A clean sweep

You could call Umang Srivastava, Joint Managing Director, Bonita, an opportunist. The company, which focuses on laundry and home storage solutions, was looking at extending its business to other adjacent areas. “Waste baskets were a natural addition to our existing businesses,” says Srivastava. Earlier this month, when PM Narendra Modi launched the Clean India Mission or the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Bonita’s expansion plans got a shot in the arm. “Our original plan was to launch these products early next year but now we are advancing the launch because of the government campaign,” says Srivastava. These dustbins will not be the old boring bins which are normally hidden from the eye and kept in a corner of the home. “These bins are classy in looks and made in attractive colours. We have added a lifestyle touch to these products,” he claims.

At another corner of the globe, Joe Manuszak, director of international development at Harris Research Inc, cannot believe his astute sense of timing. The Nashville-headquartered global services major that owns ChemDry, a global leader in carpet and upholstery cleaning services, recently launched its ChemDry franchise in India. ChemDry has started operations in Tamil Nadu, a preferred test market for most companies in India, and Manuszak says the initial response has been very encouraging. He adds that across the globe, barring the US and New Zealand, a bulk of ChemDry customers are commercial establishments. With several research reports pointing out that “work stations are dirtier than toilets” ChemDry has probably started on the right note.

Some of the more established names in the cleaning business are also eager to ride the wave. “The mission by the government will encourage consumers to adopt and embrace better personal and household hygiene. This gives us a great opportunity to bring about a behavioural change among consumers towards adopting healthy cleaning habits. Like charity, cleanliness begins at home,” says Shashank Sinha, senior general manager, marketing, Eureka Forbes, a leading maker of vacuum cleaners and water purifiers.

To capitalise on the Clean India Mission, Eureka Forbes has also kick-started a nationwide campaign of cleaning up police stations and railway platforms. This campaign started off at Mangalore, wherein the company’s sales personnel not only cleaned the police stations, railway platforms, waiting rooms and offices at the railway station, but also took to the roads of the city to acknowledge and appreciate the noble work being done by the local sweepers and cleaners to ensure a clean surrounding for the citizens. But unlike a host of companies that have taken up their own clean-up acts following the PM’s initiative, the Eureka Forbes initiative has a strong branding and business linkage. “We have always aimed to educate our consumers about adopting a healthy and hygienic lifestyle. Consumers are now expecting brands to take an active interest in the core issues facing the community, thereby also influencing their purchase decisions to a great extent,” says Sinha. With this initiative, the company also gets an opportunity to reconnect with customers, making the vacuum cleaner brand Euroclean more relevant to their lives and establish a relationship with them.

Of course, companies from the fast moving consumer goods business, that are logically the direct beneficiaries of the Clean India Mission are losing no time in scaling up their efforts. Hindustan Unilever and Reckitt Benckiser (RB) are also whole-heartedly into this movement as their brands stand to gain if the movement gets mass acceptance. While HUL is leading the charge with its soap brand Lifebuoy and toilet cleaner Domex, RB has Dettol at the forefront.

RB recently launched Dettol – Banega Swachh India, an initiative where the company claims it will invest Rs 100 crore over the next five years.

The programme, spearheaded by Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, aims to spread awareness around the importance of hygiene and sanitation to millions across the country and will focus on influencing hand-washing behaviour and improving sanitation facilities. While the company hopes to increase awareness and set up hand-wash stations for children, it also plans to work with NGO partners to identify areas across the country to support the development and maintenance of cleaner toilets. “As more and more people adopt healthy hygiene practices, our products like Dettol, Harpic, Lizol and Colin will become relevant for them as well,” says a company spokesperson.

For HUL, its handwashing programme by Lifebuoy claims to have reached out to 58 million people since 2010 in both rural and urban India. In 2013 alone, the company claims to have reached out to 10.8 million people through this initiative.

The Domex Toilet Academy is another such behaviour change initiative. Launched in November 2013, the academy aims to build 24,000 toilets in India by 2015 in areas where people do not have access to improved sanitation.

KK Chutani, executive director, marketing, at consumer goods maker Dabur India, says, “The branded sanitation market has been growing, thanks to growing awareness in rural India and the mushrooming of nuclear families in urban India. This Swachh Bharat Mission would further fuel the awareness and drive demand for good products for hygiene and sanitation.” He adds that the company has been hosting several initiatives and programmes even before the Clean India was launched. As part of the Swachh Bharat Mission, the company undertook a mega cleanliness drive across public conveniences of Sulabh International. “As part of its efforts to provide clean and germ-free public toilets across the country, a team of SaniFresh (Dabur’s surface cleaner brand) volunteers were positioned at Sulabh International’s public conveniences across the country,” he adds.

Sanitaryware makers such as HSIL, which markets the brand Hindware, is focus on optimising its R & D capabilities to offer sanitaryware products at the right price points. Sandip Somany, joint managing director, HSIL says, “Given the enormous size of our country, population and mindset on cleanliness and hygiene, the challenges are huge. What specifically stands out for ‘Swachh Bharat’ is its core messaging – each individual, person or organisation should shoulder it to reap its benefit. This macro approach no doubt is a boost to the sanitaryware industry as a whole, thus Hindware too.” Many more companies are still drawing up plans on how to capitalise on the government’s initiative. Certainly, Bonita is not the only opportunist around.

With inputs from Pradipti Jayaram, Sravanthi Challapalli and Meenakshi Verma Ambwani

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