As Swan Water Makes a Detour...

As the world’s population continues to grow at an alarming rate, with many consumers returning to natural drinks for fear of consuming adulterated drinks, water has suddenly become the most consumed drink globally. To fill the vacuum in Nigeria, international manufacturers and beverage companies, like Coca Cola, 7up, UAC and Nestle, have successfully opened up the market to give consumers quality water. But if there is any brand that has consistently remained in consumers’ consciousness over the years, it is Swan water, which has remained in bottle water business for over three decades. Until recently, Swan and Ragolis were household names in the market. Aside the market giants like Eva, Swan, Aquafina and Gossy, there are over hundred water brands in the market with each of them jostling for a sizeable share of the market. However, in a renewed effort to reclaim the leadership position, promoters of Swan have begun a thorough restructur- ing to reposition the brand. According to a source close to the company, its handlers will soon roll out massive campaign to play up the naturalness of Swan water by re-echoing its pay off line: “Make a healthy choice for your lifestyle today... Make the Swan Choice.” To this end, attention will be shifted to how it has refreshed Nigerians for about 34 years by sourcing water from the natural Spring of Kerang hills, situated in the highlands of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State. Other areas that may be leveraged is the health benefit of the water, especially the fact that it possesses distinctive qualities and health benefits like Magnesium, Sodium, Bicarbonate and other essential minerals. According to a statement on its website, “Swan table water passes through series of complex cavity whereby absorbing natural minerals in its way. It is filtered through ultra violet light to destroy all microorganisms if present, it does not undergo any form of chemical treatment in this process.” As part of the build-up to the activities, the company has intensified its radio jingles and programmes, which itemise the place of water in human body. In one of the programmes currently running, the company said: “We all know that life is all about sharing, hence the reason I would share an experience with you. Have you ever been in a coincidence where you bump into a friend you haven’t seen in about a decade or more? Exactly that happened to me yesterday… “So I bumped into one of my friends from high school, whom I almost didn’t recognise again, then she introduced herself and I was in awe. She said that I looked stunning and that I had barely changed from the last time she saw me in high school. I then remembered the struggle to keep fit, the restricted diet and most importantly the struggle to reduce dehydration after the morning workout, and yes hydration is a major part of staying fit, and that is why I drink Swan natural spring water which possesses essential minerals that are good for the body “Fast forward to the other day with my friend, I told her, darling, staying fit is not

farfetched, I just chose the healthy side of life, which includes drinking Swan Spring water. Enjoy the healthy side of life with me.” Meanwhile, findings have revealed that most of the table water brands are a threat to healthy living because of their unhygienic methods of production. As a result of this, concerned Nigerians have consistently appealed to regulators like the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Consumers Protection Council to be proactive in the regulation of the industry, to save consumers from consuming substandard products. According to NAFDAC, estimations on water consumed in Nigeria daily, ranging from bottled water to sachet water is about N8 billion. Former Director General of NAFDAC, Dr. Paul Orhii, had two years ago, revealed this at a forum organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). Orhii admitted that water was a fast growing business in the country. Aside the fact that there is an existing market for bottled water in Nigeria, records have shown that a well purified and packaged water is exportable to Europe, America and other African countries.