With increasing TV channels and consumer awareness of water quality issues, there is a large market potential for water purifiers in India. However, regulatory standards and public awareness of water contamination issues are still lacking. Major challenges include providing safe drinking water access to rural populations and ensuring purifier systems are properly monitored and do not introduce other health risks. Overall the water purifier market is growing rapidly but faces uncertainties in achieving stable, sustainable business models at a large scale.

1. With increasing
proliferation of
TV channels,
and consumers
becoming aware
of implication of
impure water,
there is a huge
market waiting to
be tapped.
Water Purifiers
T
he water purification business people have access to safe drinking
in India is undergoing major water. It is esti­ ated that about 10
m
changes, not just in terms of million illnesses and 700,000 deaths
technology, but also in terms of pric- in India could be attributed to di-
ing and competition. Innovation and arrhea of which 400,000 are children
product differentiation seem to be the under the age of five. Moreover, due
key mantras in the business. The driv- to over exploitation of ground water,
ers include scarcity of clean drinking the levels of mineral contaminants
water, low penetration of water puri- such as arsenic and fluoride in water
fiers, increasing urbanization, and drawn from wells have increased dra-
waterborne diseases, while challenges matically.
faced are the lack of standards and
low awareness levels. There would About 50 million people in West Ben­
be tie-ups for enhancing distribution, gal are presently affected by arsenic
increasing product portfolio, and ru- poi­ oning while an additional 70 mil-
s
ral expansion. Competitive landscape lion people are affected in neighboring
identifies major players in the market. Bangladesh, which according to the
The market has also started evolving World Health Organization (WHO) is
in the offline category for consumers the larg­ st mass poisoning in human
e
who do not have access to running wa- history. In addition, about 60 million
ter and electricity and at a lower price people across India, mainly in Rajas-
point. With the market opening up, it than, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh,
is only helping a larger base of India consume water with high fluoride
get water purifiers. content. Given the gravity of the sit-
uation, there is an urgent need for
As per World Bank, 80 percent of com- deploying technologies for remov­ng i
municable diseases in India are water microbiological, arsenic, and fluoride
related. With the population size of contamination from drinking water
1.17 billion, only less than 15 percent before it is consumed.
An ADI Media Publication | adi-media.com | APRIL 2012 | TV VEOPAR JOURNAL | 81
Water Purifier SF.indd 81 4/19/12 11:39:30 AM

2. Nearly 30 percent of rural India has no regulatory mechanisms mandated
no access to safe drinking water. to check the standard of water con-
Awareness of health risks linked to sumed by the ignorant and helpless
unsafe water is still low among the ru- consumers.
ral population. But the rising prosper-
The use of chemicals including chlo-
ity in rural India means people may be
rine in these purifiers should be care-
willing to pay more for safe water. One
fully governed and regularly moni-
clear indicator is the thrust that con-
tored to ensure that the dosage is
ventional packaged water companies
administered under safe level. Also
such as Parle Bisleri and Coca-Cola
some other chemicals used in the
are giving to rural distribution.
cleaning process by these purifiers de-
Governments too are now willing to compose themselves during filtration
work with private parties. For in- and treatment of water and produce
stance, California-based WaterHealth products which when combined with
International is in the process of set- other routinely used material can be
ting up 225 water treatment plants for harmful to health.
panchayat blocks in Andhra Pradesh
There is also a growing fear that water
on a build-own-operate-transfer
will be cornered by the highest bidder
(BOOT) basis. WaterHealth will make
to be sold to those who can afford to
its money from user fees.
pay, leaving large parts of India out-
There certainly exists an opportu- side the net. Does this mean that peo-
nity. But it is a long haul. A number ple who cannot afford are destined not
of things from the business model to to get safe water?
community acceptance of safe water
for a price have to fall into place for Market Dynamics
these ventures to turn into stable, sus- The Indian water purifier market is
tainable operations. The period and on a high growth trajectory. It is esti-
amount of returns are uncertain and mated at `2000 crore with total sales
most companies are still nascent. of about 5 million units. TV Veopar for
the sake of total accuracy has consid-
As more households switch to water
ered top 5 brands, which together con-
purifiers, there is an urgent need for
stitute 3,627,759 numbers, estimated
stringent standards for the equipment.
at `1142.44 crore. The five brands are
In India, unlike producers of natural
Aquaguard, Hindustan Unilever Lim-
mineral water and packaged drinking
ited, Kent, Zero B, and Whirlpool.
water, who are required to meet Bu-
reau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms, Eureka Forbes has the highest turn-
there is no such mechanism for ensur- over in the segment, estimated at over
ing safety of potable water purification `510 crore. It is present in all the three
devices. categories – RO based, inline/UV
based, and offline purifiers ­ through
–
Some leading consumer organizations
its brand AquaSure.
in India observed the World Water
Day in Delhi to attract the attention Hindustan Unilever Limited domi-
of the government, policy makers, and nates the offline water purifiers mar-
media to ensure access to safe potable ket and has some presence in the in-
drinking water to the citizens and take line category with Marvella OGT and
immediate steps to bring reforms in its Autofill purifiers. Its turnover from
distribution in an equitable manner. water purifiers division is estimated
at `300 crore.
They believe the domestic water pu-
rifier market is aggressively market- Kent with its focus primarily on the
ing the chemical-based technology to premium RO-based purifiers had a
purify water, which is a serious pub- sales turnover of `240 crore in 2010-
lic health issue. There is also a huge 11. Kent moves ahead with its vision
unorganized market in India, which is toward making the world a healthy
misleading the consumers. There are and happy family.
82 | TV VEOPAR JOURNAL | APRIL 2012 | adi-media.com | An ADI Media Publication
Water Purifier SF.indd 82 4/19/12 11:39:31 AM

