India’s F&B industry is rapidly expanding with new brands and product offerings launching almost weekly in the water segment. Most companies are riding on the wellbeing bandwagon, as consumers seek to make healthier decisions when it comes to their eating and drinking habits.
Aman Rastogi, Founder and CEO, Zenzi describes the factors have led to the growth of the functional water segment in the past couple of years, and why it is gaining popularity especially amongst young consumers.
What is the difference amongst various types of functional waters, including spring, mineral, sparkling, infused, etc.?
Spring water is water from a natural spring, and normally bottled at the source. Mineral water can consist of these spring waters that also have minerals in them, or minerals can be added to any water to create a similar effect, noting in either case, mineral water promotes health benefits.
Sparkling water is water that has been carbonated by being infused with CO2. The interesting part is that some springs are also naturally carbonated, so there can be a blend of all these in one beverage.
Has the demand for bottled sparkling and infused water witnessed a surge during the pandemic?
The pandemic led people to look for products that are better for their health and wellness. Sparkling waters mostly contain no sugar or calories, which is a good alternative to soft drinks that are on the shelves today. With more brands coming out in this sector, it will help to create a new market segment in India, and in turn healthier drinks for consumers that are looking for something refreshing that is also guilt-free.
In the US, over the past few years, sparkling water, especially those infused with natural flavors, has become a normal household item. We are expecting a similar surge in India once the market expands. Since Zenzi’s launch a few months ago, sales projections for this year are expected to increase by at least 5-10x, and we are excited to be a part of the growth expected for this new market segment.
How is Zenzi capitalizing on these opportunities by launching flavored products that appeal to a diverse consumer base?
We are trying to educate the market on how flavoured sparkling water is the alternative to sodas and juices that the Indian consumer has been waiting for. Our four flavours are infused with fruits and botanicals, each with a unique taste profile to entertain different consumers. While sparkling water can be consumed on its own like any soda, it can also be used as a mixer for cocktails and mock-tails.
There is also a benefit for drinking sparkling water during a meal, as it can help with digestion. This gives us the ability to target mass consumers from all parts of India, and we are seeing this currently in our sales.
What is your monthly sales in terms of bottled units in the B2B and B2C sectors, respectively?
Currently, our business is focused exclusively on the B2C sector. Especially during the pandemic, we are driving awareness of the brand at the individual level. Once we’ve established a concrete online presence, we will start to expand into the B2B space. This expansion will include everything from grocery stores to restaurants to hotels, sometime around the end of Q2 2022. Our goal is to be served everywhere water is served.
How can hoteliers and restaurateurs underline why guests should opt for sparkling water with their meals? How can they especially recommend it to people who are into fitness?
Sparkling water is actually a great accompaniment to meals, mainly due to the fact that the fizz will help with digestion. This can be an interesting way to get new people to try sparkling water, who tend to feel bloating while they consume meals.
One current challenge is that sparkling waters at hotels all sell at a premium. We are trying to bridge that gap and offer consumers a more affordable option, which is also flavorful. It can be marketed to people as an affordable alternative that is calorie free with natural flavors. I think it will be beneficial for consumers of all kinds, and especially fitness enthusiasts, to have more beverage options that are sugar free.
There is a lot of noise about the various ingredients in the functional beverage space. How is Zenzi leveraging R&D to carve a more distinct path within this space and include more local flavours?
Since we are introducing a new category to the Indian market, our focus has been to provide locally sourced natural ingredients that have been hand-picked. We hope to continue this path as we expand our product line beyond sparkling waters, but in the meantime we will be leveraging R&D to create unique flavour experiences for the customer that do not exist in the current market. In the future, we will be looking to add other natural ingredients with health benefits to our products that will continue to support the vision of Zenzi.
How are you working with hospitality professionals and influencers to propel your go-to-market strategy?
We are currently working with influencers in order to reach larger audiences in an entertaining and fun way. In the next couple of months, we will be doing collaborations with influencers which cover the lifestyle, hospitality and food/beverage space, which we hope will have a direct impact on sales.
The influencers will be posting about Zenzi on their social media in the form of posts, stories and reels, as well as create personal discount links for their followers to track progress on each campaign. After that point, we can assess what is working and what’s not, and then focus on optimization. There is a lot of trial and error that goes into identifying the best approach to gain consumers through Instagram.
