At Hansgrohe retaining the human-centric water experienceis an essential part of our product design

Hansgrohe has risen up to the challenges of addressing the touchless design trends whilst keeping the human-centric water experience intact says Gaurav Malhotra, Managing Director, Hansgrohe India

What are the design challenges that have emerged as we come out of the grip of the pandemic, a time period, where the term touchless has become the key word?

I think when we talk about design, first of all, it is something that is unique. At the same time, it has to be global as well. At Hansgrohe, we work with large international design houses across the globe. So, we get a fair exposure to different cultures, their needs and their requirements. As a result, the products that we create are in a position to offer a sensorial gratification to a diverse set of customers. At the same time the products are also everlasting which too is an important aspect.

It is true that Covid-19 has given rise to a demand for touchless products. It would not be incorrect to say that this trend is driven by functionality which can rise up to the new challenges which have come to the fore. But at the same time people are emotionally invested in a product owing to the experience it offers. So, for us it is necessary not only to respond to the trends but also retain the human-centric water experience which is an essential part of our product design.

How soon can we witness an Indian designer collaborating with Hansgrohe for launching a new and exclusive line up of products?
I think it’s a great question and honestly, I get that asked a lot. The awareness of design in India has intensified which I am really proud of. Secondly product design in India continues to remain an evolving field. Hence a collaboration is a possibility which cannot be ruled out. Having said that, it is also important to understand that we have 133 subsidiaries in the Hansgrohe global landscape and every subsidiary has a different take on culture. So, finding the right degree of symbiosis or integration of these diversities is something I would like to believe is a work in progress. 

How complex is the process of continual innovation in a product line which as such is not a FMCG?
At Hansgrohe we consistently explore the sublime relationship between innovation and functionality. We design our products around the core needs of the customers or people in general, on top of that, we make sure that the product serves that need in a better way. This entails innovation at the same time, we make sure that the consumer remains close to the product. In a world that’s going digital we’ve Hansgrohe RainTunes, a multi-sensory shower experience, but we still have a mechanical product – RainSelect where the human touch is very much in. Our product innovation thus tends to address the present-day challenges and offset any impact it may have on a civilization used to do things differently.

Is Hansgrohe looking at localizing its manufacturing capabilities
Our key focus is on creating the best product. Having said that, the Indian capabilities in terms of manufacturing is certainly improving day by day. Likewise, an attempt is being made to reach out to more and more Indians who are now exposed to global design influences. In the backdrop of these developments, it’s all about finding the right scale, then we can always evaluate the options to indigenize our product lines. But the first need is to do the job about building scale, which we are doing quite well actually.

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