Mahesh Gupta has always bet on innovation and diversification to spur big growth. Interestingly, it was a personal, innovative, initiative that led Mr Gupta to enter the world of high-end water purifiers and make it big in the industry. It was in the late 1990s that Mr Gupta was looking for a good water purifier, as his children were struck by jaundice due to contaminated water. Having found none, Mr Gupta, a brilliant, IIT graduate, decided to design and develop a water purifier himself.

Zeroing in on reverse-osmosis (RO) technology, he succeeded in installing the water purifier at his south Delhi home. This personal venture prodded him to start his own business of high-end water purifiers, and thus was born Kent RO Systems, one of India’s leading water purifier and home appliance brands, in 1999.

Since then, Mr Gupta, the chairman and managing director of Noida-based Kent RO Systems, has grown his company exponentially by innovating and diversifying across varied products and solutions. Combining three technologies to make water purifiers suitable for treating every type of water, Kent has build an enviable reputation in the Rs 3,500-crore, domestic water purifier industry.

Today, the company’s three plants – two in Roorkee in Uttarakhand and one in Noida – have been churning out a diverse range of products, like water purifiers, air purifiers, cold press juicers, vacuum and bed cleaners and vegetable purifiers. It has also forayed into smart kitchen appliances and security devices.

With more than 3,000 employees, over 3,000 distributors, a sales force of around 1,500 people, presence in about 12,000 retail outlets across India and exports to more than 30 countries, Kent has emerged as one of the leading brands in Asia. Water purifiers contribute about 85 per cent of Kent’s over Rs 1,000 crore turnover, with smart kitchen appliances and security devices bringing in the remaining 15 per cent revenue. In an engaging interview with the IBJ, Mr Gupta talks about Kent’s new forays and future plans.

How do you see the going for the industry, in general, and Kent, in particular, amid the devastating COVID-19 pandemic?

We are in the midst of a deep crisis. Even as most of the country has opened up largely after the lockdowns, I have my serious doubts if business will return to normal soon, as the situation is very uncertain. The consumer durables market is seasonal in nature, and so, we have to see the industry product-wise seasonally. It was a bad summer this year, with lockdowns hitting sales of air conditioners, refrigerators and air coolers. Perhaps television may pick up, and you may expect some sales later during the festive season.

The home appliance segment may take a massive beating due to muted sales during the Coronavirus-induced lockdowns. However, there is a huge demand for our products, like fruit and vegetable cleaners, water purifiers and disinfectants. Our automatic home and kitchen solution products – such as smart water purifiers, air purifiers, noodle- and pasta-makers, electric rice cookers and dosa-makers –have gained a lot of traction in recent months. This gives us some hope that the festive season will not be muted this year.

What prompted you to enter the security devices domain?

Well, we stepped into this segment in response to today’s fast-paced life and consumer needs. We felt that the time was right, and that we as a company were confident that we could ensure safety at all levels. The company had first launched KENT CamEye last year as a next-gen, car camera for ensuring the security of your loved ones and your car. We recently launched KENT CamAttendance, a next-gen, touchless-attendance management system, based on face recognition in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The biometric attendance system was banned following COVID-19, as it was considered a critical transmitter of virus and bacteria. Hence, most of the organisations had switched back to manual attendance. But there were a lot of problems with the manual system, which is prone to errors and difficult to manage, especially for medium- and large-size organisations. KENT CamAttendance wonderfully filled this gap, and this product from our artificial intelligence segment is doing pretty well with government offices and medium- and large- size organisations, which are our target audience.

Would you briefly highlight the company’s major expansion plans?

We have started setting up Experience Centres, where customers can experience our innovative products. The company has already opened two Experience Centres, one in DLF Mall of India in Noida and another one in Lajpat Nagar Market in New Delhi. It will be a chain of 10 Experience Centres which will be set up on a franchise model.

The company is planning to double its exports. Currently, Kent exports its products to more than 30 countries, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kuwait and Nepal. It has recently entered the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) market. The move is a part of the company’s broader expansion plans into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in the next few years. We have joined hands with the UAE’s Sands International for distribution of our products across the GCC market. Our brand’s wide range of household appliances will be available at LuLu Hypermarkets across the GCC countries.

How do you see the company growing in the next few years?

We expect 20 per cent growth in turnover at over Rs 1,200 crore in this financial year (FY22) despite Coronavirus-related disruptions in the market. The next 12 months are going to be very crucial for our business, as we look forward to some exciting new launches – such as Wi-Fi home cameras, video-conference solutions and shopping-by-video solutions, among others. We are aiming at strong growth and building our market share in the newer segments that we are planning to enter, namely high-end, video-conference cameras and conference speakerphones.

On a personal note, how would you describe your typical weekdays and weekends?

My weekdays are about work and interacting with the employees. Planning about new, out-of-the-box ideas which are sustainable is something I love discussing at work. It constantly helps in keeping the team on the right track and in the right direction. Discussing new approaches informally, seeing creative ideas run and seeing my team taking initiatives on bettering design and technology in itself are a booster. Weekends are reserved for my family and friends. On weekends, I like reading good books, meditation and spirituality. I also visit Shri Shri Ravi Shankar Centre in Bengaluru on my days off.