& Recommendations
I. Industry Introduction
The Bottled Water industry is still in an expansionary/growth stage. In 2005 the bottled water industry accounted for $70 billion, and is expected to reach $140 billion by the year 2020.Advertising budgets are very heavy in companies such as Pepsi (Aquafina), and are positive indicators of the current [growth] stage in the product’s lifecycle. However, the bottled water industry is currently experiencing a skewing of profitability numbers (compared with last-year-to-date numbers) due to a shift in production from bulk to bottled water. A new and rapidly growing trend in the bottled water industry is the production of premium-priced “enhanced waters,” which competes on the product category level, and increases profits dramatically when purchased over traditional [non-premium] bottles of water. The aggressive advertising campaigns for bottled water and premium-priced “enhanced waters” coupled with health-related trends provide for a greater proportion of market-share for water companies who utilize their ability to expand their product line on the generic competition level.
II. Four Types of Competition (& Competitors) for the Bottled Water Industry:
Competition is the driving force in any and every industry. There are four different types of competition which, [each] in their own way, affect the sales of any given industry. This section of this paper will analyze the four different types of competition, and how each type affects the market share of the bottled water industry.
The typical bottled drinking water’s product form competition includes but is not limited to: Fiji, Evian, Arrowhead, Sparklett’s, Dasani, Dannone, and Aquafina water. All of these companies directly compete at the consumer level for the same market-share of the same product line.
The typical bottled drinking water’s product category