Kent RO plans to launch four new products every year

Co sees water purifier market to touch 2.48 million units in 2 years; sees southern regions as the key markets

Water purifier maker Kent RO Systems, which recently added water softeners and home-cleaning products to its portfolio, will be launching three to four new products across categories every year, according to its director Varun Gupta.  

Announcing the launch of Kent Superb, a new smart RO purifier from the company’s stable, in the Hyderabad market on Friday, Gupta said the organised market for RO water purifiers, currently pegged at 1.5 million units a year, was expected to touch 2.48 million units over the next two years. 

“In terms of penetration, it is less than 1%. However, the increasing awareness for safe drinking water in cities like Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad in southern regions are emerging as the key markets,” he said. 

Kent RO, which has its manufacturing unit in Roorkee, is setting up its second production facility in Noida with an investment of Rs 100 crore, along with added product lines for air purifiers and cold process juicers. 

“The Noida plant will be up and running by early 2017,” Gupta said, adding that the company was expecting to garner revenue of Rs 800 crore this financial year, as against Rs 672 crore last fiscal. 

Stating that online sales contribute 2% to Kent RO’s revenues, while exports account for 3%, Gupta said the company was exploring possibilities to export its product range to Africa, West Asia and Latin America markets.