"A limited production has taken place and we have already sold out around 100-150 devices at a price of Rs 2,500. We will be releasing Venus for the mass market at Rs 1,500," Agarwalla adds.
The company has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise money to be able to sell mass produce the device and to be able to sell it at an affordable price, but has managed to achieve only 5 per cent of its $50,000 (Rs 30 lakh approximately) goal. The campaign started on October 13 and will close on December 12, 2014.
When asked if there was a possibility of bringing the price further down once the required amount of money was raised, Agarwalla replied, "the company had earlier planned to launch Venus at Rs 1,000, but later ruled out after all the calculations were made. Further, to bring the product to the market and reach out to larger groups of people, we need to keep the retailers' cut, which makes it nearly impossible to bring the price down from Rs 1,500."
Targeting another set of users, especially those who don't have access to frequent power supply, the company is working on a DC (direct current) operated version, which can run on a 12 volt battery. The DC variant will also go on sale along with the AC version.
The company is yet to finalise a distribution model for Venus and says it will release all details related to the distribution model by mid-November. But Agarwalla confirms that it will be a mix of online and offline retailing.
According to Vimbas Navrachna, the company has provided sample units to unprivileged families and has received positive feedback.
Technical Specifications
Voltage: 110/230 V
Power: 350 Watts
Weight: 2.1 Kgs (basic unit)
Capacity: 2.5 Kgs
Dimensions: 100x150x420mm(LxWxH)
Wash Cycle: 3 to 5 mins (approximately)
Contents: Basic unit, bucket clamps
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