A visit to Bisleri’s Mumbai plant – My experience and learnings

It’s monsoon time, my least favorite season of the year. This is particularly because diseases are rampant and there’s nothing more stressful for me, as a mother, than my children being unwell. Unclean water is a major carrier of diseases, and so, when I was invited to visit the Bisleri factory, I was keen to see the purification process and how a company as pervasive as Bisleri is in India, ensures that the water we receive is truly pure. I have to say: I was impressed.

The water goes through a 10-step purification process, where minerals like Potassium, Magnesium, etc. are added, and it goes through 114 tests, including a double ozonisation process and a manual inspection, before it is truly Bisleri water. Yes, each bottle is manually inspected against a white light, which highlights impurities, if any. The bottles are made from smaller preforms that are blown up and then sterilized before the mineralized water is added in. It is completely safe, not just for us, but for our babies too! I feel that my children are safer consuming Bisleri mineral water than filtered water (which we would also boil as a secondary precaution), and have switched to that for the monsoon season.

The Bisleri plant, itself, is spotlessly clean and we were made to wear shoe covers, gloves, and hair nets, and take off our jewelry or anything that can be a contaminant, even though we were nowhere near the water. Cleanliness was ensured on every level. It is also efficiently planned and is one of India’s first vertical plants. There’s a conveyer belt running through the plant that brings in recycled bottles and helps pack and transport the filled bottles.

What I found most amazing was that for the large 20 liter jars of water, recycled containers were coming back in to the plant, and then being cleaned, washed, sterilized, and refilled! These are ideal for your home, and great for the environment. We also had the opportunity to address our concerns with the company director who answered all out questions. It was also interesting to note that each bottle has a batch number and manufacture date, and that the expiry is said to be 6 months from the date of manufacture. The bottles can also be reused at home, but should not be used again for very long (10 days max).

I learned that there are approx. 5,500 mineral water companies in Indian market many of which are lookalikes or fakes. The reason for this is the trust that the brand has established over the last 50 years, which is unparalleled, and after visiting the factory, I am not the least bit surprised. So, when you buy your water, ensure that it is the right brand, and that it was sealed when you opened it. The larger jars should be doubly sealed with plastic around the cap, too.

At the end of it all, I no longer have a doubt about the veracity of the claims Bisleri makes. It is true- Har Paani Ki Bottle Bisleri Nahin.

 

 

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