The Hindu Business Line : Now, UB Group plans Kingfisher Himalayan water brand

Every drop counts
Water is going to become a full blown business for the group with the possibility of it even being spun off as a separate company in the future.

Purvita Chatterjee

Mumbai, July 21 As the slugfest between Bisleri and the Tatas continues over the infringement of the ‘Himalayan’ trademark, the UB Group has decided to enter the category with its Kingfisher Himalaya Natural Mineral Water.

Having registered this name as its trademark the liquor major is now planning to unleash its natural mineral water sourced from the Himalayas.

“We intend launching our natural mineral water in the next few months and as long as it is sourced from the Himalayas we will be using the word Himalaya for our brand.

“Kingfisher Himalaya Natural water has already been registered as a brand and we will definitely go ahead and use it as long as the source for the mineral water is rightly mentioned,” said a senior UB group official.

In fact, water is going to become a key business for the UB Group as it has decided to treat it as a separate business and may even float a new company for the same.

“Water is no longer a surrogate product and after natural mineral water, we are looking at more categories such as enhanced water as water is going to become a full blown business for the group with the possibility of it even being spun off as a separate company in the future,” said the official.

Meanwhile, Bisleri International has approached the Intellectual Property Appellate Board in Chennai for rectification of the ‘Himalayan’ trademark.

“We are challenging the exclusivity of the Himalaya word as it is descriptive in nature and is an indication of the quality and nature of water as it is derived from a specific geographical location,” said Mr Ramesh Chauhan, Chairman, Bisleri International.

Bisleri International has been made to reduce its font size for the words ‘From the Himalayas’ in its communication for its Bisleri Mountain brand of ‘Himalayan’ water after Mt. Everest Mineral Water (a Tata Group Company) moved court against Bisleri for infringement of its trademark in terms of using the ‘Himalayan’ word in its brand name and packaging.

“If we succeed in winning this case, Himalaya will cease to be a trademark but just a word and this will lead to other players who have also entered this segment to use this word in their brands,” said Mr Chauhan. Currently, there are natural mineral water brands such as Catch, Hello, Paras, Qua and Natural which source their water from the geographical region of the Himalayas.

Meanwhile, Mr Pradeep Poddar, Managing Director & CEO, Mount Everest Mineral Water, said, “Though we have yet to go through the trademark rectification order, we are working towards it”.