Top: Tibet 5100's bottled mineral water is on display during a promotion in Beijing in April. Below: The company's workshops in Tibet. The source of the water is the Qu Ma Nong Spring, which is 5,100 meters above sea level. Photos Provided to China Daily

 

Bottled water company looks to exploit its natural advantage

When it comes to the Tibet autonomous region, people's first thoughts are of remote landscapes, hauntingly beautiful views and ancient history. Business and commerce rarely come to mind.

But Lhasa-based bottled water company Tibet 5100 hopes to change that business-free picture, through international success.

Fu Lin, the company's CEO, was invited to speak at the Global Bottled Water Congress in Barcelona, Spain, from Oct 8 to 10. It was only the second time a Chinese company has attended the annual event, which attracts big international brands including Coca Cola, Nestle Waters and the Danone Group.

"It is a platform for bottled water producers, suppliers, customers and other industry partners to gain a complete overview of market trends and developments. Being invited to speak at it shows that Tibet 5100 has gained international acceptance," Fu says.

It was an important moment for the company and confirmation that its hard work to create a quality product and image that can stand alongside top international brands has paid off.

China is known as a manufacturing hub, but not for its water products. Overseas brands including Evian and Perrier dominate the market.

"The international bottled water market is more mature than in China. We will keep our own characteristics, but at the same time we have to keep up with industry developments," Fu says.

Fu opened his conference speech with a joke. "Although it is a little hard for me to get used to the lower altitude here as I have come from Tibet, the roof of the world, I can still feel the passion of Spain."

"I shared our business model with the conference and talked about the future of China's water market," he says.

Tibet 5100 is one of a handful of Chinese water brands able to compete with global players.

Established in October 2005, it marked its international debut at the International Food Exhibition in Cologne, Germany in 2007.

"The first time we attended the exhibition, more than 100 overseas distributors expressed an interest in our water," he says.

"But we thought we needed to improve our product, so we decided to wait and prepare more."

Last year, Tibet 5100's authorized distributor signed the strategic export cooperation with Chateau Classic, a subsidiary company of Hawesko Holding AG Group, the largest high-class wine distributor in Europe, to promote and sell Tibet 5100 in Europe.

In June last year, the company listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, a moment Fu describes as "the happiest" in his life.

Now Fu wants to expand globally and plans to build a glass bottle production line later this year. He says, glass maintains the water's qualities better during transport.

"We have a two-step overseas plan. Firstly, we will access markets near China like the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Singapore. Secondly, we will approach Europe and the US," Fu says.

"We see this as a good chance for Tibet 5100 to expand its business globally and accelerate the company's development."

Tibet 5100 Glacier Spring Water is sourced from the Qu Ma Nong Spring, a glacial spring 5,100 meters above sea level that comes from the Nianqing Donggula Mountains on the Tibetan Plateau.

"This also marks the origin of our brand name," says Fu. "The source of our water is the mountain's quaternary glacier, which has been in existence for millions of years."

With low deuterium content and weak alkaline properties, the water flows naturally and remains stable at around 24 C.

"It is one of the most precious mineral waters in Tibet and the whole of China," Fu says.

Recalling the company's tough beginnings, Fu says: "To guarantee premium water quality, we set up our production plant beside our water source, including four German Krone production lines, three Husky preform injection molding production lines and one Husky cap production line."

Erecting these was hard work due to the high attitude. "Our German experts and some of our other staff fainted several times during the installation process due to high altitude anoxia," Fu says. "They needed oxygen to finish the work."