and value that one can derive. This is what we mean by brand building—holistic communication. Still one may say that water is available everywhere in India. Why should anybody buy water then? Because in India, we all are becoming health conscious and when you are bothered about your well-being, you should not look at Rs 12, you should look at Rs 25. So it is up to you whether you want to invest for that good health. Moreover, company is targeting a different audience altogether with Catch water. The company is targeting embassies; five-star hotels, resorts and clubs where it matters to be health conscious and people are ready to pay the price to be healthy. So it is a niche that the company is looking at. Catch Clear is in great demand and so is Club Soda. These brands are doing well in the niche segment we had targeted. So target market for these brands is the young and health-conscious people who are moving up with a global perspective.

Catch’s target market has basically been the upper segment. Basically the “high class society“ the elite group of people. It has created its own segment of consumers which are concerned with quality of the product rather than its price unlike the buying behavior of the Indian consumers. The company has never compromised with quality of its products and plans to provide the best quality. Catch brand has always been known for its quality products and BAIS has also approved it making “Catch” as the only mineral water industry to be able to match the American standards of quality whereas many major players like Major Players like Parle Agro with Bailley, Godrej Foods with its Golden Valley, Nestle India with Perrier, Mohan Meakins and SKN with Golden Eagle and Penguin mineral water, respectively etc have not been able to do so. During my work at the Mineral water unit of this Company I was surprised by the efforts that the company put into maintenance of its quality standards. Each bottled passed through various quality checks to be precise with the quality of their products. Thus when one is buying a product of catch he can be rest assured that he is buying Quality product as the company never compromises with the Quality.

Major segments are basically those people those who consume the products offered by the company regularly and those areas where demand is higher than the other area .Use of mineral water gradually increase in India due so shortage of pure hygienic water and also increase the knowledge of water because pathogenic micro organisms, which are main reason of stomach problem. On this reason a part of the society stored so use safe drinking water i.e. mineral water. There is increase full life, major of the working group has to take travel from one place to another place, by this time they are now

58

habituate to use mineral water. Major of the tourists are only habituated to take safe drinking waters. Packed bottled mineral water is the only main resources in our country to safe drinking water. On that base, it can be concluded that scope of mineral water will be much more increased in the future. As suggested by our market research also 42.68 %of people that consume mineral water are people living out of station thus being the major segment of consumers followed by people who travel regularly.

7. Marketing Strategy AND Market positioning

7.1 Product range

Total range of products offered by the company includes-

Catch Natural mineral water and Rohtang mineral water Catch soda (Sparkling Water and Premium black soda) Catch diet flavoured water in lemon n lime, peach , black current

and green apple flavor Catch spring soft drink in Cola, orange, lemon flavour, Classic tonic

water and Ginger Ale

And company offers their products in different bottle sizes which include:

100ml (72 packed plastic glass per pack) 200 ml (24 bottles per pack) 500 ml (12 bottles per pack) 1000 ml (12 bottles per pack) 1500 ml (9 bottles per pack) 25 Litre Jar

7.2 Pricing Strategy

In any food business, in order to be competitive, one have to be reasonably priced. No consumer will pay you for the extra fillers. All the world-class

59

packaging and quality that the company is providing is value addition to the money the consumer pays. But the consumer will not compensate for these extra efforts that you take. When company sells water, they are just not selling bottles for storing in the fridge. The company is starting a new concept in India to crush and throw used bottles and cans.

Low cost product

Catch has introduced a new mineral water product in the market named “Rohtang”. This product has been placed at low price (15 Rs) to compete with other players like Bisleri, Kinley and Aquafina etc in this segment the price of catch mineral water has also been brought down to Rs20 to be able to increase the sale of the product. As discussed earlier also is this report that catch brand is focused on providing quality product and has main focus on the elite group of the society hence it never competes on price.

