Group G2 - Analysis- Sources Drinking Water

Marketing assignment: Percent Distribution of Households on sources of drinking water

Group Name – G2:7 Group Members 1. Abhishek Kekre 2. Lalima Dutta Choudhury 3. Tanya Dutta 4. Gulab Nebhani 5. Bharath Kumar B

Plan: Effectively harvesting rainwater (current contribution to drinking water - 0.1%) and setting up self sufficient water plants using extremely cost-effective techniques to serve household requirements and establish presence in the market. Enter bottled water industry (current contribution to drinking water - 0.3%) which has grown exponentially over the past few years. Harvesting rainwater: Methods: Simple systems which collect roof runoff for household can be employed. An innovative method, Asbestos roofed structures can be utilized to collect rainwater through a gutter and stored in a commercially available tank. The tank is provided at the bottom a tap to be connected to a filtering unit. Initially the rainwater can be passed through a 'sand filter' so that the visible impurities are removed. Also bigger water collectors and cisterns can be implemented to serve needs of a locality. Advantages: Quality – naturally soft Sustainable and reliable source Flexibility of harvesting Less vulnerable to pollution and little treatment before use Relief of strain on other water supply Ability to build or farm in areas with no other water supply Increased independence and water security Lower water supply cost Reduced flood flows Reduced topsoil loss Feasibility: The cost of implementing and maintaining these models is low. It is a one time small investment which would provide returns every following year. It can be adopted by individual households or even by localities. Thus, the self-sufficient model can be appealing and encouraging to adopt. The environment benefits associated with the harvesting of rain water can be effectively projected.

Bottled Water

With increasing health awareness and the demand trend in the graph above, it is safe to infer that the bottled industry in India is a growing rapidly with immense potential to for further growth. A company that has already established itself in rain water harvesting (as suggested in Plan 1) can leverage their brand name in gaining some ground as the industry already has over 200 local and domestic players. Average cost of 1 packaged water bottle (excluding labor, marketing and tax): Rs. 2.85 to 4.25 Selling Price: Rs. 10 to 12 Thus, the margin is clearly high, which offers a chance for price discrimination and in turn an opportunity to enter urban as well as semi-urban and even prosperous rural areas to an extent. There also lies an opportunity to capture the young urban market with innovative bottled water products viz. vitamin water, flavored water, sparkling water etc. Thus, from the data for composition of sources of drinking water- rain water and bottled water provide opportunities that can be capitalized.