Offline Water Purifiers have redefined the Category

One of the key expectations of consumers is clean drinking water. Contaminated water cuts productivity of people across income segments. It even hurts millions of not so well-off consumers who earn daily wages. Every day lost due to illness results directly in wage loss.

Emergence of new trends and advent of new technology has resulted in remarkable changes in the domestic market for water purifiers. The recent report from Market Pulse, Opportunities in the Water Purifier Market in India, highlights another vibrant story, that of the offline storage water purifiers.

This research study has ascertained that of the 4.3 million water purifiers sold in 2012 at an estimated value of INR 18.64 billion, a staggering 71% were offline storage water purifiers accounting for INR 5.6 billion of sales.

These offline water purifiers have redefined the category over the last 5 years. “These inexpensive water purifiers, which are sold for as little as Rs. 1000, have expanded the market manifold by making the product affordable for bottom-of-the-pyramid households. The research suggests that more than 15% of the lower and lower middle income households in urban India now have an offline water purifier”, said Ejaz Hoda, CEO of Market Pulse.

Pureit water purifiers from Hindustan Unilever have led the explosive growth in the last 5 years. It is the market leader in the offline water purifier category and enjoys a 60% market share. TATA Chemicals’ Swach and Eureka Forbes are other significant brands in this market.

Only 8% of these offline water purifiers are sold through the modern retail chains. The balance is retailed through a network of almost 21,000 conventional stores. The market leader, Pureit, is available at almost 14000 outlets. A bulk of these retail stores belong to 4 sales channels – Consumer Electronic and White Goods Stores, Kitchen Utensil shops and Electrical & Small Appliance stores; these contribute equally to the total sales.

This category is likely to see increased competition in the near future. New entrants like Tupperware and Amway have also launched offline water purifiers to get a share of the pie. There are others like TTK Prestige, a kitchen appliance leader, contemplating an entry into this market.