Hyderabad, India – State-owned refiner and oil marketing company Indian Oil Corporation is mulling the launch of packaged drinking water under its own brand across its network of more than 43,000 retail outlets in the country. The plan is part of the company’s strategy to grow non-fuel revenue and offer value-added products to customers. It is proposing a multi-year aggregator-led revenue sharing model under which ownership of the brand will remain with Indian Oil.
Selected aggregators will handle end-to-end execution, from manufacturing through approved facilities, quality assurance, supply chain management, logistics, and rollout, Indian Oil said, inviting expressions of interest (EoI) from firms. The rollout in phases will eventually cover all 43,603 outlets. Highway retail outlets numbering 21,435, or nearly half of the network, are expected to play a lead role, with the on-the-go demand for drinking water highest at such facilities. Following closely will be the urban and semi-urban outlets.
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) bottles of 250 ml, 500 ml, and 1 litre will form part of the rollout initially. The 1-litre pack will be positioned as the lead product. In future, Indian Oil may consider the launch of premium water, natural mineral water, alkaline water, functional hydration products, and additional pack sizes.
Besides brand ownership, Indian Oil will control the product pricing, ratio of dealer landed price to MRP, and the dealer margin. At a broader level, the company aims to enhance non-fuel revenue from ₹200 crore to ₹760 crore, with a targeted GMV of over ₹11,000 crore. In the 2025-26 annual report, chairman A.S. Sahney said doubling down on high-growth avenues in bitumen, aviation fuels, lubricants, bunkering fuels, and non-fuel retail amid the country’s rapid infrastructure development, urbanisation, rising mobility, and expanding industrial activity is a focus for the company.
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According to IOC, it has 195 million sq. ft. of retail space, and over 3.2 crore daily customers visit the facilities. As part of plans to ramp up non-fuel revenues, it has partnered with multiple brands, including Hindustan Unilever, Dabur, ICICI Bank, Ferns & Petals, MTR Foods, and PVR Cinemas. The EoI is confined to fuel outlets and covers all categories from company owned, company operated (COCO), dealer owned, dealer operated, to Kisan Seva Kendras. If it goes ahead with the proposal, Indian Oil will eye a pie of India’s packaged drinking water market, which the India Brand Equity Foundation estimated at ₹32,040 crore in 2025 and projected to reach ₹57,850 crore by 2032.
