At an Indian connoisseur meals retailer, Avanti Mehta is organizing a blind tasting of drinks sourced from France, Italy and India. No, this is not wine, it is mineral water.
Contributors use tiny shot glasses to examine the minerality, carbonation and salinity in samples of Evian from the French Alps, Perrier from southern France, San Pellegrino from Italy and India’s Aava from the foothills of the Aravalli mountains.
“They are going to all style completely different… you ought to be selecting a water that may give you some form of dietary worth,” stated Mehta, who’s 32 and calls herself India’s youngest water sommelier, a time period normally related to premium wine. Her household owns the Aava mineral water model.
Premium water is a $400 million enterprise on the earth’s most populous nation and is rising greater as its rich see it as a brand new standing image that matches in with a spreading wellness craze.
Premium Indian mineral water prices round $1 for a one-liter bottle, whereas imported manufacturers are upwards of $3, or 15 occasions the worth of the nation’s lowest-priced fundamental bottled water.
Clear water is a privilege within the nation of 1.4 billion individuals the place researchers say 70% of the groundwater is contaminated. Faucet water stays unfit to drink, and 16 individuals died in Indore metropolis after consuming contaminated faucet water in December.
Many in India see bottled water as a necessity and normal 20 US-cent bottles can be found broadly at comfort shops, eating places and motels. The market is value practically $5 billion yearly and is ready to develop 24% a yr – among the many quickest on the earth.
Bottled water demand in United States or China is pushed by comfort, making it a $30 billion-plus market in every nation which can develop simply 4-5% every year, Euromonitor says.
In India, the premium water section is main the surge in demand, accounting for 8% of the bottled water market final yr in comparison with simply 1% in 2021, Euromonitor stated.
“Mistrust of municipal water in some areas has escalated the demand for bottled water. Now, individuals perceive how mineral water has extra well being advantages. It is costly, however the class will increase,” stated Amulya Pandit, a senior guide at Euromonitor specializing within the drinks market.
Amongst its customers are New Delhi-based actual property developer BS Batra, who says his household makes use of solely premium water at dwelling to get extra minerals and safeguard well being.
“You are feeling completely different, extra energetic through the day,” stated Batra, 49, an avid badminton participant.
“I devour mineral water even with whiskey at dwelling, and children use it for his or her smoothies.”
WATER LURES BOLLYWOOD STAR, WEALTHY
The favored 20-cent plastic bottled water is especially made by Pepsi, Coca-Cola (KO.N), and Indian market chief Bisleri. As well as, Indians who can afford it, set up purifiers of their properties which clear the water but in addition take away most minerals.
Imported and native premium waters are luring rich customers and companies alike.
Bollywood star Bhumi Pednekar and her sister have launched Backbay – promoting 750 ml cartons of mineral water for $2.2; Indian conglomerate Tata is increasing its premium water portfolio, and retailers and companies are reporting increased gross sales.
Tata Shopper Merchandise, additionally Starbucks’ companion in India, sells 20-cent bottled water, however premium water is its precedence because it sees prosperous, health-focused customers keen to spend on the drink with out worrying concerning the worth, CEO Sunil D’Souza stated in an interview.
“I haven’t got to push water uphill…I see a protracted, lengthy, lengthy runway for the enterprise,” he stated.
Tata’s premium “Himalayan” mineral water manufacturing facility – which a Reuters photographer visited – is situated within the foothills of the Himalayan vary in Himachal Pradesh state. Staff there largely hold a hands-free watch on machines filling plastic and glass bottles with water sourced from a pure underground aquifer.
LOOKING FOR SPRINGS
Most Indians want nonetheless water, and the glowing variant stays area of interest. Tata stated it plans to launch a glowing Himalayan water, and can be scouting for pure springs for increasing its different choices.
At three Foodstories Indian connoisseur shops, gross sales of premium waters tripled in 2025. Buyer demand prompted the chain to import “gentle and creamy” Saratoga Spring Water from New York, which prices 799 rupees ($9) for a 355-milliliter (12-fluid-ounce) bottle, and shares offered out inside days, stated co-founder Avni Biyani.
Indian mineral water model Aava’s gross sales touched a document 805 million rupees ($9 million) final yr, rising 40% a yr since 2021. Tata stated its fundamental and premium water portfolio will develop 30% a yr, after rising tenfold to $65 million in six years.
Imported waters, which magnetize an over 30% tax, are pricier than Indian manufacturers. Nestle’s Perrier and San Pellegrino, and Danone’s Evian retail for over 300 rupees, or $3.20, for a 750 ml bottle.
Nestle declined to remark, whereas Danone stated the Indian bottled water market was rising at a “sturdy” tempo however imported waters “are typically area of interest and boutique.”
“While you open your faucet, you are not getting an Aava, Evian… And that’s what you are basically paying for,” stated water sommelier Mehta.
On the water tasting session, some individuals stated they loved the expertise however many discovered the worth exhausting to swallow.
“To be trustworthy, it’s sort of costly,” stated government Hoshini Vallabhaneni, one in all 14 individuals on the occasion. “For on a regular basis use – it would burn a gap within the pocket.”
