Recently, the debate between mineral water and purified water has been intense, and how to choose drinking water has become a hot topic among consumers. For the mineral water category, it's not hard to notice that very few brands on the market dare to name themselves directly after their water source, and even fewer in the domestic market. Behind this lies the fact that high-quality water sources are inherently scarce. During frontline market research, New Distribution found that Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water has almost secured the top spot in the high-quality mineral water market. How exactly did it capture the high ground in the domestic bottled water market? We believe you'll gain insights after reading this article.
Behind High Quality Lies the Choice of a Premium Water Source And a Decade of Dedicated Water Sourcing The core of a good bottle of water is strong product strength. Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water was founded with the mission to let more Chinese people drink water of exceptional quality. To achieve this, the Kunlun Mountain team spent ten years searching the country, comparing hundreds of water samples, and ultimately chose the only water source at Yuzhu Peak, 6,000 meters above sea level. Yuzhu Peak is located in the world's golden water source belt, with a pristine and unpolluted source. The water originates from snowmelt that penetrates deep into rock layers, undergoing deep circulation, natural filtration, and mineralization, resulting in natural mineral water with the four golden qualities: "pure, mineral-rich, low sodium, and alkaline." Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water contains essential minerals for the human body, such as potassium, strontium, calcium, magnesium, and metasilicic acid. Additionally, it is naturally weakly alkaline, helping to balance the body's pH levels. The unique topography and landforms have given birth to a fine bottle of water. To protect this source, the Kunlun Mountain team established a four-level protection system that exceeds national standards, ensuring the consistent high quality of every bottle. To present each bottle in its best quality and condition, Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water uses 100% direct sourcing and bottling at the source. Every bottle of Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water on the market overcomes obstacles of distance, temperature, and pressure. From source to consumer, every step is strictly controlled, with multiple measures ensuring the high quality of Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water.
The Birth of High Quality: Building Consumption Scenarios And Continuously Amplifying Differentiation "Differentiation" has always been a core topic in the FMCG market, and the same applies to today's bottled water market. Concept waters like tea-brewing water, baby water, and selenium-rich water are emerging one after another. The supply side is becoming diverse, and consumer demand for drinking water is becoming clearer. From Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water's external exposure, its goal is not just to sell a bottle of water, but to advocate a quality lifestyle, promote public drinking water health, and drive the industry's common development. At the "2024 China Mineral Water Industry High-Quality Development Expert Seminar" held in April this year, the Health Drinking Water Professional Committee of the China National Health Association, multiple industry experts, and Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water jointly discussed health drinking water trends, mineral water science popularization, and drinking water consumption upgrades, calling on all sectors of society to pay attention to the high-quality development of the bottled drinking water industry through industry initiatives. In 2024, Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water precisely captured consumer needs, focused on quality life, and built "bridges" for communication with users across different channels. On this year's eighth National Science and Technology Workers' Day, Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water, together with Hubei TV, officially announced the second season of "Hello, Mr. Scientist." This is an innovative science popularization program that focuses on the spirit of science and showcases the style of scientists. In the program, Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water transformed into a science prop, and academicians affirmed its excellent water quality, rich minerals, and its ability to regulate the body's acid-base balance from a professional perspective. Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water continues to consolidate and strengthen brand exposure through science popularization. It also reached a consensus with consumers on the topic of "healthy drinking water," building industry reputation and consumer mindshare for quality water. New marketing expert Liu Chunxiong once said: "New marketing is scenario marketing in a hazy era; scenario marketing is clear new marketing." In addition to frequent appearances in science programs, this year Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water also anchored on scenario needs, building diversified consumption scenarios and continuously strengthening scenario marketing.
In sports scenarios, Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water has established its label as sports water, becoming the event water for athletes at the "2024 China Open," ensuring their competitive performance; in travel scenarios, Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water, with the positioning of "spiritual tracing, journey to Kunlun," searched for the source of good water in "Greater Bay Area Travelers," deeply embedding the drinking water needs of travel scenarios; in life scenarios, through in-depth cooperation with lifestyle and entertainment activities such as Nanchang Cultural Tourism Consumption Season and the 2024 Shenzhen Bougainvillea Appreciation Week, it showcases the charm of high-quality water for life, becoming a preferred choice for people to enjoy leisurely moments. Furthermore, Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water innovatively opened the "wine-water integration" track. In October this year, Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water hosted the "Chu Wine Revitalization Summit," interpreting the new concept of "wine-water integration" through "good wine paired with good water." "Wine-water integration" is not only a consumption trend and market demand but also a cultural heritage and concept innovation. By building brand mindshare through science programs and strengthening brand image with scenario marketing, the shaping of a high-quality brand image relies not only on hardcore products but also on the brand's sustained influence at the consumer end.
The Pursuit of High Quality Is Essentially Health Becoming the Consumer's Primary Choice Nowadays, health has become the main theme of consumption, and consumers' pursuit of quality life is essentially a choice of quality brands. During market research, many store owners talked about the bottled water market, almost all saying: In the past two years, high-quality mineral water has sold very well in stores, especially Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water, and customers' demand for such high-quality products is increasingly evident. The bottled water market has upgraded from merely satisfying "thirst" to the pursuit of naturalness and health. Relevant data shows that China's bottled water market size will reach 337.1 billion yuan in 2024, and in the coming years, it will continue to grow at a rate of 8% to 9%, showing strong growth potential. The continuous expansion of the domestic bottled water market also reflects consumers' rising pursuit of health and quality life. In the high-quality water market, what drives consumer purchase and decision-making today is not just curiosity but more so personal needs.
Final Thoughts This year, many mineral water brands have made appearances. Undeniably, the barriers to entry in the bottled water industry are not high, but not every bottle of mineral water has a golden water source and expert endorsement. The rapid market growth will inevitably bring different brand positioning. In such a trend, whoever first captures core consumers and clearly positions its target audience is more likely to secure a place in the future bottled water market. Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water, against the backdrop of drinking water upgrades, has continuously strengthened and laid out its efforts in product, market, and channels, winning consumer market recognition and establishing a brand image of quality water.