SABOL-GROWING BRAND

Coimbatore based packaged drinking water manufacturer Sabol Associatess is fast becoming a strong brand competing with big players like Aquafina,Bisleri,Kinley.Mr K.M. Senthil, Chairman and Managing Director, Sabol Associatess, Coimbatore, said the company, which entered the mineral water segment by launching `Sabols' packaged drinking water in 1999, had a 25 per cent market share.

While in the 20-litre jar mineral water segment, it is the dominant player in Tamil Nadu, in the bottled water segment (such as 500 ml-2 litres), it occupies the third slot in the State. The company has launched 500 ml Sabols Club Soda in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry at a price of Rs 12 per bottle and will be entering the carbonated drinks and fruit juices market by the end of this month.

Some of the domestic brands have been squeezed out because they did not expand their product profile and market reach and some companies even chose to move into unrelated areas, losing focus. In the FMCG business, manufacturers should keep expanding and launch newer products to safeguard their market share.

Some of the weaker players sold out their businesses to the MNCs or simply allowed their business to wither.

STRATEGY

MNC's units suffered from high overheads and marketing expenses having one production unit for the whole state.

But smaller players could have smaller plants at different locations that would bring down the distribution cost and give them pricing advantage, which Sabol has been able to use for its advantage in its mineral water business.Sabol is expanding its product range by entering the carbonated drinks and juices business to begin this month and will be launching food products such as biscuits, noodles and even parathas subsequently.The water business seems to be only a platform for Sabol on which it would build its FMCG business' growth.