Evian's Organisation and Market Description

The mineral water brand, Evian, belongs to Groupe DANONE, a multinational organisation founded in 1919. They also produce food products, baby nutrition, and medical nutrition, and their portfolio of fresh dairy products include yogurts Activia and Shape as well as drinking yogurt, Actimel. Actimel was the first product launched by DANONE in the UK in the 1999, which was their first step in the UK market. In order to increase Evian's green credentials, Evian signed an agreement with the France plastique recyclage (FPR) to source high quality recycled PET material to produce their product. In 2007 Evian launched a water protection institute aimed to protect the wetland, reduce poverty and enhance communities, increase awareness, communication and education and also to improve living conditions.

In 1980 DANONE waters UK and Ireland, a subsidiary of DANONE, launched mineral bottled water under the brand names, Evian and Volvic. One main aim of Evian is to target mothers at their pregnancy stage as water plays a vital role throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding for mothers. The reason why Evian water is most suitable for pregnant mothers is because it's pure, the process of producing this mineral water is untouched by man and is genuine, and it has balanced mineral composition which is stable. Apart from this, Evian produces bottles of various shapes and sizes targeted to various consumers with different lifestyle, the bottles range from 1 litre, 1.5 litres, 2litre and even bulky plastic containers. The 75cl and 33cl glass bottle is recommended to hotels, restaurants and night clubs. The bottle Evian action targeted to consumers who visit the gym often and was also sponsored for sports tournament.

The price of Evian water bottle is expensive when compared to competitors; this is due to the distinctive packaging and unique promotion strategies. Evian also has affiliated products such as Evian affinity which is a facial mist and Evian hydrating lotion mainly aimed at women aged 16-40. The now huge multi-national even owns health resorts and spas.

Evian's main competitors are Buxton, Highland Spring and Volvic. When comparing the price of these brands all three are seen as less expensive than Evian. In order to strive in this industry the firm needs to create a strong brand image in order to attract and retain consumers. When looking solely at price Evian does not appear to be very competitive however it has managed to create a strong brand image and stand out amongst most of the other bottled water brands. This has been done through successful brand management, new product development and enforcing high brand awareness by launching unique adverts such as the roller babies, we will rock you and the war of waters campaigns. Evian has also shown brand extension from the variety of bottle shapes and sizes and development of various lotions and facial sprays leading to established brand loyalty among targeted consumers.

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