7.3 Promotion strategies

The company isn’t spending a lot on promotion of the mineral water industry. Company is not that much interested to sell catch mineral water as compared to the Tobacco products which has been promoted heavily, the company has been mostly promoting “pass pass” whose commercials was seen all through the ongoing Asia cup and also during the half time breaks and pre & post match shows during the soccer world cup whereas TV commercials of catch mineral waters are rarely on air and one may say are seen once in a blue moon.

Trade promotion-

Catch gives incentives to retailers by offering them free samples and good margin by this way retailers push their products in the market and for this reason its seen most often in the market and this aids to the good sale in market because as the experts say “Jo dikhta hai who bikta hai” means product which is seen more in the market is sold more.

Other than TV commercials and trade promotion various promotion strategies of the company includes –

Sponsorships with different colleges and school cafes and sponsors their sports events and other extra curriculum activities to increase the brand awareness.

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Free samples are being given in various trade fairs in Himachal, Delhi and NCR region and banners etc are put up during various festivals etc.

Free gifts are also being given under various schemes of this group which are very popular among household women and children’s.

Buy two get one free offers Coupons Special sale prices Rebates Give-aways

7.4 Distribution Channel

Catch company makes two type of selling-

Direct selling- In direct selling the company transports their products directly to the shopkeepers by means of their own transport company owns 18 trucks for this purpose. In this type of selling the profit margins are more as no margin is to be given to the distributors.

The company mainly uses direct selling to sell its product to various hotel chains, restaurants and embassies.

Indirect selling-They have their whole sellers and agencies to cover all areas, the profit margins lessen due to this but practically it is very difficult for the company to cover the entire region on their own so the company through its whole sellers and distributors ensures that their product is widely available to the customers.

Facilitating the product by infrastructure-

For providing their product in good manner the company has provided infrastructure these includes-

Vizi coolers Freezers

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Display racks

Advertisement-

Print media Pos material TV commercials Billboards and holdings

The company has not been so much involved in selling it through TV commercials as the company is not that much interested in selling its product yet hence mostly advertising it via. Putting up big Billboards and holdings mostly during fairs and festivals.

Pos material means point of sales material this includes posters and stickers display in stores and different areas.

8. Reasons for lack of interest in mineral water industry-

The packaged drinking water industry is growing and there are huge investment opportunities in this segment. But still company is not investing that heavily in this segment and one realises somewhat layback nature of the company in this segment. The reasons behind these are companies policies and ability to foresee the future it’s sort of scenario planning. Unlike any other company the DS group has never issued IPO’s hence no external funds are available to the company one may understand the reasons for this attitude by applying the basic management concepts of product life cycle and BCG matrix

SATURATION

MATURITY

DECLINE

GROWTH

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INITIAL PHASE

Product life cycle-

The reason why the company is yet not that much interested in investing in its mineral water industry quite yet can be explained by the product life cycle concept. The company is flourishing and doing well in its tobacco industry and also in its rubber industry. Both the companies are in their maturity phase and would soon reach its saturation stage where companies profits would become stable here the companies market shares might remain stable but there would be no growth stage which would lead to reduction in profits and the company will reach its decline stage. Like death is inevitable for every living being likewise Product life cycle is also a inevitable part of every companies life. Hence as we have seen earlier in the BCG matrix the company may then sell off its tobacco or rubber business and invest in the other sectors like mineral water industry. This is all a part of companies policy and planning for the future if the company was to run for a long period.

It allows company to focus and invest properly in one sector as it’s really difficult and risky also for a company to invest heavily into all of its business. The market for mineral water industry is also developing in India as Indian consumers are becoming more rational in their approach towards are product and is also becoming more smart and educated. People are now becoming more conscious about their health hence the market for catch mineral water will only grow in the future.

8.1 Swot Analysis of the company-

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Strengths-

Brand famous for its Quality products.

Recognised by American First in India to bottle natural spring water which has been awarded NSF certification from FDA, US : a hallmark of quality and purity.

