The bottled water market consists of many different types of water. Varieties of plain water include spring, purified, mineral, and distilled. Although these different types of water are sold as consumer products, they also serve as the core ingredient for the various types of functional waters. The flexibility of bottled water as a category seems to be endless.

Although some consumers may not perceive much of a difference between brands, others are drawn to specific product features and benefits provided by different brands. For example, some consumers may perceive spring water as healthier than other types of water. Some may look for water that is optimized for hydration. Others seek additional nutritional benefits claimed by bottlers that enhance their brands with vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other additives. Still other consumers make selections based on flavor. The industry as a whole has positioned bottled water of all kinds as a low-calorie, healthy alternative to soft drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, and other types of beverages.

Bottled water brands also distinguish themselves by size and type of container, multipacks, and refrigeration at point of sale. Chill Beverage’s market for NutriWater consists of consumers of single-serving-sized bottled beverages who are looking for a healthy yet flavorful alternative. Healthy in this context means both low-calorie and enhanced nutritional content. This market includes traditional soft drink consumers who want to improve their health as well as non–soft drink consumers who want an option other than plain bottled water. Specific segments that Chill Beverage will target during the first year include athletes, the health conscious, the socially responsible, and millennials who favor independent corporations. The Chill Soda brand has established a strong base of loyal customers, primarily among millennials. This generational segment is becoming a prime target as it matures and seeks alternatives to full-calorie soft drinks. Table A1.1 shows how NutriWater addresses the needs of targeted consumer segments.

Chill Beverage’s new line of NutriWater vitamin-enhanced water offers the following features:

• Six new-age flavors: peach mango, berry pomegranate, kiwi dragonfruit, mandarin orange, blueberry grape, and Key lime.

• Single-serving size, 20-ounce, PET-recyclable bottles.

• Formulated for wellness, replenishment, and optimum energy.

• Full recommended daily allowance (RDA) of essential vitamins and minerals (including electrolytes).

• Higher vitamin concentration—vitamin levels are 2 to 10 times higher than market-leading products, with more vitamins and minerals than any other brand.

• Additional vitamins—vitamins include A, E, and B₂ as well as folic acid—none of which are contained in the market-leading products.

• All natural—no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives.

• Sweetened with pure cane sugar and Stevia, a natural zero-calorie sweetener.

• Twenty-five cents from each purchase will be donated to Vitamin Angels, a nonprofit organization with a mission to prevent vitamin deficiency in at-risk children.

As sales of bottled waters entered a strong growth phase in the 1990s, the category began to expand. In addition to the various types of plain water, new categories emerged. These included flavored waters—such as Aquafina’s Flavorsplash—as well as functional waters. Functional waters emerged to bridge the gap between soft drinks and waters, appealing to people who knew they should drink more water and less soft drinks but still wanted flavor. Initially, development of brands for this product variation occurred in start-up and boutique beverage companies like SoBe and Glacéau, creator of Vitaminwater. In the 2000s, major beverage corporations acquired the most successful smaller brands, providing the bigger firms with a solid market position in this category and diversification in bottled waters in general. Backed by the marketing expertise and budgets of the leading beverage companies, functional water grew at a rate exceeding that of plain water.

At one point, Coca-Cola’s Vitaminwater was the fourth-largest bottled water brand, behind Nestlé Pure Life, Coca-Cola’s Dasani, and Pepsi’s Aquafina. After taking a hit in the press for the low amount of vitamins and high amount of sugar contained in most brands of vitamin-enhanced waters, sales for vitamin water brands temporarily slipped. But Coca-Cola lost no ground as sales for Smartwater—Vitaminwater’s non-flavored sibling—rose to the fourth largest brand. Currently, functional water sales account for approximately 20 percent of the total bottled water market, and industry insiders expect sales to outpace nonfunctional waters in the coming years.

