Treish, one word in Kashmiri for drinking water, can become a universal call to quench one’s thirst.That is at least what the officials at the Kanwal Foods and Spices Pvt. Ltd. owned Treish bottled water believe. And they have reasons to do so. Haroon Mirani reports
“Kashmir is a legendary brand and people everywhere are crazy about it, so Treish is no exception,” says Director Sales and Marketing at Kanwal Foods and Spices Pvt. Ltd., Farooq Amin.
The company says it is receiving queries from many IT companies in India like the Aditya Birla Group and from as far as South Africa and Europe. “Our entire production is booked in advance for upcoming season. Everyday we are getting new supply orders but our limited capacity does not allow entertaining them,” says Farooq.The glaciated water from River Lidder used to bottle Treish is believed to be among the best waters available in Kashmir. The source was not chosen by accident. “We did an exhaustive research on the quality of water available in Kashmir prior to launch of this product,” says Amin.
The group had finalised three sources of water at Kukernag, Cheshmashahi and Pahalgam, of which the last one was made operational though all of them are locally considered as quality water sources.
Currently the company has an installed capacity of 40,000 to 50,000 bottles per day. For April to November season, the company is fully booked for its entire produce.
The water of Lidder is known to be digestive in nature and is rich in number of minerals which make it a healthy drink. Evian, one of the world’s costliest mineral water brands, is bottled from a spring in French Alps. According to the company, the water in these mountains slowly passes through several layers of natural filtration and accumulates minerals for 15 years before it is bottled.
Experts says that the Lidder water also undergoes a similar process in Kashmir and it may be even more complex and of longer duration than Evian. “The natural process undergoing in Lidder is almost same as in Alps but unfortunately till date no such research has been undertaken to prove it,” says Farooq.
One of the main Unique Selling Points of Treish water is its Total Dissolved Solvent (TDS) rating. The TDS is a measure of content and level of naturally occurring salts and minerals such as sodium chloride, calcium, magnesium and potassium in water. The taste of every bottle of water is determined by the unique amount and combination of these elements, thus TDS is a good indicator of taste and quality.
Evian has a TDS of around 310 and in comparison most of the bottled water products in India have very low natural TDS. Treish has the unique position with TDS of 150 thus making it a soft blend. The lower the TDS level, the lighter the taste. Treish stands somewhere in between.
Several brands in India claim to have TDS value above 150, but most often the TDS count is enhanced artificially.
“Majority of bottled water brands in India add number of minerals to the final product which increases its TDS count and some of them even acknowledge it,” says Arshid Malik, Public Relations Officer of the Kanwal Groups of Industries. “But we at Treish do not alter the natural composition of the water.”
Currently Treish is supplied to Jammu & Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC) and Vaishnodevi Shrine Board, which hosts millions of pilgrims every year. It is also supplied to the local market.
Though national and international market has responded well, the company says it is finalising the supply chain management to major retail chains all across India for the product that is available in bottles ranging between 200 ml to 20 litres.
Farooq attributes the demand to the natural water resources of Kashmir which are comparable to or sometimes better than their European counterparts. Treish is the first brand in Kashmir with Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) certificate and Indian Standards Institution (ISI) mark. “After seeing our machinery and world class packaging process, which ensures balanced minerals and prevention of loss of essential bicarbonates, they (buyers) couldn’t say no,” says Amin.
While the company has plans to increase its production capacity, it is looking forward to apply for Mineral Water status this year for which they are installing stainless steel bore-well at the water source itself – a mandatory requirement for the status. The new status is likely to increase the demand for Treish manifold and speed up the spread of the Kashmiri word.
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