First to introduce soda processed with natural spring water

Company provides zero calorie tonic water

The only company to sell flavoured mineral water

Mineral water has a natural sweetener and has zero calories

Weakness-

Losses due to transport expenses. Less market for mineral water industry at the operating area i.e.

Himachal Pradesh Company not that much interested in selling the product yet. Un-experienced management and unskilled labour Unavailability of other raw materials other than “water” Company brand not known to people yet in mineral water industry

(unlike catch masala and Pass- pass) Not much efforts put into advertisement There is no classification called natural spring water; so, everybody

calls it mineral water.

Opportunities-

Huge opportunities in Mineral water industry. Lesser competition or say lesser or nil Cut throat competition Company is still new therefore huge growth opportunities Very less company sell mineral water hence huge growth opportunities

for company in this segment. Railway, as according to a estimate railways ordered 15,000 cases (of

12 bottles each) a day in 2012

Threats-

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Tata is an emerging threat in packaged mineral water industry with its purchase of “Himalaya” mineral water plant.

Bisleri enjoys the highest market share and is planning to increase it by introducing flavoured mineral water.

Aggressive selling by Coke and Pepsi Many companies have realised the market potential and are entering

into this business Local companies are posing a huge threat as they are selling their

product at prices lesser than the market price Govt policies and change in taxation and other policies

8.2 BCG Matrix for the company

Stars

Rajnigandha Tulsi Pass pass Catch soda

Question marks

Catch mineral water Catch cola Catch orange Catch lemon

Cash Cows

Catch masala Classic tonic water Catch diet flavoured water

(lemon n lime, Peach, Black Currant, Green Apple)

Dogs

Catch spring ginger Ale

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8. PEST ANALYSIS OF CATCH BEVERAGES

There are four variables, which we will discuss in our report, they are:

POLITICAL VARIABLES

Political variables Strongly Effected ()

Some what

Effected ()

No Effect

( )

Some what

Uneffected ()

Strongly Unaffected ( )

Effects of government regulations & deregulations

Yes

Effect of environmental protection laws if any

Yes

Import and export regulations

NE

Effect of changing

political conditions

NE

Conclusion Of Political Analysis:

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As far as the above table is concerned it could be seen that there are very little chances of “political variables” to effect the catch’s production and selling behavior.

In “political variables” most of the things are related to Governmental activities. So, they don’t leave any good or bad impact in the Industry of catch.

And there are some exceptional things like: “environmental protection laws” they some what effect the industry of Catch. From last four-five years Government has become conscious about the environment. But after making the adjustments in plants and applying the proper waste management system the chances of being affected by the “protection laws” are going to be diminished.

So “political conditions” over all leave neutral effects on catch’s industry.

ECONOMICAL VARIABLES

Economical Variables Strongly Effected

Some what

Effected

No Effect

Some what

Effected

Strongly Effected

Do soaring interest rates make business task any harder

YES

Any effect due to inflation

NE

Conclusion of Economical Analysis :As observed “economical variables” highly affects the Catch’s resolution. Economic factors are those factors which effect the production of any industry. Inflation rate is also not a strong variable for affecting any country’s production point of view. Inflation may increase cost of production but in case of FMCG products it does not effect that much as it’s a essential product if one is thirsty he has to consume water and has no alternate choice.

SOCIAL VARIABLES

Social variables Strongly Some what No Some what Strongly

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Effected

Effected

Effect

Effected

Effected

Effects of advertisement of Catch on Public popularity

YES

Does Catch’s contribution affect charity organizations

YES

Has rising consciousness of natural resources in people effected your “save environment activities.

YES

CONCLUSION OF SOCIAL ANALYSIS

DS Group constantly nurtures its responsibility as a committed corporate citizen, by regarding Corporate Social Responsibility as an integral part of its Business Objectives.

