The entrance of Bling H2O, considered as a “luxury” bottled water, into the bottle water market has provided a wonderful product to the lovers of bottled water.
Initially introduced to a few selected athletes and actors, the product is now available to the public and it would certainly receive a mix of reactions from the consumers in the Australian Market if it were introduced there. Since the Australian market has a tradition of liking to bottled water, therefore, some Australian end-users would purchase it because of its uniqueness and fashionableness.
Since the bottled water is not manufactured locally in Australia, some consumers would buy it only for experiencing its taste that is different from the local products. In addition, since the new product in the bottled water market is more about maintaining ones image in the society, the high-spending Australian consumers are expected to receive it positively.
Lastly, since Bling H2O is more environmentally friendly than the normal plastic bottles, the environmentally conscious consumers are more likely to purchase it because of this (Australian Bottled Water Institute, 2004). And, maybe, the town of Bundanoon that banned the use of bottled water can reintroduce it if the new product were introduced in the Australian market.
On the other hand, some Australian consumers are likely to refuse purchasing the new product. This is because some people usually have a strong sense of ancestral pride in the way they do things; thus, they would not purchase the product since it does not give them a sense of identification and pride as the people of Australia. Nonetheless, this hindrance can be effectively surmounted by carrying out adequate promotional activities to drive away such a notion that some Australians might harbour concerning the new product.
As the world’s most expensive bottled water, there are various ethical and social concerns that individuals have regarding Bling H2O. First, people are concerned about its price, which most of them think that is unrealistically high. For example, a 750 milliliter of the product costs about forty to sixty dollars depending on the size and the place where one purchases it and as compared to the normal bottled water that normally costs two to four dollars; the price is beyond the reach of many (Koutsoukis, 2007).
Thus, many people are concerned that the manufacturers of the product are using the unethical pricing theory of price skimming to set a relatively high price for the bottled water. In response to this concern, the society can emphasize on the uniqueness of the product, instead of focusing too much on its high price.
In designing Bling H2O, the Hollywood guru, Kevin G. Boyd, intended to make a defining statement as the product provides an exquisite face to match exquisite taste. Further, it was specifically designed to meet the needs of the high-spending consumers (Fuller, 2010). Worth mentioning, the product is also unique in the sense that its water is derived from natural springs and gets more treatment than the normal bottled waters.
Another concern that various people have raised concerning this product is its effects to the environment. It has been said that the use of the bottled water can bring adverse effects to the environment, even more than the ordinary bottled waters. However, the society can respond to this concern effectively by stressing on the environmental friendliness of the product since its design is such that it is reusable and refillable, hence it has limited effects on the environment.
References
Australian Bottled Water Institute (ABWI), 2004. What is ABWI? Web.
Fuller, J., 2010. Would you pay $55 for bottled water? Web.
Koutsoukis, J., 2007. The real cost of bottled water. Web.