Meet India's 'IIT Laundrywala' Who Built An International Laundromat Brand

2026-05-31 02:31:41

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) When Arunabh Sinha, an IIT Bombay alumnus, and his wife Gunjan Taneja, went to Japan on a brief trip a year after their wedding in 2016, what struck them was the hugely popular concept of convenient laundry options, enabling people to easily drop-off their clothes at laundromats.

In India, 99 per cent of the market was dominated by unorganised players, known as 'dhobis', who wash clothes at 'dhobi ghats' (Mumbai has one of the world's largest open air laundromats, built in 1890 next to a busy railway line, and with more than 7,000 people at work).

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“I realised the laundry sector was a massive, 99 per cent unorganised market in India, dependent largely on traditional dhobis, which signaled an opportunity to offer a reliable, professional service,” Sinha told Khaleej Times over the weekend. Following the Japan trip, the couple were inspired to launch UClean in 2017, hoping to modernise the laundry experience in India by providing a clean, tech enabled laundromat service that people could trust.

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Sinha had also noticed this in one of his earlier assignments, managing operations at a hotel chain, when he came across constant complaints about dirty linen. He recalled:“Laundry was a major source of guest dissatisfaction."

UClean operates on a franchise-led model and has built a rapidly growing network of tech-enabled laundromats across India and abroad. Its“live laundry” concept - where customers can witness the cleaning process in real time - has emerged as a strong differentiator across international markets.

UClean has transitioned from a homegrown startup to a global contender. It recently surpassed the 800-outlet mark, operating across nine countries-including the UAE, Oman, and several African nations. Sinha has expanded to the UAE, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Ghana. It has also diversified to Mogadishu (Somalia) and Mongolia,“two frontier markets rarely targeted by Indian franchise-led service brands,” Sinha noted.

“Entering markets like Somalia and Mongolia reflects our belief that organised laundry services are a universal need, irrespective of geography," he added, noting: "The Middle East and Africa are seen as the two biggest growth markets for 2026 and 2027."

Now, he is also looking at other regions seen as difficult because of logistical, economic, and geopolitical challenges.“These are regions where very few Indian consumer brands have ventured. For us, this is not just about business expansion, but about creating entrepreneurship opportunities and building a truly global brand from India,” added Sinha, originally from Jamshedpur, who is seen as the“laundry man of India”.