A water brand makes it big
From hotels and restaurants to retail penetration
Interview with Mr Nayan Shah, Chief Managing Director at Energy Beverages Pvt. Ltd.
And this does not include the countless unauthorised bottlers which the report also mentions. Such an enormous diversification finds thirsty consumers both regionally and locally. In the 2021 fiscal year, the value of the bottled water market is said to have been over US$ 2.4 billion, with future growth estimated at over 13%. PETplanet has been familiar with the Indian water and beverage market almost from the company’s inception and encountering genuine players in the water market has always been an easy task. The ubiquitous presence of Aquafina (Pepsico), Bailley (Parle-Agro), Bisleri or Kinley (Coca-Cola) – we have interviewed all the country’s major brands over the years – is testament to well-established brand imaging.
Ordering “Bisleri” in a restaurant, for example, is usually generally synonymous with a bottle of water. However, we are not talking here about the previously mentioned brands but of one whose market strategy up until 2020 was based exclusively on the hotel and catering business. With more than a decade experience in the beverage industry Clear fills an estimated half a billion bottles each year, namely Energy Beverages Pvt. Ltd., with its “Clear Premium Water” brand from the state of Gujarat with a presence in over 18 states with more to follow. We have come across this water time and again on the Indian market, mostly as PET ultra-lightweight bottles on domestic flights or in hotels. It was time to take a closer look at this up-and-coming business.
From energy drinks to water
The under-supplied sub-continent of the 2000s in terms of energy drinks could do with a new product, thought Nayan Shah, the current Chief Managing Director of Energy Beverages who has a degree in Strategy and Business Management from the University of Technology in Sydney. In 2005, he decided to establish the company with the aim of creating “refreshing, revitalising and rejuvenating” drinks, as he himself puts it. The result was the “Current” energy drink which saw the business rise and fall in equal measure in the years that followed until 2009. While business with the rather high-priced lifestyle product was healthy in the beginning, demand stagnated after 2007 which ultimately forced a rethink of the company’s strategy. Drawing on his previous years’ experience, an idea took shape with Mr Shah deciding on a way into the growing bottled water market. So, in 2010, the Clear Premium Water brand was born.
Many things different while some are new
As was mentioned at the beginning, we had already come across these bottles on a number of occasions on planes and in hotels, most notably the company’s best-selling standard, single-serve 200 ml version, weighing 6.5 g and 500 ml version weighing 9.5 g which is lowest in the country, according to the company. What is immediately noticeable here is the bottle design which has a square shape instead of the usual round format. Just for its appearance and haptic value alone, the product stands out and stays in the memory, “Our first major customer following the launch of Clear was the Grand Bhagwati nationwide hotel chain with its main office in Ahmedabad”, said Mr Shah.
Other chains, including internationally-known ones such as Marriott, Holiday Inn, Ritz-Carlton, Crowne Plaza and Hilton were added over time, together with airlines including Air India, Jet Airways and Spice Jet. The brand recognition and its association have become part of Energy Beverages’ marketing and strategy, at least since the water became available in ordinary shops and supermarkets in 2020.
“We were the first bottlers to have both a square bottle design and a vertical logo on the container. We also have a customised labelling machine for vertical printing which can also be used to add co-branding on the label. This can be the logo of a hotel chain, for example”, Mr Shah explained. “With the Covid pandemic and the consequent downturn in the hotel, restaurant and airline sectors, we decided to take the risk of moving into the retail sector. The demand for packaged water rose dramatically almost overnight and we are continuing to take advantage of this. Our second offering is our eco-friendlier bottles Clearth which was born with the need of sustainable packaging which has 40% less plastic leaving less carbon footprint, also called our earth edition clear water made of PET.
Processing and bottling
The company has two plants in Gujarat – the original facility in Ahmedabad and a second one in Surat, north-west of Nashik since 2009. Capacity is said to be over 270 million bottles per year. Still water that comes in 0.2 l, 0.5 l, 1-litre, and 2-litre bottles is produced over a work area of 14,000 m2. Around three billion litres of water are processed annually, drawn from the River Tapi in Surat and from a well borehole in Ahmedabad. In addition, 20 other locations throughout India bottle Clear Premium Water under licence, with Energy Beverages producing almost half a billion bottles each year.
“We make some of the preforms and caps ourselves”, said Mr Shah. “We are currently using two preform machines supplied by Chinese manufacturer Unique (U-PET23OE-2000. OP90/90 EE80) with 48 cavities. We make two types of preforms ourselves, both with a 26/22 neck that weighs 6.5 g and 9.5 g. We also use 28 mm preforms weighing 8.4 g,13 g and 21 g. Furthermore we have a Jeepine compression moulding cap machine with 24,000 caps per hour each along with Tech-Long DSL-60X20 Combi blocks with 32,400 bottles per hour. Additionally we buy caps that are produced on Sacmi equipment. The Combi blocks take care of bottle blowing, filling, capping, labelling and all the peripherals.
We also use ABB transport robots. We have around 50% share in PET bottles and depending on what further changes are made to legislation governing the use of rPET in beverage and food packaging in India – such work has already been approved here for the first time after years of effort on the part of manufacturers – Energy Beverages is also planning to use recycled material in its bottles.”
Sustainable expansion
The business plan is geared to growth. Over the next five years, the company plans to acquire two more co-packers each month and purchase another bottling plant every year. Dedicated preforming and capping facilities are also to be added in Gujarat. “On the one hand, our approach is always to be goal-oriented and to produce unique products using state-of-the-art equipment that meets all international standards”, said Mr Shah. “On the other, we also want to focus our efforts increasingly on sustainability with our Clearth packaging strategy. I believe the combination of our product made and distributed with heart and soul by a committed team and our willingness to explore sustainable ideas already sets us apart from many other manufacturers. We want to continue to be close to the heart of the market and respond to consumer needs and trends as necessary”.
