Please don’t curse my habits. I am a man of old ideas. Even in window shopping, I first look at the price tag and then enjoy the product. Last week, while waiting for someone in a mall in Ghatkopar, Mumbai, I walked into Smart Bazaar. As soon as I entered, I was greeted by kitchen and bathroom essentials like phenyl, dish washing soap, liquids and other detergents. I picked up a bottle of phenyl and was shocked to see the price. The price of that branded phenyl bottle was Rs 307. I immediately called home and asked the price printed on the old phenyl bottle. The old price shocked me even more. It was only Rs 199. I made a mental note of the prices of all the cleaning products whose main ingredients were petroleum chemicals, or naphtha, derived from crude oil. Taking my eyes off the products, I then looked at the people present in the big store. Not only me, but most of the people who came to get the monthly ration were surprised about the prices. I saw similar behavior in them. Due to increasing pressure on budget due to rising prices, most customers are willing to give up their favorite brands and go for cheaper alternatives on the same shelf. Rising prices are not only changing the way we middle-class people spend, but also our perspective on what we want to spend on. Younger women and lower-income customers appeared more willing to abandon brand loyalty. A woman was telling her husband that since the price of biodegradable bags made from naphtha has doubled, they will use only the paper bags available in online shopping for garbage. While very few people were changing their preferences in personal care products, in cleaning products almost everyone was not hesitating to buy lesser-known brands. On returning home, I talked to the owner of a private university, who had medical and nursing colleges along with other institutions. I reluctantly shared this small discovery of mine with him. There was such excitement in his voice, as if I had found the solution to his big problem. He put me on hold and called the head of the pharmacy department on another phone and asked him to prepare an alternative to the phenyl and other cleaning products used at the university. In fact, lakhs of rupees are spent every year on various cleaning products including dish washing powders and liquids used in hostel canteens. I heard the head of the pharmacy department suggest that in larger facilities a mixture of sodium sulphate, SLES (sodium lauryl ether sulphate) and water might work. If you add isopropyl alcohol to it as a disinfectant, the floor dries quickly and bacteria also die without expensive branded phenyl. A simple disinfectant can be made by mixing pine oil, water, and emulsifier. It provides the same familiar fragrance and cleanliness at a much lower price of Rs 307. This suddenly reminded me of my childhood, when we used to use reetha, which is a 100% natural alternative to chemical surfactants. We used to make a powerful grease removing dish washing liquid by boiling seedless lemon or lime peels with reetha, vinegar and sea salt. My mother used to make an effective spray for cleaning kitchen counters, tiles and floors by mixing a solution of white vinegar, water and a little dish soap. The bottom line is that the expenses of running not only big industries but also ordinary families like ours are increasing. We all have to find ways to cut these down and keep the budget balanced. Write to me and tell me how you manage your expenses.
Source link
N. Raghuraman’s Column: Cutting costs and operating expenses should be considered in difficult times
