The Hindu Business Line : Monsoon brings cheer to water purifiers

New Delhi, June 19 With the monsoon setting in across most parts of the country, the issue of safe drinking water is a major concern. The demand for water purifying devices is rising on the health and wellness plank even as companies are looking to increase awareness and penetration in the category.

The Rs 1,000-crore water purifier market is also seeing a surge in the number of players with leading companies such as Philips, Pureit from Hindustan Unilever and Kent-RO looking to entrench itself in the mass market category, while market leaders such as Eureka Forbes are consolidating their presence. “The change in attitude of people at large towards drinking water presents huge potential for various players operating in the industry. With almost 94 per cent market untapped, it is an exciting time for companies to be in this space,” Mr S. Nagarajan, Vice-President (Consumer Lifestyle), Philips Electronics India Ltd told Business Line.

Stating that Philips has four models in place, he said Philips Intelligent Water Purifier has been developed with deep consumer insight.

Eureka Forbes, a market leader with a 70 per cent market share, observed that the monsoon is when sales peak for water purifying devices — this the company addresses through 35 stock keeping units and a 6,000-strong dealer network. “Industry is growing and we are also going multi-level, multi-segment in the category besides adopting a multi-distribution channel,” Mr Marzin R. Shroff, Senior Vice-President (Strategy and Business Development), Eureka Forbes, said.

While ultra violet technology is the most preferred among consumers, reverse osmosis and ultra filtration membranes are also gaining acceptance. The UV-based systems are considered affordable in the Rs 3,000-8,000 category, whereas the RO and membrane technology systems go upward of Rs 10,000.

But despite the high potential, companies are facing challenges like low margins, need to educate consumers and also threat from cheap Chinese substitutes, besides the need to increase their service and distribution network.

According to Mr Mahesh Gupta, Chairman, Kent RO Systems, “A lot of consumer education is still needed to increase penetration. Our estimate is that the industry is growing at a rate of 20-25 per cent annually.” He said Kent RO has stepped up its presence in all new format stores across the country, besides scaling up the distribution.

“The demand of our products has already gone up by at least 20-22 per cent, which has propelled us to introduce Brita Jugs that are used as a filter cum taste enhancer,” Mr Suneel Saxena, Marketing Head, Usha Shriram Brita, said.

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