Get to Know the First Indian Company to Manufacture Sustainable Water Bottles

Aastha Grover | 9810131337 | The 15A Chronicles' Desk

Samiksha Govil is on the journey to making the world more sustainable, one bottle at a time.

How many times have we seen plastic bottles around us for beverages, sauces, shampoos, cosmetics, toiletries – wondering when will this plastic menace end?! Despite wondering and perhaps trying to reduce the consumption of these – there’s less we have been able to do. Enter – Samiksha Govil – wondering what if we provide alternate sources of supply only for these bottles to end the problem at source.

This gave birth to Kagzi Bottles. Samiksha always had an entrepreneurial spirit in mind. She wanted to capture the non-woven polypropylene market earlier – but listening to people around, she gave up on that idea, only to find a decade later the market being dominated by this material. This time on, after the birth of her second child, she had this idea of a waterproof material that can hold liquids. Unlike last time – she was more confident now, to give her idea a try without giving heed to the noise around. She identified a scientist who worked on a material that could provide waterproof paper. Bouncing her idea with the scientist to convert this waterproof paper into a bottle – was something both got very excited about. While Samiksha was nursing and taking care of her little one – she experimented a lot at home to get the right mold. She’s been fortunate enough to leverage the power of the network and has never been shy of asking for help.

The product is still undergoing R&D but it took Samiksha over 2.5 years to get the water-proofing material for bottle. As her journey was progressing – an article featured on her in 2021 by Better India went viral overnight. With the power of digital media, the pressing need for alternate sustainable bottled packaging coupled with assiduous work over the years – the tables started turning around. All big multinational producers from the likes of ITC, P&G and Unilever among others started approaching Samiksha to test this prototype of Kagzi bottles.

Currently, Samiksha is in the process of finalizing the prototype of a 100 per cent compostable paper while simultaneously she has also come up with an alternative material bottle made from bamboo. She has also applied for patents for this product which are pending approvals. With some funding support now from IIT Mandi, HDFC grants and other stakeholders the need now is to accelerate this product development, fast track the transit trials with corporates and see it out on the shelves soon. In her journey she’s also been recognized internationally and been part of German circular valley to learn from the best in this ecosystem globally. This is the first time that an Indian company has been successful in making such a bottle and we were very proud of the work being done. We wanted to showcase it as an Indian product and for consumers to immediately connect it to its Indian roots,” says Samiksha.

Managing work, developing a product, getting into marketing, finding the right customers, while hustling home and 2 kids – that is Samiksha for you. Sometimes the factory jobs would need to see a male face behind manufacturing, her mother duties would need her to find that work life balance and be there for her kids. Every time it gets tough – she believes in taking one more step and that one step helps her sail through.

Getting to know her more candidly:

• Favorite Cuisine – She Loves & Live for Food and likes all, Chinese a little extra

• Favorite Musician – Prateek Kuhad

• Currently Reading – Amish Lord Shiva Series

• Favorite Movie – DDLJ / Holiday

More power to women, mothers, entrepreneurs, home makers!