Case 17: Bisleri—Marketing to Manage the Counterfeit Challenge

Bisleri pioneered the mineral water concept in India and became a household name. Over several years, counterfeit brands like “Belseri,” “Bilseri,” and “Brislei” flooded the market and started becoming increasingly available to the average consumer. The Bisleri management could not revoke the counterfeits because of their limited intellectual property rights. The executives at Bisleri decided to leverage the strength of marketing to handle the fakes.