Perrier in Six-Packs

For more than a century, France's Perrier mineral water has been a familiar presence in Europe's toniest restaurants, glossiest spas and priciest specialty shops. The gaseous drink in the light green bottle--distinctively shaped like an Indian club--has somehow managed to retain an air of exclusivity even though Source Perrier has been for years the world's largest bottler of sparkling water; the company also owns such brands as Vichy and Contrexeville. Yet Perrier water has just about saturated the Western European market, and the rate of growth has been leveling off. Now, in an expansionary effort, the company has decided on a bold gamble: beginning in early summer, Perrier will try to crack the U.S. Thus it will take on the world's richest and roughest soft-drink market, which is dominated by such giants as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Seven-Up, not to mention scores of home-grown mineral-water bottlers.

Even without promotional fanfare, about 2 million bottles of Perrier are sold in the U.S. each year, mostly to discriminating, well-heeled "Perrier freaks," who are willing to hunt down the drink in expensive gourmet shops and pay a dollar or more for a 23-oz. bottle. One of the latest In drinks at high-priced Manhattan restaurants is a glass of Perrier with a piece of lime. Source Perrier believes that sales of its nonfattening water will be further helped by the U.S. Government's proposed ban on saccharin, which will eliminate many U.S. diet drinks that use the artificial sweetener.

Snob Appeal. In its assault on the U.S., Perrier faces an exquisitely tricky marketing problem. It must shed some of its aristocratic image to gain acceptance in the plebeian American supermarket--but not so much that it loses its sales-winning snob appeal. Perrier's current U.S. price will be cut by 20% or 30%. For convenience, the water will be sold in bottles of six-packs, just like beer. The company intends to launch an introductory $4 million advertising blitz featuring Orson Welles, and will aim a special pitch at the youth market.

At the same time, the campaign will stress Perrier's mystique. Ads will note that the water, which has been bottled commercially since 1863, has been bubbling up from a single underground spring near Mimes in Southern France for thousands of years. For the health-minded, the campaign will emphasize that the drink, which gets its sparkle from carbon dioxide that occurs naturally in the water, is high in calcium and almost salt free. The company "believes," but will not be able to advertise in the U.S., that the water helps "prevent heart disease in some instances, keep makeup fresh and soothe a hangover." Perrier President Gustave Leven says simply, "Americans will love Perrier because it is nice for your digestion." Leven is protected whether the U.S. venture succeeds or flops; he holds the Pepsi franchise for all of France.

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