Manikchand plans 12 bottled water plants

Eyeing a greater share in the Rs 1,800-crore bottled water market, the Manikchand Group, maker of packaged drinking water Oxyrich, plans to set up about 12 new bottling facilities across India in the next 2-3 years, entailing an investment of about Rs 70 crore.

The company, which launched the brand Taral in South India about 6 months ago, is also planning to introduce it in the north as a part of its strategy to increase market share to 15%.

"The company enjoys 10-12% market share of the current packaged water industry in the country. Once our three new plants at Mumbai, Lucknow and Ahmedabad go onstream in two months, we expect our share to grow up to 15%," Balajith Shetty, project head (Oxyrich), Manikchand told PTI.

Shetty said while the first brand Oxyrich would continue to be in the premium category, Taral was targeted at the non-oxygenated water segment at the lower range, tagged at Rs 12 per litre to compete with other companies.

"Currently, Taral contributes about 30% to total sales," he said, adding it was doing well in south and west India, and once the new plants come up, it would be co-produced with Oxyrich to cover the entire country.

Asked about the planned investments, he declined to give an exact figure but said, "depending on the capacity, investment in one plant can vary from Rs 3-6 crore."

He said the company was also planning a new unit in Jaipur, which would take another one year and the target was to build a total of 12 new plants of varying capacities by 2010, including places like Kolkata and Kerala.