[Exclusive Interview] This Water-Tech Startup Is Providing Clean Drinking Water At Just 50 Paise/Litre (Find Out How?)

Recently, we interacted with Mr Advait Kumar, Co-Founder, Boon, a watertech impact startup, that uses innovation for impact. Their punchline is: “Come celebrate water like it should be..”

Here are the interview highlights:

– How did you come up with the idea of incepting Boon?

At Boon, we understand that true impact is essential. The idea was conceptualized by Dr. Vibha Tripathi, a physics graduate and PhD holder from IIT Kanpur, who also happens to be my mother. While working on a UNDP-funded project, she witnessed the dire lack of access to clean water in a rural village in the Unnao District. This village faced water contamination levels 30 times higher than the acceptable limits, primarily due to nearby industrial activities, particularly leather factories. Witnessing the devastating impact on the health of children, with fluorosis causing their bones to bend, deeply affected her. Driven by the desire to make a difference, she began researching ways to provide clean drinking water to areas facing contamination or water scarcity. Her dedication to society inspired me to leave my job as an investment banker at JP Morgan in the US and join her in the public welfare initiative. What began as an experiment soon transformed into our mission.

Mr Advait Kumar, Co-Founder, Boon

We initially started Boon as Swajal in 2014 as a social impact venture. Our water vending kiosks, which we called WaterATMs, quickly caught the attention of various state governments and the public at large. While the term WaterATM has become ubiquitous for this type of product, we were the first to coin it and still hold the trademark.

Our primary focus was on areas and communities with limited technology and infrastructure penetration. As a result, some of our initial water purifiers were solar-powered, as there was no existing grid infrastructure to run our systems. In this rapidly evolving landscape, we recognized the immediate and urgent need to integrate technologies such as IoT, RFID, and AI to address water-related challenges.

Today, Boon is providing affordable clean drinking water solutions to rural communities in Punjab and Haryana affected from pesticides to fluoride affected tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh and Odisha all at an affordable rate of Rs 0.5/liter. Further through our ZeroMile Water Initiative, we are replacing 22 single use plastic bottles per minute. 

– What is clairvoyant and how is it monitoring the water quality?

Our state-of-the-art proprietary technology, Clairvoyant, revolutionizes the world of water purification. It is the first and only patented IoT platform that empowers stakeholders to track, customize, and analyze drinking water round-the-clock. With Boon’s water purifiers and dispensers equipped with Clairvoyant, you can enjoy the cleanest water every day while staying connected to its quality and quantity in real-time.

Our IoT devices seamlessly integrate with the water dispensers, providing valuable information to both our headquarters and the end-users. This cutting-edge technology allows our headquarters to monitor and manage the maintenance schedules of hundreds of machines simultaneously, ensuring optimal performance and customer satisfaction. With real-time data, our customers can trust in the high quality of their hydration experience.

Delving into the remarkable capabilities of IoT, whenever a machine encounters an issue, the information is immediately conveyed to our technicians, facilitating swift repairs and minimizing service disruption. The IoT system also enables proactive machine servicing, ensuring “zero downtime.” This intuitive and predictive model empowers individual operators to oversee multiple machines effortlessly, while a single service engineer can efficiently handle a large number of devices.

At Boon, we believe that advanced technology combined with proactive maintenance is the key to delivering a seamless and superior experience for our customers. With Clairvoyant and our IoT-enabled water purification systems, you can trust in the reliability, efficiency, and convenience of our products while enjoying the peace of mind that comes with real-time monitoring and exceptional service.

– How is your technology aiding sustainability?

Our groundbreaking technology drives sustainability forward through our revolutionary Zero Mile Initiative. By implementing a safe and cost-effective circular system that purifies and packages drinking water in eco-friendly glass bottles, we actively combat the plastic bottle pollution crisis. Through our system, hotels and other establishments can adopt a zero-mile delivery approach, eliminating the need to transport plastic bottled water over long distances and resulting in a significant reduction in harmful fossil fuel emissions.

In 2022, Boon achieved a remarkable feat by reducing carbon emissions by an astounding 548,459 kilograms, equivalent to the environmental impact of planting 26,117 mature trees. To put it into perspective, this reduction is comparable to eliminating a staggering 182,928 kilograms of plastic, equivalent to the removal of 435 million straws, or reducing driving distance by an impressive 6,874,406 kilometers. To visualize this, it’s like circumnavigating the Earth’s equator 172 times!

Furthermore, our machines are meticulously designed to consume minimal electricity and generate negligible wastewater, surpassing the stringent sustainability standards set by traditional water purifiers. We take pride in our commitment to creating a greener future by integrating energy-efficient technologies into our products.

At Boon, we believe that sustainable innovation is the key to preserving our planet. By actively reducing plastic waste, minimizing carbon emissions, and optimizing resource consumption, we are at the forefront of driving positive change in the water purification industry. Join us on this transformative journey as we redefine sustainability and set new standards for environmental stewardship.

– What are your growth and expansion plans? 

We are thrilled to embark on a significant initiative to empower organizations in reducing their reliance on plastic water bottles. Our goal is to promote sustainable hydration systems by leveraging our advanced technology, including the remarkable Clairvoyant monitoring platform. Beyond our successful implementation in villages, we are expanding our reach to include various settings such as railway stations, hospitals, universities, and schools.

With a strong foundation in India, we are now poised to conquer international markets and emerge as the world’s leading drinking water tech company. As part of our growth strategy, we are excited to introduce a new product line that will complement our existing offerings. Additionally, we are opening our pre-operatory platform for API integration with other product lines and sensors, akin to Amazon’s firestick. These strategic moves will elevate our capabilities and deliver enhanced value to our esteemed customers.

Furthermore, we remain committed to continuous innovation. We are tirelessly working on developing smarter iterations of our current machines, optimizing their functionality, and reducing costs. This enables us to better serve rural communities without relying on external subsidies, thus ensuring accessibility to clean drinking water for all.

At Boon, our drive to make a positive impact through sustainable technology is unwavering. We are dedicated to transforming the way people access and consume drinking water worldwide. Through our expansion efforts, product diversification, and cost optimization, we are positioned to lead the charge in revolutionizing the drinking water industry and creating a brighter, more sustainable future for all.