---
title: "If You Choose to Be a 'Premium Water,' You Are Destined to Be a Niche Brand!"
description: "Foreign premium water brands are flooding into China, while domestic premium drinking water brands are emerging one after another, intensifying market competition. In the era when technology was still mysterious, premium mineral water was often associated with impressive-sounding terms like 'oxygen-rich,' 'distilled,' and 'ionized'; today, it quietly embraces the concepts of 'original ecology' and 'zero additives.' The definition of 'premium' has evolved, but companies' determination to enter the premium market remains unchanged. In recent years, despite slowing economic growth, the premium mineral water market has continued to surge."
author: "龙小龙"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2017-05-19"
language: "en"
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---

# If You Choose to Be a 'Premium Water,' You Are Destined to Be a Niche Brand!

> Foreign premium water brands are flooding into China, while domestic premium drinking water brands are emerging one after another, intensifying market competition. In the era when technology was still mysterious, premium mineral water was often associated with impressive-sounding terms like 'oxygen-rich,' 'distilled,' and 'ionized'; today, it quietly embraces the concepts of 'original ecology' and 'zero additives.' The definition of 'premium' has evolved, but companies' determination to enter the premium market remains unchanged. In recent years, despite slowing economic growth, the premium mineral water market has continued to surge.

Team Long Xiaolong
Foreign premium water brands are flooding into China, and domestic premium drinking water brands are also emerging one after another, making market competition increasingly fierce.
In an era when technology was still mysterious, premium mineral water was often associated with impressive-sounding terms like "oxygen-rich," "distilled," and "ionized." Today, premium water has quietly embraced the concepts of "original ecology" and "zero additives." Along the way, the definition of "premium" has changed, but companies' determination to enter the premium market has never wavered.
In recent years, despite our economic slowdown, the premium mineral water market has still experienced explosive growth. Why do companies keep clinging to the tail of premium water?
First, as pollution worsens and national income rises, people pay more attention to health and are willing to pay for it. Second, market differentiation competition fills the gap in the premium market, a result of market segmentation. Finally, the scarcity of high-quality water resources perfectly aligns with the human logic of "what is rare is precious."
Now, let's take a detailed look at the premium mineral water market you may not know about!
**1**
**What Makes Them Premium?**
1. Top-notch packaging design
**Representatives: Evian, Nongfu Spring**
Think back: have you ever bought something simply because it looked good, even if you knew it might not be useful, and you tried to convince yourself to buy it?
Moreover, we all generally agree that drinking more water is good for health. Treating yourself to a bottle of artistic mineral water is something most people can accept!
Evian invites top fashion designers to design its packaging every year and releases a limited-edition bottle annually. The crystal-clear glass bottle, crafted by masters, exudes luxury and is no less impressive than an iPhone 7!
For example, in 2009, Evian collaborated with world-renowned fashion master Jean Paul Gaultier to create the "Cloud Bottle," once again pushing Evian to the forefront of fashion and art.
Another example is Nongfu Spring, which excels in packaging design domestically; you might even be reluctant to throw away the bottle after drinking.
2. Storytelling and humanistic appeal
**Representatives: Chateldon, Vytautas**
I remember someone telling Xiaolong that the best companies tell two types of stories:
The first type is the creation story, focusing on the company's entrepreneurial legend.
The second type is the customer-impact story, telling about the impact and changes brought by the company's products.
Everyone knows that a good story enhances marketing effectiveness and can be a key trigger and booster for a product. Telling good stories and establishing good sentiments greatly increases brand communication stickiness. For example, New Balance tells the story of Li Zongsheng's "Craftsmanship," and Chu Shijian's legendary life story. These stories are closely integrated with the brand and product.
Now let's see how Chateldon and Vytautas, as "aristocrats" of water, connect stories and sentiments with their brands.
Legend has it that the noble Grand Duke Vytautas and his soldiers, after drinking Lithuanian water by chance, miraculously recovered from battle wounds. Such a simple story created the aristocratic water brand Vytautas.
It's a shame that China, with its 5,000-year history, has yet to find a decent story from its history to attach to premium mineral water brands. Instead, they simply emphasize the scarcity of water sources.
3. Scarcity of water sources
If you open Tmall and search for premium mineral water, you'll find that water source scarcity is basically the common appeal of all premium waters. Domestic brands are even more so... Actually, consumers have become numb to this point!
Examples: Kunlun Mountain, Baishishan, Evergrande Spring (Xiaolong will analyze this brand in detail later; it's interesting!), Tibet 5100...
**2**
**The Correct Posture for Premium Water**
If you choose to be a premium water brand, you should understand that you are destined to be a niche brand, a brand that most people only look at!
1. Sell to the president, not to the beggar
**Keyword: Never lower prices**
Lowering prices means compromising with consumers and the market. If you lower once, you'll face lowering again. Resolutely not lowering prices is the integrity you must maintain as a "premium" brand. Be stubborn! When everyone realizes you are expensive, that's when you officially enter the premium market.
Here's a counterexample: Evergrande Spring
Evergrande Spring lost 4 billion yuan in three years. Originating from Changbai Mountain, Evergrande Spring entered the premium water market directly in 2014. Their entry point was spot-on; you have to admire Evergrande's vision. However, possibly due to mistakes in marketing, main appeals, and product packaging design, Evergrande Spring has not been smooth sailing.
Xiaolong believes their biggest mistake was not marketing or the main appeal, but constantly compromising with the market. They lowered prices repeatedly, and just when people started to know they were expensive, they compromised!
Given the immortal and mystical image of Changbai Mountain portrayed in TV dramas and storybooks, Evergrande Spring actually compromised! Perhaps if they had improved the packaging design and stubbornly persisted for a few more years, they might have truly succeeded.
2. Create a unique label
**Keyword 1: Scarcity**
Everyone understands the principle of "what is rare is precious." Emphasizing the uniqueness of the water source and quality, or the content of a certain mineral, is fine in itself, but the copywriting makes consumers feel homogenized.
In February this year, Evergrande Spring once again challenged the premium mineral water market. This time, Evergrande was much smarter than in 2013. They focused on the concept of "Changbai Mountain metasilicate active mineral water," with "metasilicate" as the main selling point, and made significant changes to the packaging.
**Keyword 2: Story**
Today, without a story-driven appeal, it's hard to convince consumers to change their behavior. A story related to the product's selling point can achieve "scenario-based" consumer engagement, which helps consumers remember deeply and leverages pervasive social media sharing.
3. Niche community
**Keyword: Admiration**
When you decide to make a premium product, it means you can only be a niche brand. What you need to do is make the public look up to you. Draw a clear circle (Xiaolong is not advocating classism), a circle belonging to the wealthy or the tasteful...
If you position yourself as a premium product but keep your eyes fixed on the mass market, then you are destined to be a mass brand. Never try to accomplish tasks that consumers themselves don't want to do, or tasks that are impossible for consumers to accomplish.
-END-


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