Product Differentiation

For several consumer-facing businesses and brands, there have recently been increasing levels of proactive ambition sharing that will potentially enhance brand positioning. As consumers become more aware of the water challenge and media coverage gets more critical, the concept of embedded water is gaining common currency. With associated figures recently being quoted by the BBC, the Economist, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, organisations that are ahead of the curve have been building their reputation in this area.

Beer producer, SAB Miller, has led the drinks sector in defining and sharing its 2007 global water policy. In 2008 the company made the next step by making a commitment to reduce the embedded water in its products by 25% by 2015.

Unilever’s All Small & Mighty brand detergent uses 74 percent less water than regular detergents. The new concentrated formulas use up to 44 percent less water, as well as less packaging. 2007 sales of this brand in the US were up 40% on 2006.

Beyond the obvious water consumers, other companies are also seeking to gain differentiation: As part of its ‘Considered’ range of products, Nike has announced that it intends to include embedded water and embedded energy data as part of its consumer facing collateral.

As lead-consumers start to make purchase decisions based on embedded water data, and new labelling comes into the influential EU marketplace, more companies will be seeking to identify how they too can both reduce water usage and simultaneously use this as a source of competitive differentiation.