3. Ion Exchange had sales of `54.57 crore in 2010- percent per year depending on the country.
11 from its direct sales and retail counters for The highest growth is to be expected in China
Zero B water purifiers for domestic use. The with an annual growth rate of over 15 per-
company is present in all the categories, with cent followed by Brazil, South-East Asian
inline being solar-based purifiers. Ion Ex- countries, and the Middle East. The Euro-
change is a specialist and offers total water pean market is generally on a high level and
solutions for industry, homes, and communi- is dominated by membrane technologies, ac-
ties. Integrating process technology, design counting for approximately 50 percent of the
engineering, and project management capa- total market in Europe.
bility, Ion Exchange takes end-to-end respon-
sibility – planning, integrating and managing Breakthrough in Technology
water supply, quantity, quality, discharge, Researchers at the North Carolina State Uni-
and environmental fronts. The company has versity have developed a new material that
provided installations for diverse industries can remove radioactive contaminants from
in India and abroad, from nuclear and ther- drinking water, a discovery that could help
mal power plants, fertilizer, refinery, automo- Japan deal with its unfolding water crisis.
bile, electronics, and textile industries.
The new material is made of forest byprod-
Whirlpool, Tata Chemicals, Usha Brita, ucts and crustacean shells. The material
Bajaj, and Philips are the other aggressive works like foam. It absorbs water and can
brands. Many other brands are making a soak up contaminants in water and salt from
foray into this segment. Some regional ones seawater. In future, the new material could The rising
have a stronghold in their respective areas. be packaged in a small bag or it can be used
These include LG, IFB, Godrej, and Kelvin
prosperity in
as a filter to clean up large areas.
catering to the Delhi market; and Gilma, rural India
Moniba, Morf, and Nasaka from the Okaya As we are currently seeing in Japan, one of the means people may
Power group, and many more in the southern major health risks posed by nuclear accidents
is radioactive iodide that dissolves in drink-
be willing to pay
parts of India.
ing water. Because it is chemically identical more for safe
The Indian market has tremendous poten- to non-radioactive iodide, the human body water.
tial, which is evident from the fact that global cannot distinguish it – which is what allows
majors in the water purifiers segment have it to accumulate in thyroid and eventually
stepped in and are looking to increase their lead to cancer. The newly developed material
share of the market. The principal players to- binds iodide in water and traps it, which can
day are Hindustan Unilever, Kent RO, Eure- then be properly disposed of without risk to
ka Forbes, Ion Exchange (Zero B), Whirlpool, humans or the environment.
Philips, Tata Chemicals, and Usha Brita.
Many regional brands are successful in their Not only can the new material remove radio-
respective geographical areas. In the years to active iodine, but can also strip heavy metals
come, many others may enter the fray. like arsenic from drinking water. If the mate-
rial is eventually used in disaster situations,
The low-cost offering of high-end durables it could help clean water when there is no
targeted at households in small towns and electricity source to tap. The current situation
rural India are the water purifiers from the in Japan is a good example of how this mate-
house of Eureka Forbes and Hindustan Uni- rial might help clean up the water supply.
lever. Both are becoming increasingly popu-
lar because they are effective and affordable. Water availability is a major issue in many
Also, they do not run on electricity or require parts of the world; not only drinking water
continuous water supply and, therefore, are demands are increasing but also water is
ideal for locations where water and power invaluable for the industry and community
supply is unpredictable. Other aggressive uses. Currently in India, every company is
brands available in the offline category are striving to make its products available at
Kent, Zero B, Bajaj, and Tata. different price brackets, thus making it pos-
sible to provide safe drinking water to every
The Global Scenario Indian.
The market for water purification was USD
85 billion in 2010 (only equipment and prod- Based on research conducted by TVJ in July
ucts) and is growing on an average over 6–10 2011
An ADI Media Publication | adi-media.com | APRIL 2012 | TV VEOPAR JOURNAL | 83
Water Purifier SF.indd 83 4/19/12 11:39:32 AM