Consumer Perception on Drinking Water in Sustainable Tetra Pak Packaging: A Case Study on Product Development of Indonesian Beverage Company

ABSTRACT: The demand for Packaged Drinking Water (PDW) in Indonesia continues to grow due a substantial increase in the population and the challenge of accessing safe drinking water. This creates a larger opportunity to the water market industry, but also to an increase in the plastic pollution crisis. As a response to this, the Indonesian Government has issued updated regulations on waste management to address the emergency on plastic pollution. In line with the situations, an Indonesian beverage company is planning to launch their innovation on water products in sustainable Tetra Pak packaging. However, as this is going to be the first product to be launched in Indonesia, consumers' perception and expectation towards the product needs to be explored to be able to decide on the appropriate marketing strategy. This research aimed to decide the appropriate marketing strategy for the sustainable drinking water product by identifying the consumer perception of a product and how several factors within the perception could impact their intention to buy and their decision to purchase. For this purpose, a preliminary qualitative method (semi-structured interview) and quantitative method (questionnaire) were conducted and analyzed through PLS - SEM. The results showed that environmental awareness and packaging are the two attributes within consumer perception that significantly influence purchase intention. Based on the findings, a Green Marketing Mix Strategy should be applied. Using the 4P (Product, Promotion, Price and Place) approach, the solution would involve (1) Green Campaign, (2) Brand Ambassador, Influencer and KOL Marketing, (3) Event Marketing, (4) Packaging Design Collaboration (5) Value-Based Pricing, and (6) Setting Up Sales Channel