Pavithra Rao left the corporate firm nearly a decade ago to assist Bengaluru-based startup WaterScience to develop past the zero-to-one stage. Pavithra worked for Philips Lighting for almost a decade, climbing through the ranks in sales and marketing jobs after graduating from BITS Pilani with an electronics engineering degree and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) from IIM Ahmedabad.
Pavithra left her position as a market research expert, which she had held for the duration of the company’s lighting division, in December 2018.
Water-Saving Filters Innovation
Filtration that saves water for the first time. When you think of filtered water, you probably think of RO purifiers for drinking water. Practically every Indian home would be extremely careful about installing a RO purifier for drinking water, but would rarely contemplate purifying tap water for daily usage.
WaterScience is also arguing for the use of clean non-drinking water. After all, non-drinking purposes such as cleaning, bathing, and laundry account for up to 97 percent of water consumption in India.
It was founded in 2014 by Pavithra’s husband Sudeep Nadukkandy and serial entrepreneur Mohammad Iqbal and provides a variety of non-drinking water showers and tap filters. It promises to be India’s only water-saving filters. These simple-to-install filters claim to save up to 70% of the water utilized.
WaterScience, a digital-first brand, offers 26 various types of filters and cartridges, with the latter starting at Rs 500. This set contains a unique aromatherapy shower filters with an aperture for essential oil pads.
Its products are accessible on its website and Amazon, and it has sold these filters and products to over 400,000 people. WaterScience now sells the product at 2,500 stores across Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Delhi-NCR. The retail presence accounts for a quarter of overall sales.
How Does It Function?
Pavithra notes that water in India is exceptionally hard due to the presence of particles such as silt, and chlorine used to kill bacteria, iron, calcium, and magnesium salts. Such water also causes white streaks on tiles and faucets. WaterScience’s cartridges, which must be replaced every six months, emit chemicals that aid in the softening of hard water.
When water passes through the filtration media of the filters, chemicals released by the cartridge build a coating over the calcium ions, making the water less aggressive. Although they persist in water, they are no longer harmful to you.
When water passes through the filtration media, chemicals released by the cartridge build a coating over the calcium ions, making the water less aggressive. Although they persist in water, they are no longer harmful to you.
As an early market entrant, the firm controls the market for filtering non-drinking water. Their competitors in non-drinking water filtering are retailers who import filters manufactured in China, rather than items designed in-house.
The fundamental difference, according to Pavithra, is that WaterScience filters are created with Indian consumers and water quality in mind, whereas Chinese manufacturers design for Western countries. When these items are imported for usage in India, they do not perform well against the country’s hard water.
WaterScience claims that revenue has increased by 30 to 40% year on year. Even though the pandemic slowed expansion, the corporation has remained profitable. According to IMARC, the Indian water purifier market would develop at a CAGR of 10.27 percent between 2022 and 2027.
The difficulty ahead, according to Pavithra, is raising awareness about the impacts of hard water. The company’s goal is to reach Rs 100 crore by 2024.
Do you also want clean water? Then order your filter on WaterScience website.
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