Swiss major Nestle has introduced its 'sparkling natural mineral water'--'Sanpellegrino' in the Indian market. This comes close to the heels of the launch of its mineral water--'Perrier' in the domestic market.
The newly launched product will target only the institutional segment in India, contrary to its strategy in Europe and the US, where Sanpellegrino is available in the retail market.
"To start with, we will be concentrating only on the institutional segment--hotels and restaurants--where our high-end customers are present," Sanjay Sehgal, vice-president-marketing said at the launch of Sanpellegrino. So Sanpellegrino will not fight with the likes of mineral waters like Bisleri, Acqua Fina, Kinley etc.
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Sanpellegrino--the 'table water for fine dining', is priced upwards, at Rs 62 for 500 ml and Rs 82 for 1 litre bottles, Sehgal said. The product has its source in the springs of the Italian Alps and will be imported into India.
Nestle does not plan to spend aggressively on brand building and marketing of Sanpellegrino in the country, because it is targeting a very niche segment of the society. The product has a good market in the hospitality industry and so our focus will be more on institutional sales, Sehgal said.
He, however, said that retail market would not be ruled out and that Nestle would look at the retail segment of the market soon. In Australia, Sanpellegrino targeted the institutional segment for three years, and finally entered the retail market when customers began demanding it.
Sanpellegrino is present in 90 countries worldwide and sells over 55 million gallons a year. Some of its celebrity consumers include Tom Cruise, Madonna, Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Woody Allen, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman and former German Chancellor--Helmut Kohl.
Perrier, 'naturally carbonated mineral water' , has its source in France and was launched in the Indian market in June this year. It is targeted at both the institutional and retail segments in India.