But over the last ten years, it has witnessed tremendous growth. The change is very much evident. Once a product found mainly at railways stations, mineral water today occupies a place on the shelf in most superstores, grocers and even paanwalas. From a mere 60 towns in the year 1997, it is predicted that mineral water is today available in more than 1000 towns and cities across India. With a compounded annual growth rate of close to 30% over the last decade, the mineral water market has witnessed a large growth in terms of volumes.

The market is highly competitive with the entry of MNC’s like Pepsico and Coke. There are a lot of brands available in the market, each with its own proclaimed differentiation.

Lastly, setting up a bottled water plant is quite simple a job. There are hardly any major costs associated.

In case of lower-middle segment of consumers where purity is not really a major issue compared to the price, the local players therefore tend to dominate. An example is Mumbai, where there are 17 local and 50 regional players in the market.

In spite of the presence of so many players the market is highly consolidated. The single largest share in the mineral water market belongs to an non-Indian brand – Coke’s Kinely brand has approximately a 35 percent share – Parle’s Bisleri is breathing down its neck.

Some topics in this essay:
Pepsico Coca-cola, Coca-Cola PepsiCo, Analysis Indian, India Introduction, Malik PP, Distribution Networks, Kinley Aquafina, Asia Pacific, Comparatively Indian, Coke's Kinley, bottled water, mineral water, water market, local players, market india, mineral water market, bottled water market, unorganized sector, packaged drinking water, barriers entry, national front, natural mineral water, capita consumption, distribution network, packaged natural mineral,