PROJECT REPORT

ON
“Scopes & profitability of establishing mineral water
plants using biodegradable containers for packaging
in India”.

Submitted to Amity University Online as a part of

completion for 3rd Semester of MBA by:
Abhirup Sarkar
Enrolment No.: A9920122002439(el)
Area of specialization: ‘Entrepreneurship &
Leadership Management’
Contents:

Title page
Abstract
Introduction of the study
Objective of the study
Literature review
Research methodology
Data analysis and interpretation
Results and discussions
Recommendations and conclusion
Bibliography
Abstract:
This project aims to explore the scopes and potential profitability of establishing mineral
water plants using biodegradable bottles for packaging instead of plastic bottles in India. It
looks into the fact that how easy or difficult to set up and how profitable in the long run would
such an industry be, considering that biodegradable materials for packaging purposes would be
better for the environment and hence it can automatically be used as a selling point for the
business as well, especially at a time when the use of one-time plastic is discouraged by the
government itself, at least on paper.

Introduction of the study:

The initiatives regarding the need of replacement of one-time plastics for various purposes is
not something new and the need felt to shift from one-time plastics as much as possible is just
growing with the growing concern for the environment. A huge chunk of plastic wastes is
constituted by mineral water bottles and hence it’s not unreasonable to think a convenient
replacement for the plastic bottles while ensuring everything else is kept proper would be a
good idea. But whether it would be a worthwhile investment to start a mineral water plant that
uses biodegradable packaging and if yes, what strategies should be kept in mind to increase the
chances of it attaining success is the area of study of this project.

Objective of the study:

The objective of the study is to determine whether opening a biodegradable packaged mineral
water plant industry can have the potential to be profitable in India and what are some aspects
someone needs to keep in mind if she/he wants to start it.

Literature review:
There has been always a focus on shifting to environment friendly options in recent times,
and containers for food and water is no exception to this. In abroad, there are already some
companies like Boxed water, Just water, etc. which are offering drinking water in packages that
are almost biodegradable.
And talking about the whole mineral water industry in India, a study by Grey Views Research
suggests that its already worth $22.72 billion in 2022 and growing rapidly.
Combining these facts with the theoretical attempts of the government of India to eradicate
one-time plastic, it’s clear that water offered in reliable biodegradable packages can take a good
portion of this huge industry if done in a proper and cost-effective way since being environment
friendly would be a selling point.

Research methodology:
For examining the scopes and potential profitability of setting up a mineral water plant that
offers water in biodegradable packages, we would first look at government policies regarding
ban on one-time plastic items and why they are ineffective and on paper only as well as how
can we take advantage of these policies if we can provide an at least near-biodegradable option
to one-time plastic for packaging of drinking water. Next, we will look at the size of mineral
water industry in India and how fast is it growing. Last but not the least, we would look at why
it’s not that easy (or even possible) to go for 100% biodegradable option and how much can
we approach towards biodegradable packaging to pack our mineral water while also keeping
the cost in mind.

Data analysis and interpretation:

Government policies regarding ban on one-time plastic and why they
are very ineffective till now:
On paper, the Indian government has put a ban on the manufacture, import, stocking,
distribution, sale and use of the identified single use plastic items since July 2022. Some states
have specifically made rules as well to stop production and use of one-time plastic water bottles
used for mineral water packaging. But as expected, all these rules are only on paper and not
implemented. Apart from the fault of the government, one of the reasons for these rules not
being implemented properly is the lack of any reliable substitute commercially. The industry
representatives said that any actual ban on one-time plastic water bottle will have severe
repercussions as it engages crores of people directly or indirectly. And hence, we can see that
there is a gap in the market in this aspect.

Size of mineral water industry in India and how fast is it growing:

India’s bottled water market size was valued at $22.72 billion in 2022 and is expected to
reach $36.21 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 6% from 2023 to 2030, said a report by Grey Views
Research released in January 2023, which means that the mineral water industry as a whole is
a rapidly growing industry and if on top of that, a reliable alternative to one-time plastic bottles
can be introduced in a cost effective way for packaging of mineral water, it can have the
potential of being very successful, especially at a time when the government itself is at least
theoretically trying to eradicate one-time plastic products.
How much can we approach towards offering mineral water in
biodegradable packages practically:
One of the biggest hazards regarding eradicating one-time plastic bottles is that reliable
biodegradable options for them are not that easy to produce, especially for commercial purpose.
100% biodegradable packaging including the inside of the container for water would be very
difficult to produce since they should not get degraded due to the water inside them itself in a
very short time while also, they should not be easily crushable like one-time paper cups either
because of obvious reasons. Tetra packs or similar food grade boxes may seem like a viable
option but although tetra packs only contain a little amount of plastic, here the polyethylene is
mixed with aluminium in such a way to make the linings that it’s very difficult (or not even
possible) to make them get apart in order to recycle them and in case of such food grade carton
boxes lined with a mixture of polyethylene and aluminium, only downcycling is possible i.e.
they can be recycled to make products that are not recyclable themselves, so it’s not true
recycling and they would finally end up in the debris soon. Now while there might be some
other potential viable ‘food grade’ almost-biodegradable packaging options around the world
produced in small quantities, but none of them would likely be very cost effective, especially
after taxes and customs. It must be cost effective, biodegradable and food grade as well to
perfectly serve the purpose. Another issue is that even if there is an option, how sustainable
would it be commercially considering the raw materials required for them? But anyway, most
people don’t have any clue that tetra packs can only be downcycled and not truly recycled
despite having less plastic content and also, it won’t be lying or unethical to introduce mineral
water in tetra packs or similar food grade containers as a comparatively environment friendly
option since as a whole they would still cause less harm to the environment because a vast
amount of plastic wastes like one-time plastic water bottles never even make it to the recycling
plants to begin with.

Results and discussions:

From the data analysis and interpretation, it’s clear that the mineral water industry is a
growing industry in India and at a time when the government is trying to ban one-time plastic
items at least on paper, it’s a good time to think of introducing mineral water to the people in
other viable packaging options which would cause comparatively less harm to the environment
(and hence can be used as a selling point as well).

Recommendations and conclusion:

While it’s clear that since the mineral water industry is a growing industry in India (and in
pretty much everywhere else in the world) and the Indian government is at least theoretically
trying to ban one-time plastic items making the idea of opening a biodegradable (at least up to
a decent extent) packaged mineral water industry a potentially profitable one, but one must still
make arrangements for making or sourcing the packages in a cost effective way before actually
starting it to lessen the potential risks. Other than that, the packages used for packing the treated
mineral water would cause less harm to the environment in this case in most cases, even if they
are thrown in the debris like a vast amount of one-time plastic items and this benefit to the
environment can be automatically used as a selling point as well through proper marketing
tactics.

Bibliography:
www.google.com