BEIJING - Domestic firms are targeting China's premium bottled-water market, which has long been dominated by foreign suppliers.
Last year Chinese consumed 21 billion liters of mineral water and annual sales of premium-bottled water are expected to top 10 billion yuan ($1.46 billion) in five years.
Several domestic water bottlers are now joggling for position to compete with the dominant market players like Evian and Perrier, which control 50 percent of the premium market, according to Chinese media.
Earlier last month, Hong Kong-based JDB Group, announced plans to market its premium brand, Kunlun Mountains Natural Mineral Water, in some 30 provinces and cities across the country.
JDB Group invested 340 million yuan ($50 million) last year to build a bottling plant located near Kunlun Mountain in Qinghai province.
The factory is expected to produce up to 245 million liters of premium water per year.
Other companies also tapping the premium market include Tibet Glacier Mineral Water Co Ltd with its "5100 Tibet Spring Water" brand and Guangzhou Xinchen Water Co with its "9000 Years Dagu Glacier Spring Water" brand.
The goal of these bottlers is clear: to challenge foreign domination of the premium bottled-water market.
"The capacity of China's premium drinking water market will surpass 10 billion yuan in the next five years with an expansion rate of 80 percent each year," said Xiao Mingchao, deputy general manager of Sinomonitor International, a Beijing-based market research company.
Analysts are skeptical whether domestic brands can steal away significant market share from the dominant players anytime soon.
"Foreign brands like Evian have been in the Chinese market for more than 20 years, so they already enjoy a high level of brand loyalty," said Xiao.
"In the short run it will be difficult to dislodge foreign brands from dominating the market," he said.
Yet Chinese bottlers believe they can take away market share by offering quality products at reduced prices.
"Each half-liter bottle of Kunlun Mountains Natural Mineral Water is priced at five yuan, compared to the average price of 10 yuan for foreign brands," said Yang Aixing, general marketing manager of JDB Group.
"Based on our high quality and reasonable prices, we believe Chinese consumers will warmly welcome our domestically made premium drinking water," he said.
Several bottlers have also sought to find other marketing channels to promote their premium brands.
For example, Kunlun Mountains Natural Mineral Water has been chosen as the official drinking water of Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games.
Tibet Glacier Mineral Water has entered into an agreement with the Ministry of Railways to provide 5100 Tibet Spring Water free of charge on its bullet trains around China.
Retailers and consumers are mixed on whether the public will switch to Chinese premium brands.
"Few consumers ask about domestic brands of premium water," said a saleswoman at a Beijing Carrefour supermarket, who asked to be referred to only by her surname, Xu.
"In most cases, consumers directly grab a box of Evian, Perrier or other foreign brands of mineral water without even looking at the domestic brands," she said.
Qin Wei, a 25-year-old white-collar worker at a high-tech company in Beijing, said, "I am pursuing a high-quality lifestyle, so I'd like to buy high-quality water. So, if Chinese premium brands are priced at around 3 yuan, I will consider buying then because I usually consume three bottles of water a day."