Page 25 - Sphere No.9 (Sep 2003)

mineral water, which comes from underground,” Cheung
explains.“It’s something that people got used to. Distilled water
has a sweeter taste than mineral water, which is slightly salty.
That suits the local palette.”
But times change and recent market research showed that
whileWatsons distilled water has always been associated with a
healthy lifestyle, there was also significant demand in Hong
Kong for mineral water. So in 2001 Watsons Water began to
market what it sees as the best of both worlds: distilled water
with appropriate minerals added.
“We are still giving the purity
of distilled water,” says Cheung,
“but we add pure minerals rather
than minerals which you may
find in other types of mineralised
water. In Europe, it comes out of
the ground, there are a few
checks to make sure there’s noth-
ing harmful, then it’s straight into
the bottle.”
Watsons Water With Minerals,
was introduced during an initiative
two years ago to rejuvenate the
company image through honing
its product range and revitalising
its marketing.
“Like many established brands
in mature markets, our brand was
perhaps getting a little tired,” Cheung recalls. “So
we decided to refresh our approach to business and our con-
sumer offerings.”
In came a smart new bullet-shaped plastic bottle, sleek and
moulded to fit the hand, with a handy lid that can double as
a cup. Watsons’ famous green labelling was enhanced, and
a blue version introduced for the “With Minerals” drink.
A state-of-the art “PlatinumWater Dispenser”was also intro-
duced to the market, complete with a triangular water contain-
er, an LED display that tells you when
cup and water supplies are low, and the
kind of design that fits into any modern
office. A smaller version designed for
household use has also been launched.
Another addition to the range was
a new “Oxygenated Water Dispenser”
providing five times the oxygen con-
tent than in normal water, targeting
athletes and other health-conscious
people who want fast replenishment
of oxygen.
An award-winning advertising cam-
paign called “It’s Your Body” heralded
the arrival of the new products.The TV
and print media slots spelled out the
importance of water to health, and what
happens if you don’t get enough of it.
The successful strategy saw sales and
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Also in 2002, the company introduced
“Watsons Water for Sport” in a convenient
pouch pack, offering a thirst-quenching alter-
native for athletes and youngsters.
In 2003 Watsons launched the “Super Mini Water Dispenser” which, aside
from being compact, comes in a variety of attractive designs to suit all tastes.