TheSlovakian proverb “Pure water is the world’s first and foremost medicine” couldn’t be any truer! Can you imagine a world without clean drinking water? The moment you begin to think of it, a strange panic rises. For me as a mother, a baker, a home maker, a food blogger, pure clean water is at the heart of everything I do. From that first glass of water in the morning, to making fresh lime juice, to baking bread every other day, to making that jar of infused fruit & chia seed water, to soaking dals/lentils for lunch, to kneading dough, to cook rice to that cup of coffee…I could go on & on.This is just the tip of the iceberg. Just look back on all you do in a day, and then you’ll figure out just how central clean drinking water is. It’s also something we take for granted, trusting a system in place, without possibly questioning the process. I was baking this loaf of sourdough the other day, after having baked many, researched a lot, talked to the experts. I marveled at how so few ingredients can yield something so satisfying. Also marveled at the fact that just WATER, FLOUR and SALT can yield something so basic to our lives, something we can sit back an enjoy to no end. Yet dabbling in sourdough cultures, a natural fermented starter, also meant that all three ingredients have to be pure or in a larger sense organic. That rang true of the flour I use, but also of the water, something that tends to get taken for granted. They say the best bread is made out of pure water! And that brings me to a product launch I recently attended, one that changed my perception of ‘clean safe drinking water‘ completely.I’m talking about the launch of a new product by Havells India, the water purifier, something so basic and intrinsic in all our homes today, yet something we tend to take for granted! The very knowledgeable and passionate team at Havells held our attention, engaged us with eye-opening insights, and made us sit up and take notice. What was perceived to be a classroom type session, with labs and all, became a very animated interesting discussion with the Havells team. History of water purification in India began in 1982 with door to door sales. From then to now, water purifiers have become priority, probably the first thing; we need to have in place when we set up home. Havells recognises that this area runs completely on consumer trust. They are the industry’s first to honestly bring safe healthy water into this high growth consumer lifestyle category with a promise of transparency.
After deep research into consumer behaviors, keeping in mind kitchen space which can be a major constraint, and also the fact that they needed to cater to a savvy ‘smart’ generation drove product development. The brand runs on a few basic principles – technology & innovation, recruiting the best talent, and the understanding that service delivery & consumer satisfaction is very critical.At the heart of the technology is mineral fortification, a 100% reverse osmosis, tamper proof cylinders, neat designs that are DIY friendly, well-trained self-employed technicians {no franchise here, thankfully}, field staff given both technical and soft skills leading to a promise of quick response & resolution.What a fulfilling day, where I came back much the wiser, where RO or reverse osmosis, alkalinity vs acidity in water {yes, that too}, TDS {which is touted to be good for you but not always from this source}, microbiology, metal toxins and carcinogens, known and unknown pollutants and the process of cleaning the water, the promise of delivering the clean glassful began to make so much sense. Product development right from building prototypes, consumer research, aesthetics, usability, modern-day smart designs, space-saving ideas, innovative technology, also the need to keep bettering the model are things we avidly discussed.To sit in the conference room, then visit the lab, to meet an impassioned team who were so proud of what they were doing was an enlightening experience. Young people engaged in design innovations, lab testing the products, growing saplings from legumes to test water conditions and growth rates, all so engrossed and clearly enjoying the process, they were quite unfazed by us walking through.To keep it simple for a lay person, with the source of water uncertainty coupled with the exploitation of nature, there are far too many pollutants from source to our daily glass of water. Microorganisms are possibly the simplest to deal with, but the cocktail of poisons, organic pollutants, carcinogens, pesticides, metal toxins are the real hidden dangers. That coupled with the transportation of water, pipelines etc make up a horror story if you start delving deeper. It’s best to stay with an innovative industry leader like Havells India who wants to reach out to customers, listen to them, offer transparency, promise honesty … all for that essential glass of water that we take for granted!