The fragmentation of this category, combined with domination by the market leaders, has created a severely competitive environment. Although there is indirect competition posed by all types of bottled waters and even other types of beverages (soft drinks, energy drinks, juices, teas, and flavor drops), this competitive analysis focuses on direct competition from leading functional water brands. Functional water brands are either sweetened and flavored, just flavored, or neither sweetened nor flavored. Sweetened varieties blend traditional sugars with zero-calorie sweeteners. The types of sweeteners used create a point of differentiation. The result is a range of sugar content, carbohydrates, and calories as high as half that of regular soft drinks and other sweetened beverages and as low as zero.

Pricing for this product is consistent across brands and varies by type of retail outlet, with convenience stores typically charging more than grocery stores. The price for a 20-ounce bottle ranges from $1.00 to $1.89, with some niche brands costing slightly more. While Smartwater is the leading functional water brand, it is a plain still water enhanced with electrolytes. Chill Beverage’s NutriWater will focus on competition posed by flavored and enhanced water brands, include the following:

• Vitaminwater: Created in 2000 as a new product for Energy Brands’ Glacéau, which was also the developer of Smartwater (distilled water with electrolytes). Coca-Cola purchased Energy Brands for $4.1 billion in 2007. Vitaminwater is sold in regular and zero-calorie versions. With 18 bottled varieties—9 regular and 9 zero-calorie—as well as availability in fountain form and drops, Vitaminwater offers more options than any brand on the market. Whereas Vitaminwater varieties are distinguished by flavor, they are named to invoke perceptions of benefits such as Refresh, Power-C, Focus, and Revive. The brand’s current slogan is “Hydrate the Hustle.” Vitaminwater is vapor distilled, de-ionized, and/or filtered and is sweetened with crystalline fructose (corn syrup) and cane sugar or erythritol and stevia. Vitaminwater exceeds $700 million in annual sales and commands 34 percent of the functional water market.

• Propel: Gatorade created Propel in 2000, just one year prior to PepsiCo’s purchase of this leading sports drink marketer. Marketed as “The Workout Water,” Propel was originally available in regular and zero-calorie varieties. However, it is now available only as a zero-calorie beverage. Propel comes in 10 varieties, each containing the same blend of B ­vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, antioxidants, and electrolytes. It is sweetened with sucralose. Propel is available in a wide variety of sizes, with 16.9-, 20-, and 24-ounce PET bottles and multipacks. Propel is also marketed in powder form and as a liquid enhancer to be added to bottled water. With $183 million in revenues, Propel is the number-three functional water brand with approximately 9 percent of the functional water market.

• SoBe Lifewater: PepsiCo bought SoBe in 2000. SoBe introduced Lifewater in 2008 with a hit Super Bowl ad as an answer to Coca-Cola’s Vitaminwater. The Lifewater line includes six zero-calorie varieties. Each variety is infused with a formulation of vitamins, minerals, and herbs designed to provide a claimed benefit. Sweetened with Stevia-based PureVia, Lifewater makes the claim to be “all natural.” It contains no artificial flavors or colors. Lifewater is sold in 20-ounce PET bottles and multipacks. With $144 million in annual revenues, Lifewater is the fourth-largest functional water brand with a 7 percent share.

• Niche brands: The market for functional waters includes companies that market their wares on a small scale through independent retailers: Assure, Ex Aqua Vitamins, Ayala Herbal Water, and Skinny Water. Some brands feature exotic additives and/or artistic glass bottles.

Despite the strong competition, NutriWater believes it can create a relevant brand image and gain recognition among the targeted segments. The brand offers strong points of differentiation with higher and unique vitamin content, all-natural ingredients, and support for a relevant social cause. With other strategic assets, Chill Beverage is confident that it can establish a competitive advantage that will allow NutriWater to grow in the market. Table A1.2 shows a sample of competing products.

With the three main brands now owned by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, there is a huge hole in the independent distributor system. NutriWater will be distributed through an independent distributor to a network of retailers in the United States. This strategy will avoid some of the head-on competition for shelf space with the Coca-Cola and PepsiCo brands and will also directly target likely NutriWater customers. As with the rollout of the core Chill Soda brand, this strategy will focus on placing coolers in retail locations that will exclusively hold NutriWater. These retailers include:

• Grocery chains: Regional grocery chains such as HyVee in the Midwest, Wegman’s in the East, and WinCo in the West.

