Hygienic Water is everyone’s right- Mineral Drop, Nagpur based Startup
A safe water supply is the backbone of a healthy economy, yet is woefully under prioritized, the statement is clearly stated in a report by UNICEF. The economic burden due to waterborne diseases is estimated to be around USD 600 million per year in India. As per NITI Aayog, India stands on 120th rank among 122 countries in the Water Quality Index and has 70% of its water polluted. However, a startup in Nagpur has initiated in this field. It focuses on providing improved water quality for rural areas.
An engineering boy of Nagpur University suffered from typhoid due to taking unhygienic water and food in 2017. Many rural areas in his regions didn’t have access to clean water. They used to do their household chores and drink the same contaminated water. This led to several cases of typhoid in the area.
Considering the seriousness and danger of the grievances of the people, the engineering boy, Nadeem Khan founded Mineral Drop in 2017 with his father Shafik Khan in 2020. The startup provides water purifiers in rural areas to flourish clean and safe drinking water to people. Currently, the company has a team of eight members. It is the First Internet DTC Water Purifier Brand.
“I reside in a town named Bhandara, near Nagpur. During my college days, I suffered from typhoid after drinking contaminated water. I realised the requirement to develop something as clean and safe drinking water is not available while travelling and especially in rural areas. So, I developed a water purification solution to provide clean water at the doorstep of every rural house.” Nadeem said in an interview.
One of the biggest drawbacks of water purifiers is a large amount of water wastage in the RO water purification machines. Many reports stated that around three litres of water get wasted for every one litre of purified water by the RO machines.
“We have designed our products in a way that we can assure there is no wastage of water. We added a new chamber in the RO machine, where the wastewater gets collected. The same wastewater flows to the machine at the starting point. We have patented our house-zero-wastage water purifier machine. It saves 20,000 litres of water annually. It needs minimal maintenance as well.” He shared.
Currently, it provides two water purifier products. One of the purifiers (product) is named, Blumineral. This product is low-cost and made for lower-income households and rural areas people. It is certified by ISO, NABI, and the Ministry of Environment. The idea is put into actions with pools of CSR. The Blumineral purifier is marked at Rs 200.
“The size of the water purifier machine is small and it gives you clean and safe drinking water only at the cost of five paise per litre. One filter possesses the capability to purify 1000 litres of water.” He added.
The second product of the startup is the Immunity Plus RO water purifier. It is available at Rs 12000. It has a one-year guarantee and also grants lifetime free service.
The startup also imprinted its footprint in Gurukul 100X.VC programme after getting selected. The programme started last week.
Anyone can place their order by going on the official website of Mineral drop and can call to purchase the purifiers. The machines are directly delivered to the customer's doorstep. Technicians are assigned along the order placed to fit the product.
“In the past four months, the sales volume has been more than 100 Immunity Plus RO water purifiers across Nagpur, Bhandara, Ahmedabad, Punjab and Mumbai. More than 10,000 orders of Blumineral have been placed in tribal and rural areas of Nagpur and Bhandara and nearby local areas.” Nadeem said.
“The foundation of the Mineral Drop was laid with Rs 1,70,000. We are presently hoping to raise assets to further scale up our business and items.” He added
As indicated by IMARC, in 2020 the water purifier industry globally made $35.83 billion. The competitors of Mineral Drop in this industry are big known companies like Kent RO, Eureka Forbes, and Livpure, among others.
As a future plan, Nadeem shared that the startup is attempting to circulate an extra 10,000 water purifiers in rural and lower-income areas. Additionally, it is likewise hoping to grow its essence to different urban areas in India.
