Unilever’s Pureit : “Democratizing safe water”

24 March 2014 07:01 am Views - 11400

Pureit is an international range of water purifiers made by Unilever currently sold in India, Mexico, Brazil, Nigeria, Indonesia and Bangladesh, consisting of eight models - Pureit Classic, Pureit Advanced, Pureit Compact, Pureit Classic Autofill, Pureit Intella, Pureit Marvella, Pureit Marvella UV and Pureit Marvella RO.Pureit was first launched in Chennai India in 2005 and was subsequently introduced in Sri Lanka 2 ½years ago. Following are the excerpts of an interview held with Unilever Sri Lanka Ltd. Marketing Director - HPC & Water Siddharth Banerjee highlighting the Pureit’s role in Sri Lanka.

Q – What is Pureit?
Siddharth – Pureit is the Unilever’s attempt at democratizing safe water. According to the global report on water, out of 6.8 billion people between 1billion – 2 billion have no access to safe water. We are attempting to provide safe water to millions of people with a technologically advanced but in an affordable way of providing safe
water. Pureit is economical and convenient compared with other methods of water purificationlike boiling and bottled water.

Q – What do you mean by “democratizing safewater”?
Siddharth – It is to offer a solution that can be used by millions of people. Let me start with where Pureit was born- India. There had been other players in the market but the price was not affordable to a majority of Indian consumers. Pureit came in and offered a better solution for 1/3 of the price. We were able to offer safe drinking water to a large part of the Indian population. When you are able to cater to a large number of consumers it is democratization.

Q – How does the Pureit work?
Siddharth – Pureit is capable of taking dirty water and turn it into a biologically safe drinking water. The mechanism used for water purification has different levels or technologies. We being at the forefront use the latest technologies. There are various kinds of technologies, starting with programmed ‘germkill’ technology, then the ultra-violet filtration, and finally the reverse osmosis, a technology that also takes care of hard water that includes the mineral content in the water.

Q – What are the unique features of Pureit?
Siddharth – The first thing to note is that Pureit meets the USEPA (United Stat e s Environmental Protection Agency) standards. They have strict regulations set for water
purification. We are also working with the London Tropical School of Medicine and Hygiene, and a few other institutions in the other parts of the world including SGS Lanka (PVT) LTD where we have been able to acquire certifications and recognition, which most of the other purifiers don’t have. These accreditations and certifications
are listed on our website.

Q – What is your current market share in Sri Lanka?
Siddharth – Well, Pureit was here in Sri Lanka for the last 2 ½ years. We are happy with the progress of business. It is not a surprise that we are redefining the category of water purifiers in Sri Lanka by committing to protect millions of households. We have already hit the first few milestones in this venture meeting our key performance indicators set internally.

Q – What sort of an aftersales service Unilever offer the consumer durables?
Siddharth – Aftersales services is an important part in the Pureit experience. We are very focused on aftersales service. By picking up the call center number any consumer can get the ‘germ kill kit’ delivered to their doorstep conveniently. Currently there is a certain service level, which is improved every six months by reducing the number of hours it takes a technician of ours to reach the consumer and attend to the matter. With the recent launch of the reverse osmosis purifiers that works well in hard water areas we now cover the entire island.

Q – What is the lifespan of a ‘germ kill kit’?
Siddharth –The lifespan of the ‘germ kill kit’ of Pureit depends on the usage which varies from the amount a person would drink compared to a family of four would drink per day. These are well mentioned in our website as well as the points of sales. - Ashwin Hemmathagama

Why boiling alone will not remove lead, chromium, iron rust & bleach*

Traditionally, we have been used to boil ing water before drinking it. Some have been in the habit of pouring water into filters in the hope that the filter would clean the water. But that’s not the case anymore. As a drought beckons and the water levels of the country’s major sources of water utilized for drinking purposes, go down, the
safety of the water we drink has become an issue of concern. With rap i d industrialization, pollutants such as lead, chromium, iron rust & bleach* are being found in
waterways & are affecting the safety of the water we drink. Boiling alone will therefore not destroy all of the pollutants, giving rise to the question of the safety of the water we consume. Not just in Sri Lanka but almost everywhere in the world, ground water resources have been affected by contamination. Ensuring the safety of drinking water is a concern in modern societies, more so because water borne diseases can be deadly and spread fast. Around the world, over 3.5 million people die every year from water related illnesses. Waterborne diseases can be dangerous and linked to various other complications. Ensuring that the water that is consumed in the home is safe is a priority for the f a m i l y . B o i l i n g alone is no longer adeq u a t e t o remove sign i f i c a n t amount of lead, chromiu m , i r o n r u s t & bleach* that e x i s t i n w a t e r . W h e t h e r wat e r i s obtained from a ground well, the tap or a river, the modern day pollutants that were not in existence thirty years ago, are likely to have
added contamination to the water resources. That’s where modern water purifiers such as Pureit steps in. Developed using innovative new technology , Pureit deploys
a system that ensures the water is purified either when it is fixed straight to the tap or the water can be poured directly from the tap into the Pureit system. “ As one of world’s largest selling in-home drinking water treatment systems, Pureit water purifiers deploy a four stage purification system that includes Micro fibre filter (removing visible dirt), activated carbon filter (removes harmful parasites and pesticides), germkill processor (uses programmed germ kill technology to target and remove invisible, harmful viruses and bacter ia), and the poli s h e r (removes chlorine and other contaminants to make water clear and great tasting) ensuring safer water for drinking. “ says Ms Rovini Illukkumbura,, Brand Manager for Pureit , “ It is a unique system that is gaining popularity in this part of the world for its high safety standard
and relatively easy installation. Pureit is equipped with the patented Germkill technology that assures a level of water purity that adheres to world class standards
; it meets stringent international criteria for microbiologically safe drinking water as per t h e g u i d e l i n e s o f t h e Env i ronmental Pro t e c t i o n Agency (EPA) USA.
Pureit comes with the assurance of Unilever know-how and can be purchased from Singer showrooms and almost all big retail outlets. Pureit is affordable
and ensures that the water safety is not compromised but assured and strengthened, confirms Ms Illukkumbura.