Compromising on hygiene can have an adverse effect on the health of employees, espec
ially paper tissues or towels. Educating customers on the need for using the right hygiene products is essential, says Arun Jatia, Director, Pudumjee Group.
People have become aware about the huge business opportunity that lies in the Indian cleaning sector and there are many local tissue converters emerging. “This growing segment tends to compromise on the quality of the tissue and is not compliant with the National & International Safety Standards. What makes the matter worse is the lack of awareness among the consumers about the various types of tissue papers and their usage. At Pudumjee Hygiene Products Ltd (PHPL), we constantly strive to create products that are high on quality and also in compliance with Health & Safety Norms,” says he.
It is important to educate consumers about the labels carried on the product clearly mentioning the content specifications, quality and quantity. “Also, wherever the label space permits, we make sure that we include a brief related to the product usage E.g, good quality toilet tissues are made to disintegrate once they are flushed contrary to kitchen rolls and napkins. Our large toilet roll pack label includes a diagrammatic representation of a ‘do it yourself’ test showing how the toilet tissue totally disintegrates when it is immersed into a glass of water and a flushing action is simulated by stirring the water. We have done a lot of soft marketing in this area through social media and YouTube videos.”
Another major challenge confronting this market is increasing costs. “Many companies in their efforts to cut down costs start neglecting the hygiene needs. Hygiene is given least priority which has adverse effects on the health and habits of the employees. Creating awareness is the best solution in such cases. One of our IT clients was facing an issue where its employees were refused rooms by some hotels because of the way they were using washrooms. We made a video to educate the company’s employees on global hygiene standards and also created special posters to drive home the points. The programme was very successful and the videos have turned out to be very popular among our clients.”
With a mission to spread hygiene and healthier lifestyle, PHPL has made an investment of over र 2500 million in an ultra-modern tissue plant using the world’s best technology. “We now have exclusive tissue paper converting plants in Pune, Bengaluru and Bhiwadi (Rajasthan). These locations are also equipped with state-of-the-art logistic depots that enable us to service our clients, further reducing time and cost.”
PHPL has an established and efficient nationwide network with regional offices and distributors working with the objective of setting best service standards in the industry. “With 200 plus distributors and over 100 resellers, we make sure that our products and solutions are efficiently delivered to customers. Pudumjee CRM systems further help us respond quickly to customer needs.”
PHPL business is broadly classified into two sections, Institutional and Retail, which are structured to meet the diverse and specific requirements of both markets separately. “Our products meet international quality standards and are made of FDA compliant raw materials. We have three ISO certifications for our systems (ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004, ISO 22000:2005) and will soon be Green Seal Certified too.”
PHPL products cater to manufacturing industries, Information Technology & Services, travel & hospitality, food & beverages, banking & insurance and real estate. “We also provide customized solutions for PSUs like railways, airports, shipping and tourism corporations.
The newly launched soap and towel dispensers are being branded as products for the young India segment which constitutes 60% of the population. The products are promoted in educational institutions.”
With more than 130 million Indians on the internet, online marketing is one of the new strategies that have been adopted by PHPL. “Our in-house online marketing team has been successful in establishing a healthy online presence across various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & LinkedIn. There is also a dedicated ecommerce portal for netizens. Further we aim to explore Mobile Marketing by creating dedicated mobile shopping applications on various platforms. Apart from regular advertisements in the print media, we also participate in reputed trade shows like The Clean India Show.”
An able team of experts from various departments have contributed to the products with trend setting designs of PHPL. “The R&D centre at Pudumjee Pulp & Paper Mills Ltd is approved by the Department of Science and Technology. The current research activities are in the areas of food packaging, soft tissue development and flexible packaging for various applications, including Pharma. To meet the rising demand, PHPL will be increasing the production capacity of Bhiwadi operations by 70%.”
