The Water Purifier Market Today

Approximately 80% of diseases in India are caused by water borne micro organisms. This is true in rural as well as urban India. However, awareness of health risks linked to unsafe water is still very low among the rural population. The few who treat water resort to boiling or use domestic candle filters. In comparison, the urban Indian is definitely more health conscious and understands the necessity of purifying water before it is fit for consumption. Even so, it is estimated that roughly 7% of urban Indians use non manual water purifiers. More Indians need to become aware of the importance of installing drinking water purifiers. There remains a huge untapped market.

Though quite a few city dwellers still boil water, many are switching over to modern domestic water purifiers. Electrical or chemical based home water purification systems are most suitable for urban households because they require little or no manual operation and depending on the technology can eliminate biological contaminants, chemical toxins and excessive salts. The main contaminants are, however, micro organisms. UV purifiers and advanced chemical based systems deal effectively with viruses, giardia and bacteria. This is one of the reasons why UV and resin based purifiers are the most widely used water purifiers in India today.

It is estimated that around 80% of urban dwellers do not purify tap water. Many of them are from the lower income strata and cannot afford UV or reverse osmosis water purification systems. They are the potential buyers of economical but effective chemical purifiers. This is the market that Eureka Forbes and Hindustan Unilever are tapping aggressively. Chemical based purifiers, Aquasure and Pureit, together account for 20% of water purifiers sold. Both are becoming increasingly popular because they are effective and affordable. The two brands are reported to be growing at 100 percent per annum. Also, they do not run on electricity and are ideal for locations where power supply is unpredictable. Neither do they demand continuous water supply. Power and water are still scarce even in urban India.

It is estimated that roughly two thirds of the existing water purification market belongs to UV water purifiers and one third is shared between reverse osmosis purification systems and chemical purifiers. In the UV purifier segment, Eureka Forbes’ Aquaguard is the clear market leader with approximately 68% market share. Other brands include Philips’ Intelligent Water Purifier and Kent’s UV purifier. The UV purifier market is estimated to be growing at a lower rate than the chemical based segment.

Reverse osmosis purifiers, which are rather expensive and not the preferred option in many areas, have a smaller share of the market when compared with UV purifiers and chemical based systems. In the reverse osmosis segment, Eureka Forbes is again the major player with 60% share. A major portion of the remaining 40% belongs to Kent reverse osmosis Systems.

That the Indian market has tremendous potential is evident from the fact that global majors such as Philips and Hindustan Lever have stepped in and are looking to increase their share of the market. The three principal players today are Eureka Forbes, Hindustan Lever and Philips. In the years to come, we are likely to see others entering the fray.