The intent and purpose of the market launch: As part of its forward-looking strategy, BSH aims to make its brands known in emerging markets, such as Africa or India, and offer tailor-made products that suit local consumers’ circumstances. At the same time, BSH also hopes to gain access to the economic potential of the emerging markets and offer value there. Team Leader Rahul Kumar (RAP MK-NBB) is responsible for the launch of Bosch Modern Chulha in India. He reports about the first steps of the new BSH product in a short interview.
BSH presents: Bosch Modern Chulha
Reading time for this story: 3 minutes
In May 2019, BSH launched a new emerging markets product under the Bosch brand in Uttar Pradesh in the North of India – Bosch Modern Chulha. The wood stove aims to improve the cooking experience for consumers who do not have access to gas or electricity.
People in India who can’t afford gas or electricity usually use a three Stone fire for cooking, which is essentially a campfire. These fires are very inefficient and unhealthy as they create lots of smoke. Our product creates much less smoke, uses less wood, and cooks faster. Of course, there are already comparable products in the market, but Bosch Modern Chulha offers another major benefit: an affordable price of approximately 12 Euro. Existing products usually cost between 20 and 24 Euros. That’s why we have worked very hard to create a product that is not only healthier but also affordable for a target market of 95 million rural households.
How did you develop the cooker?
In order to develop our product, we have done extensive home visits to people who cook with wood across India. We have a small property in Bangalore for example, which we rent. It is close to many people who cook with wood and serves to do consumer test runs and interviews. Several people have been using our development prototypes for the past few months and their feedback is very positive. Based on this feedback, we are working on an additional holder for flat bread for example.
How does the cooker fit into the BSH strategy?
About 50 percent of the people in India cook with wood, which is very unhealthy. We see a very high potential for cookstoves to become an attractive opportunity for us as BSH and an impactful solution by which to improve health outcomes and livelihood opportunities for millions of households. As part of BSH’s strategy to improving peoples’ lives, this is a natural venture. At the same time, the cooker completes the spectrum of people we can access through our products.
