Pavitra is the Co-Founder of WaterScience, and manages Marketing & Offline Retail. Pavithra has a strong background in Sales and Marketing having spent 9 years across various sales and marketing roles in Consumer Durables & FMCG, At Philips Lighting she has worked in Sales Manager roles, Market Research & Analytics and Product Management roles. This experience has given her a comprehensive understanding of business. Pavithra believes WaterScience is solving an important problem for India and is excited about being the category creator. She is an Electronics Engineer from BITS, Pilani, and PGDM from IIM Ahmedabad.
The pandemic has brought in a significant shift in the way consumers act, think and behave. While some trends such as an increasing reliance on online shopping have been accelerated, some trends such as a preference for DIY, have been transient. However, there is no question that the consumer landscape has changed and like any sector, Innovation is the only way forward for the water-tech industry
Impact of stay at home
As the time spent at home increased, consumers have started paying more attention to the water issues at home such as the amount of wasted water in RO, the number of leaks at home and the poor quality of water being used in the home for all purposes. There has also been an increased awareness of the quality of appliances used at home such as the washing machine and dishwasher.
Non drinking water filtration
Shower & Tap Filters
With the usual routine being disrupted, consumers have changed the way they shower. With no time restriction showering has gone from a quick 5 minute rushed activity to a longer relaxed one in some cases. Haircare and skincare have garnered more attention as make-up has fallen away. With products accessible just a click away, self-care products saw an increase in demand.
Shower & Tap Filters became a part of hair and skin care routine as people realise the importance of good quality water in their self care routines.
Appliances & Appliance filters
Dishwashers saw a huge spike in demand during the first lockdown and the demand has been sustained ever since. Washing machines are a staple in most urban households. Hardwater leads to spots in dishes and patches in clothes making them look dull and faded. Consumers are looking for softener solutions to maintain their clothes and glassware.
Back to Basics
The pandemic has brought a realisation of the importance of basics and people have extended this to their daily lives. For hair and skin care there has been a focus on basics- nutrition, sleep, stress, and quality of water as opposed to expensive lotions and products.
Improving water quality
When water availability becomes a problem, the water quality gets compromised, as people are forced to use any available water. Systems to improve water qualities can be point of use systems- such as Shower Filters/tap filters or Point of entry systems – Filters for the whole house or filtration systems for entire apartment complexes. Urban migration and strain on water resources threatens to worsen the water quality we use for bathing, washing and other purposes. Filtered water has been the norm for drinking, but in the future, a Shower Filter or a Kitchen Tap filter will be as ubiquitous as a drinking water filter in every home.
Water-saving systems
Smart meters can identify water wastage by identifying leaks and pipe bursts in apartments making systems more efficient. Water saving nozzles, showerheads, taps will see an increase in adoption, as water becomes more expensive. Water saving systems ease the pressure on the available water resources and helps in maintaining water availability across the country.
Outlook for the future
As I look back on these two years, I am amazed at how far we have come in dealing with the COVID crisis. This crisis has brought out the best in terms of quick innovation which helped mitigate the impact of the virus. The water crisis looms large and I have full faith and confidence that innovation will help us overcome this, and leave us with a better understanding and appreciation of the earth and our role in saving the planet. At WaterScience we hope to bring in a revolution in the non-drinking water filtration space with innovative, affordable and accessible products.