Pleass Global Limited sustainability manager Gael Leopold with their newly launched bottled water product VaiWai Natural Artesian Water outside their Walu Bay office last week. Photo: RONALD KUMAR.
By RANOBA BAOA
Imagine drinking from a bottled water knowing that the container is recyclable as well as ecological friendly.
Well that is what Pleass Global Limited of widely-known bottled water AquaSafe have developed with their newly launched bottled water-VaiWai Natural Artesian Water.
VaiWai is a thoroughbred of bottled water, the result of seven years of research and development. It is as the company believes a ‘world’s best practice’ in environmentally sustainable bottled water.
The product which was recently launched during the Trade Mission to Papua New Guinea recently is currently targeting the niche market beginning in Australia.
Aside from Australia the company is also aiming at what is called ‘nature markets’ like, New Zealand, US, Japan, Europe countries, China.
The first shipment was only of sampling quantity to health and organic shops.
VaiWai is a registered product of Australian Certified Organic and is extracted from an aquifer located underneath Fijian land certified organic.
The company therefore believes that it is ensuring the highest quality from the same aquifer used as Aqua Safe drinking water.
VaiWai is answer
In a statement released on the South Pacific Stock Exchange, company managing director Warwick Pleass said VaiWai is their answer to the challenges faced by bottling industries.
“As a bottling company whose business is primarily based on a natural resource, we have to ensure that our environmental impacts are minimal,” Mr Pleass said.
“As a Fijian company, we are proud to launch VaiWai and to take a lead in the global bottling industry on our path towards more sustainable practices.”
Bottling component
Company sustainable manager Gael Leopold told the Fiji Sun the beauty of VaiWai is the ecologically-friendly make of the bottle probably never made before by other bottling manufacturers.
“We are still using plastic with the bottle which is renewable but the thing is we are adding is a bio-credibility enhancing product called Eco 1,” Mr Leopold said.
“That’s really the beauty of it. You have different solutions for different applications when you want to have an eco-friendly product you have many different kinds of matter but they are not all okay to be used for the water.
“So we made sure that whatever we are using today is exactly the same quality and the physical properties of the container (bottle). It is about the same quality as the one you would find in AquaSafe bottles.”
Market targets
Mr Leopold said the marketing component of VaiWai is to keep it small.
“The idea of Vai Wai is we don’t want it to be a large product. Because Vai WAi requires so much investment it is going to cost a little bit more,” he said.
“So we are targeting people who are ready to pay with more because they do care for the environment and these people usually go to very specific shops in Australia.
“Unlike in Fiji’s case we do not have too many organic shops. So we are targeting the niche markets- the organic stores and the health store as well.”
He added that the important factor for the Australian market was to note that sea freighting from Fiji to Australia was likely to emit less carbon-dioxide.
“The reality is that sea-freighting Vai Wai from Fiji to Brisbane, emits less carbon-dioxide emissions than road trekking it 600 km in Australia,” he added.
VaiWai will be sold exclusively in outlets sharing the company values in sustainable development and the environment. These would include natural and organic food stores, health products stores and food service outlets selling organic and fair trade products.