Evian Vs Vittel
“I drink Vittel”, “Evian is the first water I drunk when I was a baby”. These quotes show that the water you drink is a value driver for your own personality. Mineral waters are more than a simple basic need, it is a way to express yourself. Most people have a strong personal attachment to these brands. One very simple fact shows this phenomenon: in 2011 Evian had been elected “preferred brand” for French people in terms of food products, Coca, 2nd, Nutella, 3rd. All businesses combined, Evian is as appreciated as Apple, in France. On the other hand, if you ask retired people, they mostly would rather have a glass bottle of Vittel on the table of their usual restaurant than Evian.
Evian and Vittel are sold within two different channels. You can find them on a shelf in a supermarket in plastic bottles or in a restaurant in a glass bottle. If you buy Vittel in a supermarket because you want to hydrate yourself well, you will satisfy a totally different need in a restaurant. The glass bottle on the table, very expensive (from 3€ to 10€ in some places in Paris), satisfies the fact that you want to celebrate a good time and show your socio-professional group[1], even if you are not thirsty.
Evian develops a premium image thanks to a strong advertising campaign. Evian’s price is higher than Vittel. It is a will to target the premium market and Danone does not hesitate to invest a lot in terms of advertising and communication. One cannot talk about Evian without saying something about its advertising campaign. Every TV ad is a big buzz, from babies swimming in the water to babies dancing on t-shirts. Next ad is scheduled in Mars. The health positioning has a great impact, Evian promising that it will keep you young. “Evian, live young”. In today’s world, people live older and older, making you feel young longer than our parents, the “Peter Pan Syndrome”, every one of these tendencies highlight the fact that Evian benefits from a deep resonance from the people.
Evian is the leader of national brands still waters. Vittel is the challenger, more and more perceived by the consumer as an old good. In terms of market share, from September 2011 to September 2012, Evian represents more or less 10% of the volumes over the bottle water market, Vittel 7%[2]. Even if Evian has a strong leadership in terms of market share and image, new trends appear…
Throught the crisis, Evian and Vittel (and other water brands as well) broadly used discounts to overcome a drop in sales. Sales of Evian decreased by 2.2% versus September 2010 to September 2009 and it decreased by 3.2% the year before. On the contrary, Vittel increased its sales by 13.8% and 8.9% the year before[3]. This performance is a good example of the importance of discounts in the bottle water market: 39% of Vittel’s volumes were sold with a discount higher than 40% against 27% for Evian. 12 points difference becomes 1 point of growth as regards the volumes. Even if people prefer Evian, they will buy Vittel instead if the price is more attractive.
So price is a key element. Distributors are battling a price war, food groups have to finance an increasingly higher part of distributors’ profits with promotion and “marge arrière” so that Carrefour can offer a better price than Leclerc for example. Evian 6×1.5L pack is around 3,37€ against 2,86€ for Vittel (price average, excluding promotion, over all distributors in France)[4].
Evian’s price is higher. It is a will to target the premium market and Danone does not hesitate to invest a lot in terms of advertising and communication. One cannot talk about Evian without saying something about its advertising campaign. Every TV ad is a big buzz, from babies swimming in the water to babies dancing on t-shirts. Next ad is scheduled in Mars. The health positioning has a great impact, Evian promising that it will keep you young. “Evian, live young”. In today’s world, people live older and older, making you feel young longer than our parents, the “Peter Pan Syndrome”, every one of these tendencies highlight the fact that Evian benefits from a deep resonance from the people.
– Charles Vercoustre
The Skemarketeers 