The Company has been working in Assam and Tripura, on a wide range of CSR programmers ranging from education to health and making tribal and ethnic communities self reliant. Under the CSR initiatives the group is renovating local schools, setting up a State level College and developing heritage properties and construction of an eco lodge to be owned and run by the tribal community.

While DS Group pursues leadership in its business spheres; it simultaneously endeavors to promote common welfare through multidimensional activities to work towards an all round development of the society

In its constant effort towards building trust among its audience, the Group works strongly on the principles of integrity, dedication, resourcefulness and commitment. A wide array of skills and substantial depth of experience has not only led the Group to maintain its leadership in its traditional businesses but has also resulted in gradually gaining market in its relatively nascent forays.

TECHNOLOGICAL VARIABLES

Technological variables

Strongly Effected

Some what

Effected

No Effect

Some what

Effected

Strongly Effected

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Have business innovations effectively promoted your business

YES

Has the government’s regulations ever hindered in importing technical equipment

YES

Does catch help in promoting paperless environment

YES

Conclusion Of Technological Analysis

Of course business innovation leaves highly good impacts in the business of Catch. As catch use more advance technology in its production process. It will resulted in increment of their production through out the country.

As far as the “governmental hindrances” are concerned the impacts highly bad on catch’s production. Ever year when budget in announced government taxes rates always shoot up. This approach of government decreases the profit margin of Catch.

As the catch helping in promoting “paperless environment” .it impacts good, because computers are the basic need of any person now a days. And though it’s a big industry so it is promoting the trend of paperless environment. And it is giving way to other industries to come to new technologies and into a new world of business. Through computers catch can increase the efficiency of its business and can have up –to-date data about their productions.

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9. Conclusion

Catch company has never wanted to target masses. Catch spring water is the only natural spring water available in the market (other than himalya) and . The production takes place in Manali, which raises the logistics cost. We are looking for more resources. Catch is not bothered about the market share as Catch doesn’t perceive other mineral water players in the market as its competitors. Most people do not understand the difference between spring water and mineral water. The issue Catch is facing in the segment is that even the government does not acknowledge spring water as a separate category. This is why Catch is not permitted to write the words ‘spring water’ on the bottles. But Company is happy with the response it has got so far. The demand for Catch spring water comes from people who value the product and these constitute mainly institutional sales from hotels and high commissions.

The company has world-class packaging units and has adopted world class technology from Canpac International AG, Switzerland, this increases the shelf life. Thus world-class technology is the key to enter the food and beverages. In coming years the demand of packaged drinking water will be increased very rapidly, so there is a huge scope for company to prosper in coming years.

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10. Appendices

Economics and the law

The majority of the bottling plants - whether they produce bottled water or soft drinks - are dependent on groundwater. They create huge water stress in the areas where they operate because groundwater is also the main source - in most places the only source - of drinking water in India. This has created huge conflict between the community and the bottling plants.

Private companies in India can siphon out, exhaust and export groundwater free because the groundwater law in the country is archaic and not in tune with the realities of modern capitalist societies.

The existing law says that "the person who owns the land owns the groundwater beneath". This means that, theoretically, a person can buy one square metre of land and take all the groundwater of the surrounding areas and the law of land cannot object to it. This law is the core of the conflict between the community and the companies and the major reason for making the business of bottled water in the country highly lucrative.

Take for instance the case of Coca-Cola's bottling plant in drought-prone Kala Dera near Jaipur. Coca-Cola gets its water free except for a tiny cess (for discharging the wastewater) it pays to the State Pollution Control Board - a little over Rs.5,000 a year during 2000-02 and Rs.24,246 in 2003. It extracts half a million litres of water every day - at a cost of 14 paise per 1,000 litres. So, a Rs.10 per litre Kinley water has a raw material cost of just 0.02-0.03 paise. (It takes about two to three litres of groundwater to make one litre of bottled water.)

