How was The Narang Group established?
Rahul Narang: We were a start-up company that launched Speed 60 – an e-services business that aimed to deliver DVDs and beverages, including Red Bull, to customers’ doorsteps within 60 minutes. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out due to licensing issues, but the taste of Red Bull certainly charged us up!
Today, we’re made up of more than 600 talented professionals who have successfully introduced an entire nation to some of the finest beverage brands.
We’ve faced a great deal of adventures and disruptions throughout our journey, moving from an e-services DVD rental firm to what we are now. However, the remaining constant has been our consumer profile, which is situated at the top of the pyramid, with approximately 30m consumers, not the vast population of 1.2bn.
Why and how was Qua water launched?
Narang: Our successful associations with various premium beverages, and building a strong and sustainable route-to-market for them in India, soon led to the idea of launching a health and wellness lifestyle beverage of our own. After all, we had the expertise, the resources, and, as with most businesses, a thirst for market share. We turned to the majestic Himalayas for our inspiration and Qua was born.
It’s a natural mineral water blessed by the snow-capped mountains: clean, natural and pure, just the way God intended it to be.
How has the brand progressed to become what it is today?
Narang: We position Qua as the ‘natural water for natural renewal’ and we’ve used a top-down strategy from day one. The brand was associated with high-profile celebrity events, fashion shows and Bollywood awards, and the right people were seen toting our bottles around. Within just one year of its launch, Qua already had a 50% share of competing brands that had been in the market for over 13 years.
Today, our marketing mix of opinion leaders, word of mouth, event associations and selective sampling has created quite a wave in the industry.
How is the bottled water market currently faring in India?
Narang: Beverages are the fastest growing category in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, especially premium lifestyle beverages.
Briefly outline the range of premium beverages that The Narang Group distributes. Which product line is the most popular?
Narang: We distribute premium waters, including Qua, Evian and Perrier; functional and juice drinks, such as Qua+, Red Bull, Orangina and Rani; and coffee and chocolates including illy, La Marzocco, Franke, Ronnefeldt and Lindt. The most popular range is functional drinks.
What kind of locations do you supply Qua water to? Is it only premium venues?
Narang: Being a premium product with a top-down marketing strategy, we consciously focus on stocking Qua at high-end locations such as five star hotels, premium supermarkets and high-quality restaurants and bars.
What is The Narang Group’s main ethos?
Narang: We strive to lead the food and beverage industry in India through our quality, commitment and presence. Every urban Indian consumer will come into contact with at least one Narang Group brand on a continuous basis. To achieve our ambitions, we focus on a strong, individual market positioning for each product in the Narang portfolio.
Our people are the source of our competitive advantage. We distinguish ourselves by creating an innovative environment that helps develop and make the most of their entrepreneurial talent. We creatively progress people and processes, which leads to exponential growth of individuals, as well as our business.
We stick together and work as a team, each member contributing their best towards achieving our goal. For us, there are five ways to a successful business: youth, passion, professionalism, innovation and teamwork.
How are you strengthening sales despite the international economic downturn?
Narang: Even with the economic downturn worldwide, all eyes are set on ‘India’ as it’s the emerging market. There is therefore an influx of corporations into the country, which has actually helped organic growth. Inorganic growth has come from new products and innovations. We’ve recorded an 84% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
Has the water filled a gap in the Indian bottled water market?
Narang: Qua has created a new category at a new price point. It sits comfortably between the lower priced local brands and the high priced imported brands which are currently available on the market.
How important is the packaging and labelling of the water when it comes to attracting consumers?
Narang: In a market that’s being exposed to new products every day, packaging plays an important role in setting a product such as Qua apart from the rest. It helps to establish its credentials and project its quality through images and words.
Who drinks Qua? Can you describe the water’s typical consumer in terms of age, gender, profession and interests?
Narang: Our consumers are young, urban and aspiring. We focus on targeting their consumption situations throughout a typical day – for example, when they wake up, in the gym, in the car, at work, during lunchtime and breaks, on the way home, while out for dinner and during a night out. This involves looking at different outlets, from petrol stations and corner shops to restaurants, five star hotels and nightclubs. We also consider their leisure and holiday time, for instance by distributing to bowling alleys, spas and airport lounges.
Your marketing strategy for Qua involves targeting celebrities from the worlds of Bollywood, fashion and sport. How are you achieving your aim in this area?
Narang: Over the years, The Narang Group has developed strong relationships with socialites, celebrities and movie stars. These relationships have resulted in a wider acceptance of the product by others.
We don’t believe in endorsements, but work on outreach programmes to trial products, which leads to belief and a passionate, enthusiastic consumer who will spread the message through word-of-mouth.
Everyone knows Bollywood is the unofficial religion of this country, and what a movie star wears, eats or drinks is worshipped by many. Our involvement with celebrities has helped Qua to be regarded as a premium product with an aspirational value attached to it, by people who follow the stars.
Has the advertising campaign proved successful?
Narang: Instead of mainstream advertising, such as print, TV and outdoor, Qua took a more tactical approach to its marketing mix. We created customised communication at various points of sale that connect with the moment and the surroundings. For instance, a message in a gym would be about rehydrating the body, whereas at a celebrity event, the message would be about carrying Qua around as a stylish accessory, therefore engaging the audience and making the communication far more memorable.
How would you sum up Qua water in three words?
Narang: Replenish. Renew. Repeat.
Which is more important, the hydration aspect of the water or its premium image?
Narang: A premium image will attract the right audience, but if your product doesn’t deliver, no amount of cosmetic surgery will help it. Qua certainly stresses the ‘natural renewal’ process of the body and how the water benefits the consumer. The imagery is an added bonus.
Why did you develop the functional vitamin water line Qua+? Is there demand for such a product among consumers?
Narang: With the growing number of gyms and health centres in the country, people are more body-conscious than ever before. Low fat, low carb and low salt are the new highs. And although this audience may be relatively small, we certainly see a growing need for products similar to Qua+ in the country.
The range comes in Modelicious (apple) for beauty, Morning Glory (orange lychee) for good health, Ninja Jack (dragonfruit) for endurance, Phat Burn (peach mango) for burning calories, Rush Hour (mango passion) for energy, and Sin Doctor (lemon) for recovery, variants.
Are you looking to add any more products to the Qua range?
Narang: We’re working on more SKUs for the different consumption situations for Qua, and are looking at introducing more functional SKUs for Qua+.
Can you pinpoint any emerging trends that are likely to affect the bottled water market in the future?
Narang: The basic need for water is undergoing a transformation as people are seeking replenishment options which also integrate functionality.
What does the future hold for Qua?
Narang: Our joint venture with Groupe Danone will help establish us as a serious player in the industry and fuel our growth to achieve our goal of being number one in the country within the next three years.
Rahul Narang is MD and CEO of The Narang Group.
Medina Bailey is editor of Water Innovation magazine. Subscribe here.
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