• Health and natural food stores: Chains such as Whole Foods as well as local health food co-ops.

• Fitness centers: National fitness center chains such as 24 Hour Fitness, Gold’s Gym, and other regional chains.

As the brand gains acceptance, channels will expand into larger grocery chains, convenience stores, and unique locations relevant to the target customer segment.

NutriWater can rely on the following important strengths:

1. Superior quality: NutriWater boasts the highest levels of added vitamins of any enhanced water, including full RDA levels of many vitamins. It is all natural with no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. It is sweetened with both pure cane sugar and the natural zero-calorie sweetener Stevia.

2. Expertise in alternative beverage marketing: The Chill Soda brand went from nothing to a successful and rapidly growing soft drink brand with fiercely loyal customers in a matter of only one decade. This success was achieved by starting small and focusing on gaps in the marketplace.

3. Social responsibility: Every customer will have the added benefit of helping malnourished children throughout the world. Although the price of NutriWater is in line with other competitors, low promotional costs allow for the substantial charitable donation of 25 cents per bottle while maintaining profitability.

4. Antiestablishment image: The big brands have decent products and strong distribution relationships. But they also carry the image of the large, corporate establishments. Chill Beverage has achieved success with an underdog image while remaining privately held. Vitaminwater, Propel, and SoBe were built on this same image but are now owned by major multinational corporations.

1. Lack of brand awareness: As an entirely new brand, NutriWater will enter the market with limited or no brand awareness. The affiliation with Chill Soda will be kept at a minimum in order to prevent associations between NutriWater and soft drinks. This issue will be addressed through promotion and distribution strategies.

2. Limited budget: As a smaller company, Chill Beverage has much smaller funds available for promotional and research activities.

1. Market growth: Functional water as a category is growing at a rate of about 12 percent annually. Of the top six beverage categories, soft drinks, beer, milk, and fruit drinks experienced declines. The growth for coffee was less than 1 percent.

2. Gap in the distribution network: The market leaders distribute directly to retailers. This gives them an advantage in large national chains. However, no major enhanced water brands are currently being sold through independent distributors.

3. Health trends: Weight and nutrition continue to be issues for consumers in the United States. The country has the highest obesity rate for developed countries at 34 percent, with well over 60 percent of the population officially “overweight.” Those numbers continue to rise. Additionally, Americans get 21 percent of their daily calories from beverages, a number that has tripled in the past three decades. Consumers still desire flavored beverages but look for lower-calorie alternatives.

4. Antiestablishment image. Millennials (born between 1977 and 2000) maintain a higher aversion to mass marketing messages and global corporations than do Gen Xers and baby boomers.

1. Limited shelf space: Whereas competition is generally a threat for any type of product, competition in retail beverages is particularly high because of limited retail space. Carrying a new beverage product requires retailers to reduce shelf or cooler space already occupied by other brands.

2. Image of enhanced waters: The image of enhanced waters took a hit as Coca-Cola recently fought a class-action lawsuit accusing it of violating FDA regulations by promoting the health benefits of Vitaminwater. The lawsuit exposed the number-one functional water brand as basically sugar water with minimal nutritional value. Each of the major brands is strengthening its zero-calorie lines. They no longer promote health benefits on the labels. While this is potentially a threat, it is also an opportunity for Chill to exploit.

3. Environmental issues: Environmental groups continue to educate the public on the environmental costs of bottled water, including landfill waste, carbon emissions from production and transportation, and harmful effects of chemicals in plastics.

During the initial year on the market, Chill Beverage aims for NutriWater to achieve a 2 percent share of the functional water market, or approximately $50 million in sales, with break-even achieved in the final quarter of the year. With an average retail price of $1.89, that equates with a sales goal of 26,455,026 bottles.

During the second year, Chill Beverage will unveil additional NutriWater flavors, including zero-calorie varieties. The second-year objective is to double sales from the first year, to $100 million.

