Introduction FIJI Water (FIJI) is a brand of bottled water that is derived from an aquifer in the Nakauvadra Mountains in Fiji. FIJI was created for international distribution in 1995, under the corporate name of Natural Waters of Viti Ltd. It was marketed to appeal to health-conscious and image oriented consumers by touting the water’s silica-rich property that has been attributed to anti-aging and immunity boosting. FIJI Water has captured a large share in the bottled water industry in the niche premium segment alongside Evian and Perrier. The initial success of FIJI has been overshadowed by multifaceted issues that were exacerbated by management’s actions. Integrating Culture In the beginning, Natural Waters of Viti Ltd. recognized the importance in establishing and maintaining good relations with the indigenous people of Fiji. An emphasis was placed on hiring, training, and advancement of the inhabitants of nearby villages. Strong leadership by Ian Lincolne, native of the Draunivi village, created an organizational culture that aligned with employees’ values of interpersonal relationships, attendance of religious services, and support of community. The company constructed a kindergarten classroom in each village and established a community development trust fund to finance projects to improve hygiene, sanitation, and safe drinking water. To create additional employment opportunities to surrounding villages, FIJI contracted out services such as transportation to and from work, security personnel to guard the factory, food preparers in the canteen, ground maintenance, and laundry. All of these efforts were acknowledged in 2004 by the U.S. State Department, bestowing upon FIJI the Award for Corporate Excellence for Outs... ... middle of paper ... ...ce, J., & Lehmann, M. (2005). Corporate Awakening – Why (Some) Corporations Embrace Public–Private Partnerships. Business Strategy and the Environment, 14, pp. 216-229. doi:10.1002/bse.471 Pearce II, J. A., & Robinson, R. B. (2011). Strategic Management 12th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. PWC. (2008). 2009 Fiji Islands Budget Summary. Roll Global. (n.d.). Who we are Building healthy brands from the ground up. Retrieved from Roll Global: http://www.roll.com/who-we-are Roll, M. (n.d.). Fiji Water - The exotic water brand . Retrieved from VentureRepublic: http://www.venturerepublic.com/resources/Fiji_Water_-_The_exotic_water_brand.asp SMH. (2004, November 29). Hollywood couple takes on Fiji's liquid asset. Retrieved from The Sunday Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Hollywood-couple-takes-on-Fijis-liquid-asset/2004/11/29/1101577391426.html
With forward movement in society, it is important to consider not just what will propel most toward success, but also what will help to sustain the environment along the way. What may have been considered appropriate decades ago, may no longer be socially acceptable due to the changes observed in both the business world and the environment (Fiske, 2010). Therefore, it is important for organizations thriving in today?s economy to consider how they may capitalize most effectively from their product or service of choice while minimizing or eliminating any damages along the way (Knoke, 2012).
Fiji Company is one of the top bottle water brands in the United States. Fiji was “founded in 1996 out of the desire to share the earth’s finest water with the world” (Fiji, n.d). Its water is being exported from the Fiji islands around the world across fifty countries and the United States. According to the company’s website, their water is “slowly filtered by volcanic rock [where] it gathers minerals and electrolytes that create Fiji’s soft, smooth taste.” Although they say their water comes from this exclusive source, “the manufacturing process is energy-intensive and produces toxic byproducts. The plant that makes the bottles is one part of Fiji you’ll never see pictured on a Fiji Water bottle” (Niman, 2007, para. 7). Of course the company will always show th...
Together, the passages “Business in a Bottle”, by Cynthia Barnett and “Selling Bottled Water: The Modern Medicine Show”, by Peter Gleick, portray how bottled water has taken a superficial and deceptive image due to false advertising and pseudoscientific claims by greedy bottling companies, whose purpose is to take advantage of a free resource in order to make millions in profit; destroying the environment as they go. Both passages expose the bottling companies’ manipulative tricks, in order to bring awareness and open the populations’ eyes to the lies they have been fed for many years, however the authors utilize distinct styles to achieve their goal. Barnett focuses on specific bottling companies’ data and incorporates analysts for support,
According to Barnett, pictures on the bottle “often suggests a source more exotic than the water’s origins”, giving a sense that the water might be spring-water (138). Although labels create misunderstandings about its origin, it does not merit as a lie because bottled water companies call their water “drinking water”, “purified water”, or “natural water” (Barnett 138), which is not specific as to where the water comes from. The fact that Nestle gets their water 5000 feet from Madison Blue serves as a proof that that water is not really spring-water (Barnett 137). This means that the real source of water in bottles does not correlate with the implied source of water from labels. In this situation, Barnett shows that labels misguide consumers. But since labels do not directly specify the water source, one can only comment on the stealth of bottled water businesses. Also, because they handle their advertisement in such a manner, they often confuse consumers about their water source. In addition, the misleading marketing scam presented in Gleick’s article narrows down Barnett’s argument by further detailing the description of the content. Gleick’s focus on the description of the content suggests that instead of only questioning what the content is regarding the source; the description of the content should be inspected as well. He uses “
I chose to do my research about an ongoing issue with drinkable water. To narrow it down, I decided to concentrate on bottled water. This topic interests me personally, and I believe might be interesting for my classmates, as the issue affects everyone. Maybe if we realized the problems it causes, we would try drinking from a glass at home or carrying water in a refillable steel container instead of plastic. I hope that my research will change the perspective of the reader about such a convenient thing – bottled water.
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According to the “Competition in the Bottled Water Industry in 2006 Case,” bottled water industry became the one of the world’s most attractive beverage categories, as more and more people began to focus on health and fitness. Consumers start realizing the need of proper hydration, and they began purchasing bottled water instead of drinking tap water, because they were worried about safety of tap water, which tasted like chemicals. Actually, tap water contained chemicals, such as chlorine and fluoride, which are harmful for human body; however, this problem was solved when the bottled water was brought to the market. Due to bottled water’s convenience, purity, and portability, and safety, bottled water industry began to rise rapidly. During
The data provided by IBWA (International Bottled Water Association) reveal that bottled water has become extremely popular in the US market. More that $11 billion dollars has been spent for the consumption of bottled water and its consumption increase three times in the last 10 years. The market of bottled water in the United States is the second largest apart from the soft drink. In 2006, the U.S consumption of bottled water was more than 32 billion liters compared to 20 billion liters consumed in 2001. Yearly, an individual in Houston consumes average of 90.5 liters of water more than global average of 24.2 liters. Such growth in the consumption of bottled water is presumable consumers’ perception about safety, purity and convenience of bottled water. Typically, increasing public awareness of bottled water makes 50% of Houston population to drink bottled water and approximately one-third of Houston population drink bottled water regularly. Since 1976, there has been an increase in the market of bottled water in Houston and the United States as a whole. (See Fig 1).
Pepsi's Aquafina "mainstream" bottled water nears completion of national rollout. Brand is now in "about 75%" of Pepsi US system, according to Pepsi senior marketing manager Katie Lacey. Purified, non-spring-sourced Aquafina produced at 11 sites in US: 8 COBO plus 3 co-ops. Sold in 20-oz Pepsi swirl plus 1-liter and 1.5-liter proprietary PET bottles similar to swirl; also 20-oz 6-packs. Market share. In IRI convenience/gas channel data for bottled water in under 64-oz packages, Aquafina ranks #2 with 7.7 share year-to-date through 5/18/97; brand's share up +3.7 vs same period last year (see table).
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