From launching a series of premium waters in India — in particular, VEEN — to being a certified water sommelier and the founder of Zero Percent Shop India, Ganesh Iyer’s career has always revolved around water.
Ganesh Iyer’s career in the water industry has spanned over two decades. In that timespan he has launched many of the premium waters available in India, like Evian, Himalayan, Perrier, Qua, etc. In 2012, Iyer successfully created a niche for natural mineral waters in a glass bottle by launching VEEN, which is sourced from remote locations in Finnish Lapland and Bhutan.
Recently, Iyer acquired a certification which makes him India’s first and only certified water sommelier. In the process of acquiring the certification, he received sensorial training to understand different water types. He also learnt to gauge the origin, composition and nutritional benefits of water, characteristics which can help distinguish these waters.
It’s an interesting job and — as the world moves towards sustainable living and healthy eating (and drinking) habits — an important one as well.
Last year, Iyer set up Zero Percent India, a first-of-its-kind online shop that focuses on a unique selection of curated food and beverage brands in the categories of 0% alcohol, 0% dairy, 0% pesticides, 0% sugar, 0% microplastic, 0% meat and fine water to empower the mindful consumption movement. Iyer hopes to build awareness and make zero-percent brands easily accessible to people who want to consume more responsibly, while still enjoying themselves.
“You would have heard of wine sommeliers, but water sommeliers are so rare no one knows about us,” says Iyer, “That being the case, with the emergence of fine waters as a category there has been a growing need for people who are technically qualified to analyse water and are able to detect and differentiate different types of natural waters.”
Natural, premium waters are a far cry from the water in a plastic bottle that we pick up at kiosks. “When it comes to bottled or RO water, there’s nothing in it for me or anyone to evaluate the water. I consider it garbage water, The elementary function of those waters is to quench your thirst,” says Iyer, “It’s only fine waters that require a water sommelier’s attention. The challenge is that, unlike a wine sommelier, we don’t have instinctive taste references. So while we know what vanilla or strawberry tastes and smells like, we don’t know that about phosphates or bicarbonates.”
Not only the taste and mineral composition, the history and provenance of the water are also extremely important. Regarding the premium pricing of these waters and how that might impact their reception in India, Iyer does not seem overly concerned. “Indians are only price conscious if they are not offered a value proposition,” he says.
Speciality waters have many therapeutic uses — some are great for arthritis while some with a very high TDS and magnesium content can be used for laxative purposes. Often sourced from remote locations in fragile environments, they have to be used sustainably. No regulations exist in India regarding the bottling of natural spring water but Iyer feels that eventually legislation of some sort will be required.
In line with his philosophy of conscious consumption, Iyer is passionate about environmental causes, and continues to build awareness about the positive impact of natural mineral waters.
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