Fiji Water

FIJI Water and Corporate Social Responsibility - Green Makeover or "Greenwashing"?

by James McMaster, Jan Nowak

Source: Richard Ivey School of Business Foundation

21 pages.  Publication date: May 14, 2009. Prod. #: 909A08-PDF-ENG

This case analysis traces the establishment and subsequent operation of FIJI Water LLC and its bottling subsidiary, Natural Waters of Viti Limited, the first company in Fiji extracting, bottling and marketing, both domestically and internationally, artesian water coming from a virgin ecosystem found on Fiji's main island of Viti Levu. The case reviews the growth and market expansion of this highly successful company with the brand name "FIJI Natural Artesian Water" ("FIJI Water"). The company has grown rapidly over the past decade and a half, and now exports bottled water into many countries in the world from its production plant located in the Fiji Islands. In 2008, FIJI Water was the leading imported bottled water brand in the United States. In the context of great marketing success of the FIJI brand, particularly in the U.S. market, the case focuses on how the company has responded to a number of corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues, including measuring and reducing its carbon footprint, responsibilities to key stakeholders, and concerns of the Fiji government with regard to taxation and transfer pricing issues. The case provides a compelling illustration of how CSR challenges may jeopardize the sustainability of a clever marketing strategy.

Learning Objective

The main objective of the case is to help students understand why and how contemporary marketers have to embrace CSR in order to make their marketing strategies sustainable. The case vividly illustrates the triumph of clever marketing but, at the same time, the alleged failure of CSR. In other words, it attempts to convey a message that having a superb product backed up by a brilliant marketing strategy cannot guarantee sustainable success in the marketplace...