NourishCo, an equal-stake joint venture between Tata Global and PepsiCo, said it is expanding its value-added water range across the country after pilot projects in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh created differentiator in the conventional packaged water business.
It has already tested the market acceptance for Tata Water Plus product, said to be the first ever nutrient water product with zinc and copper in it.
“NourishCo handles a portfolio of three products – Tata Water Plus, Tata Gluco Plus and premium brand Himalayan. In the next couple of years, we will launch more innovations with all of them in the value-added water space. The focus will be on differentiating water in different ways. The mandate is to be in hydration space including in water and value-added water,” Pratik Pota, CEO and managing director of NourishCo, said.
The company made forays into the value-added water segment a year ago with the launch of Tata Water Plus in Tamil Nadu. With the market responding positively, it has now expanded its footprint to Andhra Pradesh as well. The company is offering the product in one litre and 200 ml pouches priced at Rs20 and Rs2, respectively.
“Our first phase was to do a pilot in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and in the next six to nine months we would have gone to more number of markets outside these two states. We are actively scouting for manufacturing partners in these states. To begin with, we would have 50-70 manufacturing partners across the country and may be more after that,” he said.
Pota said the value-added water segment is about 0.5% of the overall Rs4,000-crore packaged water market.
“As more niche propositions emerge, the market would grow to 2-5% over time. Right now, we are working on creating the differentiator,” he said.
NourishCo is working on tapping the overseas markets as well.
