Pepsi forays into new business with Aquafina Bulk Water

Hyderabad:
29 September 2003

Hyderabad: Pepsi today entered a new business segment with the launch of Aquafina Bulk Water. Venturing into the new business, Pepsi unveiled its premium-quality international bottled water brand Aquafina in 25-litre packs in Hyderabad. Aquafina, the largest-selling bottled water brand in the US, is being launched in large packs for the discerning direct-to-home consumer for the first time anywhere in the world.

In line with Pepsi's total commitment to the highest quality standards, Aquafina 25-litre meets stringent international and national standards for water purity benchmarked against the new norms for packaged water effective January 2004, says a company press release.

The Aquafina 25-litre pack uses the most advanced state-of-the-art purification system in the country. The stringent purification process namely Chlorination, Sand Filtration, Activated carbon purifier, 5 Micron Polisher, Ultraviolet, Reverse Osmosis, 1 Micron Polisher and Ozonation. Reverse Osmosis (RO), using the best of membrane technologies, is at the heart of the Aquafina purification process.

Thanks to Pepsi's venture into the new business of bulk water, the consumer will benefit from great tasting top-quality water, aseptically packaged with a 100-per cent tamper-proof seal with a guarantee of hygienic dispensing. Packaged in premium quality transparent food grade, clear Polycarbonate jars, the Aquafina 25-litre pack is competitively priced at Rs 65. The unique 'tamper and adulteration proof seal' assures the consumer of consistently genuine product and highest quality water which need not be re-boiled.

With this launch, Aquafina is also set to establish a unique 'Gold Standard' direct-to-home (DTH) model in India. Pepsi brings world-class service to the consumer's doorstep with AquaMan — a deliveryman trained to deliver and provide efficient and hygienic service to consumers.

Aquafina jars will be delivered through vinyl-branded, hygienic trucks displaying contact details of the electronic call centre for potential consumers. The widely advertised, high-tech call centre will receive consumer orders, and the state-of-the-art IT system will ensure prompt response and speedy order turnaround. Each deliveryman will be equipped with a handheld electronic equipment to record every transaction.