In launching this new brand, the main issue is the ability to establish brand awareness and a meaningful brand image based on positioning that is relevant to target customer segments. Chill Beverage will invest in nontraditional means of promotion to accomplish these goals and to spark word of mouth. Establishing distributor and retailer relationships will also be critical in order to make the product available and provide point-of-purchase communications. Brand awareness and knowledge will be measured in order to adjust marketing efforts as necessary.

NutriWater will be positioned on an “Expect more” value proposition. This will allow for differentiating the brand based on product features (expect more vitamin content and all natural ingredients), desirable benefits (expect greater nutritional benefits), and values (do more for a social cause). Marketing will focus on conveying that NutriWater is more than just a beverage: It gives customers much more for their money in a variety of ways.

NutriWater will be sold with all the features described in the Product Review section. As awareness takes hold and retail availability increases, more varieties will be made available. A zero-calorie version will be added to the product line, providing a solid fit with the health benefits sought by consumers. Chill Beverage’s considerable experience in brand building will be applied as an integral part of the product strategy for NutriWater. All aspects of the marketing mix will be consistent with the brand.

There is little price variation in the enhanced waters category, particularly among leading brands. For this reason, NutriWater will follow a competition-based pricing strategy. Given that NutriWater claims superior quality, it must be careful not to position itself as a lower-cost alternative. Manufacturers do not quote list prices on this type of beverage, and prices vary considerably based on type of retail outlet and whether the product is refrigerated. Regular prices for single 20-ounce bottles of competing products are as low as $1.00 in discount-retailer stores and as high as $1.89 in convenience stores. Because NutriWater will not be targeting discount retailers and convenience stores initially, this will allow Chill Beverage to set prices at the average to higher end of the range for similar products in the same outlets. For grocery chains, this should be approximately $1.59 per bottle, with that price rising to $1.99 at health food stores and fitness centers, where prices tend to be higher.

NutriWater will employ a selective distribution strategy with well-known regional grocers, health and natural food stores, and fitness centers. This distribution strategy will be executed through a network of independent beverage distributors, as there are no other major brands of enhanced water following this strategy. Chill Beverage gained success for its core Chill Soda soft drink line using this method. It also placed coolers with the brand logo in truly unique venues such as skate, surf, and snowboarding shops; tattoo and piercing parlors; fashion stores; and music stores—places that would expose the brand to target customers. Then the soft drink brand expanded by getting contracts with retailers such as Panera, Barnes & Noble, Target, and Starbucks. This same approach will be taken with NutriWater by starting small, then expanding into larger chains. NutriWater will not target all the same stores used originally by Chill Soda, as many of those outlets were unique to the positioning and target customer for the Chill Soda soft drink brand.

As with the core Chill Soda brand, the marketing communication strategy for NutriWater will not follow a strategy based on traditional mass-communication advertising. Initially, there will be no broadcast or print advertising. Promotional resources for NutriWater will focus on three areas:

• Online and mobile marketing: The typical target customer for NutriWater spends more time online than with traditional media channels. A core component for this strategy will be building web and mobile brand sites and driving traffic to those sites by creating a presence on social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. The NutriWater brand will also incorporate location-based services by Foursquare and Facebook to help drive traffic to retail locations. A mobile phone ad campaign will provide additional support to the online efforts.

• Trade promotions: Like the core Chill Soda brand, NutriWater’s success will rely on relationships with retailers to create product availability. Primary incentives to retailers will include point-of-purchase displays, branded coolers, and volume incentives and contests. This push marketing strategy will combine with the other pull strategies.

• Event marketing: NutriWater will deploy teams in brand-labeled RVs to distribute product samples at events such as skiing and snowboarding competitions, golf tournaments, and concerts.

To remain consistent with the online promotional approach, as well as using research methods that will effectively reach target customers, Chill Beverage will monitor online discussions. In this manner, the company will gauge customer perceptions of the brand, the products, and general satisfaction. For future development of the product and new distribution outlets, crowdsourcing methods will be utilized.