Cola major PepsiCo India Holdings has set its eyes on the bulk water segment and is planning a foray into the sector through Aquafina.

Rajeev Bakshi, chairman, PepsiCo India said, "We're readying for the institutional segment. The bulk water sector is growing faster than the retail segment."

PepsiCo is also launching the Mountain Dew brand of carbonated soft drink, which Bakshi says will be the company's largest brand in India after the mother brand Pepsi.

Mountain Dew is the third largest soft drink brand in the US, and Bakshi said the company will make "substantial investments in India" to grow the brand.

As part of a strategy, PepsiCo would not be focussing on niche variants of its main brands. Variants such as Mirinda Apple, Pepsi Aha and Diet Pepsi have failed to make a major impact among consumers, Bakshi said.

He said, "We will not be focussing on developing variants of our main brands. The strategy is to focus on the key brands as the core brands have more acceptance. We have the option of falling back on our international portfolio."

PepsiCo is also weighing options of whether to launch its international sports drink brand Gatorade in India.

Gatorade is also one of the biggest brands in the Pepsi portfolio. "We are closely looking at this option," Bakshi said.

He said the pure fruit juice brand Tropicana broke even in 2002, after making losses in 2001.

The brand was launched through Tropicana Beverages, but has now been realigned into PepsiCo India Holdings following the global merger of Pepsico International with Tropicana.

Tropicana and Dabur's Real together control 75 per cent share of the Rs 100 crore (Rs1 billion) branded juice market in India.

In the water business, the bulk packs put together account for over 40 per cent of the Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) market.

Ramesh Chauhan's Parle Bisleri was the first entrant to this category. Coca-Cola India, through Kinley, has also entered the segment.

The bulk water business is low volume but high value category, and is growing at an exponential rate, Bakshi added.