DrinkPrime was started to solve a personal problem, to get access to clean, safe, and healthy drinking water. This is because water in plastic cans is not fit for drinking. Less than 5% of Indians actually own a water purifier! Thats when we realised this wasnt just a personal problem but an opportunity to help a lot of people. Its been five years since we started on this journey. Today, more than 1 lakh users in 7 cities trust us to access clean and safe drinking water, said
Vijender Reddy Muthyala, founder and CEO, DrinkPrime, in an email interview with Nandita Vijay. Excerpts:
How has the concept of personalised water purifiers transformed the landscape in Indian homes and offices?
Every city has two to three water sources: municipality water, borewell water, tanker water - and the water sources accessed in each area will vary depending on the seasons as well.
Given this scenario, every locality in a city will have a different combination of input water sources, leading to different area water qualities.
According to a UNICEF India report, 50 million people in 15 cities in the country do not have access to safe and affordable drinking water. Though the water purifier market is more than 30 years old, less than 5% of households in India have access to water purifiers.
More importantly, regular water purifiers purify all water the same way. Given that 70% of surface water in India is unfit for consumption and that every area has a different water quality, the one-size-fits-all approach wont ensure clean and safe drinking water for consumers. Thats why we provide customised water purifiers on a subscription basis.
We customise each DrinkPrime based on the area water quality so that our subscribers get perfectly purified drinking water every day. Since we provide DrinkPrime on a subscription basis, we will always be able to upgrade the filters depending on the changing water quality in the areas. This would not have been possible if we had sold the water purifiers.
Currently, we have more than 1 lakh users across 7 cities in India. The cities include Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, and Noida.
Is this concept a one of its kind in the country and what about globally?
We are pioneers in the customised water purifier space in India. When combined with our innovative subscription model we hope to live up to our mission of making clean and safe drinking water accessible to all.
What are the visible trends that you sight in this space?
Regular water purifiers have been and are still sold like televisions. People buy them and install them in their kitchens. They filter the input water irrespective of the quality. More importantly, the consumers have to make a hefty investment to buy the water purifier. Whereas, a customised water purifier on subscription not only purifies water based on input water quality but is also affordable.
We believe that drinking water should be a utility just like electricity. Consumers should be able to pay for the water they use. They shouldnt have to worry about the water purifier cost and the maintenance charges. This is the change that we have brought about with the subscription model.
We are constantly experimenting and innovating. There are several features and concepts that we are working on.
Could you provide reach of your current presence in the country? What is the game plan to ensure everyone in the country has access to safe drinking water?
Currently, we have more than 1 lakh users across 7 cities in India. The cities include Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, and Noida.
We are a drinking water company and not a water purifier manufacturing company. We are on a mission to provide access to clean, safe, and healthy drinking water to all.
By providing DrinkPrime on a subscription basis, we are trying to make safe drinking water affordable to more than 50% of urban India. We are ready to work with the Government and NGOs to ensure everyone has access to safe drinking water.
Is the company looking to work with the government which has set a target of providing clean drinking water to all by 2024?
This is a wonderful mission. We would like to be a channel for the government to meet the set target.
What is the technology used by the company?
DrinkPrime is Indias first IoT-enabled water purifier. We merged the Internet of Things (IoT) with the water purification system we built. IoT enables us to monitor our subscribers water purifiers and make sure they always have access to clean, safe, and healthy drinking water. The prediction algorithms built on artificial intelligence and machine learning help us proactively schedule maintenance checks.
With respect to the filtration process, we believe in using the right technology at the right time so that people do not get under-purified or over-purified drinking water.
At DrinkPrime, we solve this problem by following a completely data-driven approach. We measure the quality of water in each of the areas and identify the technology that needs to be used. Based on the data we receive from our subscribers, we get to know the changes in water quality occurring in each area.
We customise our water purifiers based on input water qualities.
Even during our maintenance checks, we make sure to check the TDS level and other parameters so that we can make filter changes if necessary. This is how we ensure that our subscribers can access safe drinking water at all times.
What is the kind of funding received and going forward?
DrinkPrime has raised ?50 crore so far. The company is backed by Sequoia Surge, Omidyar Network, Alteria, UC Inclusive Credit, and Western Capital.
How receptive are PEs and VCs in funding such safe drinking water efforts?
Though we follow a digital-first approach and have integrated IoT into the water purification system, we are a hardware startup. The growth rate of a hardware company is different from that of a software company. Being a hardware company that offers customised solutions, we need to build products for each of our subscribers. It is entirely different from running the same code for every requirement.
So, the investors who approach us are ready to play the long-term game. Since our mission is to make safe drinking water accessible to everyone, we attract a lot of impact funds too.
What are the challenges that one encounters to grow the business in this space?
Drinking water is a necessity for people. Thats why DrinkPrime falls under the essential services category. Excellent support and service are key to ensuring that our subscribers get safe drinking water without any hassles. We need to make sure that our subscribers queries are answered immediately. If they face any problem, we need to ensure that it is solved as soon as possible. Our delivery partners and technicians were serving our subscribers even during the pandemic.
Since we provide customised water purifiers, our product constantly evolves. We monitor the water quality closely to understand the kind of upgrades and changes we need to implement.