 "Bisleri")
Packaged drinking water company Bisleri International is scaling up its manufacturing and strategic distribution network for easier and cost-effective placement of products and market gains, its Vice-Chairperson Jayanti Khan Chauhan said on Thursday.
The company, currently, has 128 manufacturing plants and is looking to increase it to 150. The expansion would be through plants owned by Chauhan promoted company and its co-packers, which are exclusive to Bisleri.
Bisleri is also expanding its offerings into CSD (carbonated soft drinks), premiumise through the brand Vedica Himalayan Spring Water, besides its mainstay of packaged drinking water business with an innovative approach.
When asked about the outlook, Chauhan told PTI: "We are definitely going to increase our distribution, scale up on distribution and manufacturing for CSD for Bisleri. This strategic placement of manufacturing units and distribution networks will make it easier and cost-effective for us to get our products to the markets".
Expanding its play in the premium category, Bisleri International on Thursday extended its brand Vedica into the sparkling water segment.
The company aims to be a leading player in this segment, which is "very niche at the moment but growing rapidly," said Chauhan.
Vedica currently contributes around 5 per cent of Bisleri International and expects this to be a Rs 100 crore brand in the next 2-3 years.
The company is growing with a CAGR of 17 per cent in the last four years despite disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As per data available at the Registrar of Companies, under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Bisleri International had a revenue of around Rs 2,300 crore for FY 2022-23.
When asked about the performance of Bisleri International in the current fiscal, Chauhan said, "This year has been good and we are growing close to a CAGR of 17 per cent".
The company has had a very good recovery after having a blip in sales from out-of-home channels, a category which is a major contributor for all beverage makers.
Over expansion of the product portfolio, Chauhan said "We definitely will expand".
The bottled water is still dominated by unorganised players, said Bisleri International CEO Angelo George. However, the ratio of branded players is increasing.
"Now, possibly in the last couple of years, the organised market among the top four or five players has become about 45 per cent of the market," he said, adding that our objective is to become really dominant in the organised sector by improving market share further.
In the organised market, Bisleri commands more than 50 per cent of the branded bottled water, George added.
Bisleri competes with Coca-Cola Co's Kinley and PepsiCo Inc's Aquafina in the packaged water segment.
Earlier, there were reports that promoters were selling their stake in Brand Bisleri to Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL). However, later Tata Group's FMCG arm said it had ceased negotiation with Bisleri about a potential transaction.
TCPL is already present in the bottled water segment with its brand Himalayan.
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