Coca-Cola has re-launched Bonaqua, the global packaged water brand. This is done in an attempt to augment the flagging sales of the product by providing it in bottles that are similar to those of the brand Kinley.
Both Kinley and Bonaqua will not be sold in bottles that are of the same shade, cap, and mould. The main difference will be in the label color. An official involved with the company stated that Bonaqua has been placed to compete with the popular brand Kinley. This way, both the brands of Coca-Cola compete with one another.
Even a Coca-Cola spokesperson attributed this move by attempting greater synergy and improved use of manufacturing assets.
Coca-Cola and some independent franchisee bottlers in a few territories have the bottling and distribution rights of Kinley. On the other hand, those for Bonaqua are with Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages that is the bottling partner of the beverage maker. Bonaqua was introduced eight years back. It has not been able to increase the market share and the availability is restricted to NCR.
As per a spokesperson, it made sense for HCCB to make use of the same bottle design for the packaged water brands from the perspective of supply chain optimization. Both the brands are priced at Rs 20 for a one-liter bottle. However, Kinley is available in packs of multiple sizes.
Kinley’s Danube bottle design enhances the convenience quotient as it has an ergonomic design. The design is quite unique than that of the other packaged water brands, the spokesperson claimed.
Globally, Bonaqua is a billion dollar brand. It is available across markets including Germany, South Africa, Hong Kong, and Russia, as per the company website. There are many regional companies that compete in the packaged water market segment in India. It operates on thin margins and there are heavy trade discounts in order to push sales.
