Finding new pastures in testing lab space

There are 1,500 testing labs in India, of which 400 are calibration labs that help you for instance to match your wristwatch time to the exact Indian Standard Time. This is very important for athletes, aeronautics, car speedometres, weighing balances etc. Testing items range from textiles, pharma, chemical, food etc. For instance there are just two labs doing testing of fire extinguishers across India. In food, there are 120 labs and in pharma 150 labs and for spices there are only 120 labs doing testing. Just imagine how gigantic this task of testing is as there are one lakh products to be tested informs Rahul Gupta, founder and CEO LabGo, that is the only-startup to offer a complete directory of labs and calibration centres.

Further, in water testing there are 11 different types of water to be tested, for example drinking, pool, bathing etc., he said explaining the intricacies of testing. There are also 500 non-recognised labs and all products do not have to be tested. For instance 50 per cent of electronic products do not have to be tested. There are many people who forego testing if it is not legally required.

So how does a manufacturer find a recognised testing lab? There are many startups in this field and the industry is growing fast at a growth rate of 12 per cent YoY and expects to grow 25 per cent by next year. The testing and calibration market is estimated to be around Rs 10,000 crore. But none of the startups offers a complete directory of labs and calibrating centres, he said.

So, how did the idea come about? He replies, “In 2014 after working as a consultant between customers and labs, I was a consultant and trainer for laboratory accreditation by the government’s Food Research and Standardisation Laboratory. Prior to that from 2009, I acted as a consultant for setting up of calibration and testing laboratories in Sigma Test and Research Centre and also founded the Instrumentation Division of SGM Labs Solutions which deals in laboratories equipment’s and labs setups. During all this time I found people calling and asking for good testing labs and that is how I decided on this first ever online directory for searching laboratories across India.”

Rahul also informs that his company also provides an e-commerce platform for testing and calibration services in the Indian market and also provides lab search solutions for the B2B market and creates a useful database for general customers. It has 12 categories in the space of testing adding that he has no competition.

The idea behind this venture is to bring laboratories and its potential customers closer by providing them a platform for convenient communication. Even today 25 per cent of the labs do not have their own websites where customers can reach them and they have no concept of marketing.

Rahul who is 35 is an ambitious person, and hopes to make a great niche for his startup. He is also an avid reader of history and biography and enjoys gardening in his leisure time.