Low-cost clean water in India
Just over six months on from its launch in India in April 2010, the new Pureit Compact in-home water purifier has achieved great acceptance in the market – making safe drinking water more affordable to Indian consumers.
Safe water for more consumers
Selling at a breakthrough cost of 1,000 rupees (€17.70), the Pureit Compact takes up only a fraction of the space of Unilever's original Pureit model but still provides water that's 'as safe as boiled' without the need for cooking gas, electricity or a pressurised supply.
"Our standard Pureit filters have achieved fantastic sales – over 3 million homes use a Pureit – since we first launched in 2004," explains Vikram Surendran, General Manager, Water.
"But we saw a clear need to reach more of India's lower-income consumers, who can't afford the initial outlay of 2,000 rupees (€35.33) needed to buy a Pureit Classic, our standard model – and who have less storage space in their homes."
The new Compact model shares the same high-quality specification as the original, thanks to a four-stage purification process that removes harmful viruses, bacteria, parasites and other impurities.
It also boasts the same 'Auto-Shut Off' mechanism, meaning that, when its GermKill Kit needs to be replaced, it won't release any more water. The Germkill Kit itself is inexpensive to replace, allowing consumers to enjoy 4 litres of safe water at a cost of just 1 rupee (€0.02).
Truly affordable in-home purifiers
"With unsafe drinking water causing life-threatening diseases such as jaundice, diarrhoea, cholera and typhoid, it's vital that Indian consumers purify their water," says Vikram.
"Pureit, in both its Compact and Classic models, offers protection that's much more affordable than the alternatives available in India, such as reverse osmosis and UV systems."
Vikram points out that these other systems, as well as being expensive, can only be used in houses with running water and electricity – far from universally available in the country.
