Our mission is to improve environmental management of water, hygiene standards and water efficiency
With World Environment Day, June 5, coming up, Puneet Gupta, CEO & Founder, Clensta International, explains the importance of using products like Clensta’s range of waterless body baths and shampoos in healthcare settings like old age homes. According to him, the product range is well by India’s army, navy, accepted as well as private and government hospitals in India. He expands on the company’s future plans and more, to Viveka Roychowdhury
As a health start up, how has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted sales of Clensta’s product range?
In the past couple of years, the start-up ecosystem in India has emerged as a reckoning force, largely attributable to the efforts of the stakeholders, and the initiatives implemented by the government to facilitate the growth of the start-ups. The lock-down has not only impacted the daily business operations, but it has also forced a mark for many start-ups into preparing for contingency plans to limit workforce and to cut down employee salaries.
However, Clensta, being from the hygiene & healthcare industry we have seen surge in the demand of our products during the pandemic last year and in the second wave too. Foreseeing the demand, we raised our production capacity to fulfil the upcoming needs. The demand rose up to 4x since last financial year, and we feel obliged that we could accomplish the increased requirement in the country.
What is the price differential between Clensta and the usual shampoo and body bath solutions? What is Clensta’s USP over other similar products?
Our products are made for all the age groups as we believe good health and affordable costing and planet saving is the need for the hour. Our mission is to be an affordable healthcare provider with hospitals across India, to improve its environmental management, with a focus on hygiene standards and water efficiency. Healthcare organisations are typically some of the larger water users, so it’s imperative that they actively seek ways to manage it properly, particularly in water stressed regions of India.
Any shampoo or body bath present in the market can provide personal hygiene. However, when residing in location with water challenges or with no water at all, the other product cannot serve the purpose of personal hygiene but the proposed product can.
Although we do not have any other Indian company working in the exact same market with the exact same product but since the product is a personal hygiene product at the end of the day. Any company dealing in Soaps, Body Wash, Sanitisers as well as shampoos or Dry shampoos can be considered as an indirect competitor. A very large segment of FMCG market leaders would eventually become competition given we are bringing in products or substitutes for all these products.
These products are able to maintain the same level of cleansing effect without leaving the same high level of residue, which can hence be wiped with a towel/tissue without the use of water to wash it off. Additionally, our product has low aquatic & soil toxicity, strong biodegradability with a lower rate of bio-accumulation. Furthermore, we have prepared our product using the ingredients that will break down in the nature with high-rate acceptable concentrations, so that unacceptable concentrations of a surfactant or its metabolism are not generated in the environment.
What is the environmental footprint of the product?
The growing concern over healthcare facility and products, and environmental concerns like water scarcity, plastic wastage and water conservation are the crucial issue which needs to be addressed with utmost priority. The acute shortage of innovative products that protect individual personally and in-house was the inspiration to develop the products as the available standards in the market restricts our hygiene maintenance standards.
We have formulated the system with safe synthetic and natural ingredients that does not harm us and pollute the environment on regular usage.
We’ve been working on the Make in India scheme to produce waterless technology products in the homeland providing employment opportunity not only to the daily wage labourer’s but also the manufacturing units to produce and export the same to consumer demands worldwide. Our mission is to be an affordable healthcare provider pan India, to improve environmental management, with a focus on hygiene standards and water efficiency. Healthcare organisations are typically some of the larger water users, so it’s imperative that they actively seek ways to manage it properly, particularly in water stressed regions of India.
In a broader way to understand the main cause of water consumption were larger in terms than it is imagined. An average household use of 250 ltr of water used per day per capita rose to a large amount of water subsidies from governmental aids. By using waterless technology, households and hospitals can save an estimated to the usage of more than 25 million litres of water a year, a saving of Rs 1,500,000 (approximately $21,000).
The scalability of the product in the rural area is the going to have an impact on economy, as the employment of individual ensures the maintenance of public demand. There is a rise in the requirement to match the public demand via man force. Thus, creating a chain of empowerment in the rural areas will scale the employment opportunity for all.
Since the overall thrust of the new national water policy is towards people’s participation at all stages, the highest priority should be accorded to the training of those who are to manage the water resources at all levels. The planning must sensitise all partners to the demands of a people’s planning approach to water resource development.
Explain its use in hospitals and old age homes, etc. and kindly also name a few prominent institutions using the products.
Clensta has developed waterless body bath and shampoo that can be used by patients in hospitals like old age people, bedridden patients, ICU patients, post and pre-surgery requirements to maintain their hygiene and take a bath without water. The product not only removes dirt, oil, and grease completely but also provides a shining and moisturising look to the hair and body using the absorbent properties. It also provides innovative healthcare solutions that make hygiene quick, accessible and simple for everyone anytime and anywhere.
Additionally, our product has low aquatic and soil toxicity, strong biodegradability with a lower rate of bio-accumulation. Furthermore, we have prepared our product using the ingredients that will break down in nature with high-rate acceptable concentrations, so that unacceptable concentrations of a surfactant or its metabolism are not generated in the environment.
- The unhygienic bathing standards make it problematic for patients to maintain cleanliness. The easy availability of waterless bath and shampoo makes it unproblematic for them to maintain hygiene in severe health conditions.
- Various health diseases make it difficult for a patient to maintain regular water contact. Considering the need for water usage in day-to-day activities, it actively concerns personal hygiene to eradicate the building up of infections and bacteria on the body.
- Unhealthy bathing techniques like sponging increase the risk of harmful diseases. In such a situation waterless product provide a healthy sanitary idea for patients in severe conditions.
Given in the year, our product is widely accepted in Army, Navy, Private and government hospitals in India like All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Seth Sukhlal Karnani Memorial Hospital, CK Birla Metro Hospitals, Dr Lal Path Labs, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and 25000+ retail stores and pharmacies.
Who are the financial promoters of Clensta? Are you planning the next round of funding?
The company has significantly raised Angel Investment in terms of scaling the product and its portfolio. Some of the prestigious shareholders and investors include Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Indian Angel Network and its maiden VC Fund, IAN Fund and Biotechnology Ignition Grant Scheme (BIG), BIRAC by Govt. of India. The company is actively looking for a good collaboration in terms of raising the Series A investment in the near future.
In terms of allocating the funds, majorly heads in the Research and Development where we enhance the idea of providing the waterless technology to everyone at a cheaper price. The enhancement is hence delivered by a great team of experts and specialists who drive the company to the right direction. We have also planned to launch our home care category providing a comprehensive protection, the raised funds will also contribute to scale up and market these upcoming products.
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