Consumer's Brand Preference of Packaged Drinking Water in Coimbatore City

In India, 80% of the diseases are water-borne and 60-80% children suffer from this. 50000 people die every day due to water contamination with 8 million cases of typhoid every year in India. Packaged drinking water industry is at a whooping rate of growth with nearly 200 brands in India, 80% being local. So the consumers need to be diligent in brand selection. The present paper aims to study the brand preference of consumers in Coimbatore City. Totally 120 consumers were selected by convenience sampling method in Coimbatore City. Percentage analysis, Garrett's ranking and Likert analysis were used to study the brand preference and factors influencing the purchase of packaged drinking water and to examine the brand loyalty and brand switching behavior of consumers. The study indicated that Bisleri and Sirnvani were the most preferred brands. Quality, taste and comparatively lower price were the important factors which influenced the purchase of packaged drinking water. The brand name acts as a vital source for preference of brands. The consumers remain loyal as long as the brand is available in their local market and there is a consistency in price.