History of Bottled water in India

History of Bottled water in India
  Mineral bottled water in India under the name 'Bisleri' was first introduced in Mumbai by Bisleri Ltd., a company of Italian origin in 1965. Mineral bottled water were in glass bottles in two varieties - bubbly and still in 1965 This company was started by Signor Felice  who first brought the idea of selling bottled water in India.
  Parle bought over Bisleri (India) Ltd. In 1969 and started bottling Mineral water in  glass bottles under the brand name 'Bisleri'. Later Parle switched over to PVC non- returnable bottles and finally advanced to PET containers. Since 1995 Mr.Ramesh J. Chauhan has started expanding Bisleri operations substantially and the turn over has multiplied more than 20 times over a period of 10 years and the average growth rate has been around 40% over this period. Presently it have 8 plants and 11 franchisees all over India. Bisler command a 60% market share of the organized market.
  Currently, Bailley has a national presence in 5 lakh retail outlets across the country. “We plan to increase manufacturing plants for Bailley from 29 to 60,  presently 40 plants are operational and few more will be ready for operations over the next few months,” informed Nadia Chauhan, joint managing director of Parle Agro.

Variety of packages

  Bottled water is sold in a variety of packages: pouches and glasses, 330 ml bottles, 500 ml bottles, one- litre bottles and even 20- to 50-litre bulk water packs. The formal bottled water business in India can be divided broadly into three segments in terms of cost: premium natural mineral water, natural mineral water and packaged drinking water.
  Premium natural mineral water includes brands such as Evian, San Pelligrino and Perrier, which are imported and priced between Rs.80 and Rs.110 a litre. Natural mineral water, with brands such as Himalayan and Catch, is priced around Rs.20 a litre. Packaged drinking water, which is nothing but treated water, is the biggest segment and includes brands such as Parle, Bisleri, Coca-Cola's Kinley and PepsiCo's Aquafina. They are priced in the range of Rs.10-12 a litre. The FDA also classifies some bottled water according to its origin.
 Artesian well water    Water from a well that taps an aquifer--layers of porous rock, sand and earth that contain water--which is under pressure from surrounding upper layers of rock or clay.
 Mineral water.    Water from an underground source that contains at least 250 parts per million total dissolved solids. Minerals and trace elements must come from the source of the underground water. They cannot be added later.
 Spring water   Derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the earth's surface. Spring water must be collected only at the spring or through a borehole tapping the underground formation feeding the spring. If some external force is used to collect the water through a borehole, the water must have
the same composition and quality as the water that naturally flows to the surface.
 Well water.  Water from a hole bored or drilled into the ground, which taps into an aquifer.
 Tap Water  Some bottled water also comes from municipal sources--in other words--the tap. Municipal water is usually treated before it is bottled.