Their first venture, Waterwala, sought to streamline the delivery of water cans, but it failed to address deeper issues like contamination and quality.

Realising the market was crying out for disruption, the duo pivoted to launch DrinkPrime—a subscription-based service offering IoT-enabled water purifiers tailored to each locality’s water quality.

From its humble beginnings in 2016 to becoming a go-to solution for over 1 lakh subscribers, DrinkPrime has turned a personal struggle into a scalable, impactful business.

Let’s deep dive into how the brand cracked its subscription model and continues to grow with innovative tech, customer-centric strategies, and a mission to democratise safe drinking water.

Solving For Water Crisis Through A Subscription Model

DrinkPrime’s subscription model flips the traditional water purifier market on its head.

Instead of customers spending upwards of INR 20,000 on a device and an additional INR 4,000–5,000 annually on maintenance, DrinkPrime offers plans starting at just INR 339 per month, including free installation and lifetime servicing.

❇️ INR 339/month for individuals

❇️ INR 424/month for smaller households

❇️ INR 509/month, catering to families of four or more

❇️ INR 764/month, offering unlimited water for larger households

Unused water? It rolls over to the next month, ensuring value for money.

By removing hefty upfront costs and maintenance hassles, DrinkPrime made clean drinking water accessible to everyone—from urban millennials to tier-II households.

Scaling With IoT: Smart Purification For Smart Cities

What sets DrinkPrime apart from generic RO purifiers is its IoT-enabled tech. By mapping the water quality in each locality, DrinkPrime ensures its smart purifiers reduce contaminants without stripping essential minerals.

Real-time data analytics allow the system to adapt to changing water conditions, ensuring consistent quality

Subscribers can manage everything through the DrinkPrime mobile app:

💠 Monitor water quality in real-time

💠 Recharge, renew, or cancel subscriptions with a few taps

💠 Track water usage and access 24/7 support

This seamless tech integration builds trust and convenience, making DrinkPrime a preferred choice for over 72,000 installations and 1 crore liters of water dispensed.

The Secret To Drink Prime’s Affordability

DrinkPrime’s operational brilliance lies in its revenue-sharing agreements with hardware manufacturers. By avoiding upfront manufacturing costs, the company maintains affordability while scaling rapidly.

Additionally, IoT sensors collect real-time usage and maintenance data, enabling predictive servicing to avoid downtime.

This data-driven approach helps optimise supply chains, reduce wastage, and provide proactive maintenance, minimising customer churn.

No Marketing Jargon, Just Trust: The DrinkPrime Formula

In a market crowded with technical jargon and confusing specifications, DrinkPrime’s marketing strategy is refreshingly simple: Promise safe drinking water.

Deliver it affordably.

Key messaging revolves around:

🔥 The dangers of plastic water cans (microplastics and health risks).

🔥 Comparisons to traditional RO systems in cost and efficiency.

🔥 Stories of real users and their journey to clean water with DrinkPrime.

The brand’s clear, relatable communication has turned it into a household name in metros like Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi-NCR.

What D2C Brands Can Learn From DrinkPrime

Build For A Pain Point, Not A Trend

DrinkPrime’s journey began with solving a genuine consumer problem—access to affordable clean water. Understanding customer pain points has fueled its sustained growth.

Leverage Tech As An Enabler

IoT, real-time data analytics, and predictive servicing have positioned DrinkPrime as a leader in the watertech space.

Think Long-Term Affordability

Subscription models work when customers see consistent value. By eliminating upfront costs and maintenance fees, DrinkPrime keeps customers loyal.

Align Business with Impact

From its CSR campaigns to sustainable practices, DrinkPrime proves that doing good can also be good for business. Its #DonatewithDrinkPrime CSR campaign provides safe drinking water to students in Bengaluru’s government schools.

DrinkPrime Is Quenching India’s Thirst, One Subscription at A Time

DrinkPrime’s story isn’t just about clean water; it’s about the power of innovative thinking and relentless execution. From overcoming operational hurdles to building a scalable subscription model, the brand has emerged as a shining example of how D2C businesses can deliver impact alongside profits.

With less than 10% of Indian households owning water purifiers, the market potential is enormous. The founders believe investor interest in watertech reflects a broader trend of innovation and sustainability driving the sector.

Startups like DrinkPrime, armed with technology and consumer-first models, are poised to lead this transformation.

Until the next one!