Malaysia's bottled water market-creating ripples?

WATER, water, everywhere-but what do I choose? This is the question that continues to ring in everyone's mind when it comes to selecting the right brand of bottled water. Hold on-did I just say "bottled" water? Well, gone are the days when drinking water meant water from the tap that was filtered, boiled and then consumed. Good-bye now to tap water, and welcome to the age of bottled water. Hectic lifestyles coupled with mounting disillusionment towards municipal water has steered most of the population towards the portable and convenient bottled water. With a gamut of bottled water brands available in the market, ranging from high-end names like Perrier and Evian to local brands, today's consumer has numerous choices thereby making it imperative for the manufacturer of bottled water to come out with unique strategies to stay abreast in this highly competitive market. 'Eau' dear, 'water' is the matter Drinking bottled water has become a trivial habit in people's everyday lives. Bottled water may even be necessary, in case of temporary tap water contamination. Whatever be the reason, the trend towards consuming bottled water is foreseen to increase in the coming years. Being one of the most dynamic sectors of the food and beverage industry, bottled water has been steadily growing over the past three decades. Water has staying power and sales appeal in any food service segment. Free of sugar, calories and alcohol, it outruns beer, wine, juice, coffee and soda as a beverage for all day parts. The chart presents the volume of bottled water consumption across the globe. Although major consumers of bottled water are in Europe and North America, the most promising markets are in Asia Pacific with an annual growth rate of 15.0 percent. Bottled water consumption in the world increases by an average 7.0 per cent each year; in spite of the fact that bottled water is of course priced higher than tap. The convenience of bottled water, which can be easily purchased at retail outlets and then discarded, is a major factor leading many to purchase bottled water. The world's top four bottled water companies are Danone, Nestle, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Although Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are known as the big carbonated soft drinks manufacturers, they have also noted the potential in the bottled water market and have been developing their brands and capabilities in this market. Quality rates high with APAC consumers Frost & Sullivan's measured consumers' brand awareness, brand perceptions, current usage, satisfaction levels with current bottled water brands, reasons for purchasing bottled water and features deemed important in bottled water products. This research surveyed bottled water and water filter consumers in Asia Pacific countries. The bottled water market in the APAC region is dotted by many players who are strong and may dominate in their own countries, but not across the region as a Frost & Sullivan's survey within Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand showed. The end-user study, Voice of the Customer: Perceptions and Behaviours toward Bottled Water Markets, indicates that half of the APAC respondents consume bottled water daily, whilst 25 per cent consume bottled water twice weekly. Although the consumption rate is mostly aligned within APAC, the country analysis shows more consumers in Indonesia and Thailand consume bottled water regularly, compared to other APAC consumers. APAC consumers rate the "quality" of water to be the most important feature, regarding bottled water as a better and safer option to drinking tap water. Supporting these results, the largest proportion of APAC consumers state their reason for purchasing bottled water are primarily because it is perceived as safer and cleaner than tap water. Taste, affordable price and availability are the otherTest running, chaussures, montres cardio gps et habits sports