By Hong Soon-do, Beijing correspondent, AsiaToday - China is famous for its poor tap-water quality. It has ideal conditions for being the world's largest water market. Analis ysts estimate the total water market in China to generate 550 billion yuan (99 trillion won) this year. The market is showing strong demand with 15% annual growth.

Obviously, China's bottled water market is large as well. According to a well-informed source in the bottled water market on Monday, Chinese bottled water market reached 130 billion yuan (23 trillion won) last year. It is growing at around 20% annually, which is faster than the overall water market's growth. Looking at the market's value, the bottled water market is considered a golden goose. This is why competition is fierce among local companies as well as world-renowned companies.

The country has thousands of local brands. Its bottled water market is highly fragmented and localized. There are even towns where dozens of bottling companies are operating. But it's not easy for those companies to survive. Approximately 10 new bottled water companies disappear within a year of establishment.  

The inside view of China's third largest bottled water provider Wahaha'sfactory./ Source from search engine Baidu

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Since the market is so large, many companies achieved successful. A good example would be Yili Mineral Water, which is maintaining its No. 1 position in the bottled water market in China for several years. Wahaha turned into a conglomerate by primarily selling bottled water. Nestle is one of the outstanding foreign bottled water companies in China. French company Evian has no opponent in the premium bottled water market. Although it is very expensive compared to others, it is making a big success with its sales strategy for wealthy people.

Korean companies are also joining the market battle. Among them are Nongshim Baeksansoo and Jeju Samdasoo. In the case of Baeksansoo, which is targets the premium market, is making efforts by placing actors Kim Soo-hyun and Jeon Ji-hyun as endorsement models. In response, Go Yoon-chul, vice president of Nanjing M Department Store, said, "You can definitely consider China's bottled water market as blue ocean. However, you need to invest significantly in network establishment, brand image building, and many other things. So there is a lot of unexpected initial capital costs." He emphasized that a solid funding is a key to business success along with the quality of bottled water."