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However, water is not that cheap in the United States, home to Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The average cost of industrial water in the U.S. was Rs.21 per 1,000 litres in the late 1990s. It was Rs.90/1,000 litres in the United Kingdom and Rs.76/1,000 litres in Canada.

Treatment and purification accounts for the next major cost. Even with the state-of-the-art treatment system with reverse osmosis and membranes, the cost of treatment is a maximum of 25 paise a litre (Rs.0.25/litre). Therefore, the cost of producing 1 litre of packaged drinking water in India, without including the labour cost, is just Rs.0.25. In a nutshell, in manufacturing bottled water, the major costs are not in the production of treated and purified water but in the packaging and marketing of it.

The cost of a bottle, along with the cap and the carton, is the single biggest cost - between Rs.2.50 and Rs.3.75 for a one-litre bottle. For water sold in big plastic jars (20-50 litres), which are also reused, or in pouches, this cost is much lower. It is precisely owing to this that companies sell water at even Re.1 a litre in a 20-50 litre jar and still make profits. Labour and establishment and marketing costs are highly variable and depend on the location and size of companies. Informal discussions with industry members reveal that the gross profit of this industry can be as much as between 25 and 50 per cent.

Huge real costs

The reason that companies do not have to bear the cost of the main raw material - water - has made this industry highly profitable. But the real cost of the industry is huge.

The cost of fast-depleting groundwater is incalculable and so is the cost of disposal of plastic bottles and pouches. These are hidden costs that society and the environment pay and will pay in the future. The sale of bottled water is therefore not environmentally sound by any stretch of the imagination.

There are much cleaner ways to access clean and healthy water and for this we will have to rethink our water paradigm.

Groundwater is the cleanest and cheapest source for all, but we have over-extracted and polluted it with natural contaminants, agro-chemicals and industrial waste. We will have to recharge and revive our groundwater bodies and for this the existing archaic law must change.

Our surface water bodies are in a deplorable condition. We dump our sewage and industrial waste in rivers and ponds, try to clean them in massive centralised treatment plants and then supply the water to urban households - to be discharged again as wastewater into the same water body. This vicious cycle must be cut and stopped. The cost of dirty water is just too great for society to bear. Bottled water and domestic treatment systems are a cheap as well as fill-and-forget solution for 30 per cent of the population, but in doing

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so we have not left any solution for the 70 per cent of the poor and the marginalised.

Kala Dera Aater Contoversy

Kala Dera, in Rajasthan, was declared a drought area by the Indian Government in September, following this year’s failed monsoons. But the situation has been worsened by Coca-Cola’s operations in the region. Their controversial bottling plant draws on the same groundwater sources as those used by the local community and farmers, with recent data revealing that groundwater levels plummeted by 5.83 meters in just one year between May 2007 and May 2008 – a huge drop never before witnessed in Kala Dera. Coca-Cola’s use of the groundwater reaches its peak in the summer months, exactly when water shortages in the community are at their worst.

‘The Coca-Cola Company is denying our fundamental human right to water by continuing to extract groundwater from a rapidly falling aquifer. Every drop of water that Coca-Cola extracts is water taken away from the children, women and men who are unable to meet their basic water needs, leave alone the farmers who are seeing their crops fail,’ explains Mahesh Yogi of the Kala Dera Sangharsh Samiti, a local community group that has been opposing the plant since 2002. ‘Coca-Cola has contributed significantly to the falling water tables and they must shut down and leave Kala Dera.’

Last year a Coca-Cola-funded study confirmed the concerns being raised by the community, showing that the company was a significant contributor to the water crisis. But Coke has refused to follow the study’s recommendations: to relocate the plant or bring in water from outside the area to meet its needs.

Cost Of Producing One Bottle Of Mineral water

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11. BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.DSgroup.com www.ask.com www.google.com The Financial Express www.YahooFinance.com

Companies Old records And Files

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http://www.google.com/

http://www.ask.com/

http://www.DSgroup.com/

Data & Analytics

Project on catch