IN THE year to 8 February 09 we spent approaching $130m in Total Key Accounts on total laundry products (MAT), although dollar sales fell by 0.8% compared to a year ago. In volume terms, we consumed 40.6m litres/Kg, an increase of 2.2% on a year ago.
But there seems to be a shift in the type of products we’re choosing.
There has been a 5.7% growth in dollar sales of Liquid Detergents to $10.4m compared to a year ago, but volume sales fell by 0.6% to 2.2m litres.
There was a 2.6% fall in dollar sales of Powder Detergents to $83.4m, but volume growth rose by 3.3% to 29.7m Kg.
Dollar sales of bleaches have fallen by 1.9% to just under $5m, while volume growth is down by 0.4% to 3.5m litres.
Dollar sales of Fabric Conditioners rose by 2.5% to $10.7m, while volume fell by 3.3% compared to a year ago to 2.8m litres.
Dollar sales of Prewash & Stain Removers rose by 1.5% to $17.4m, but volume was only 0.15 up at 2.1m Kg.
Fout brands
Laundry is one of three cleaning categories which Quantum Pacific straddles through its four brands – Active, actiMax, next Generation and Ceraclen.
Active and actiMax are in the dishwash category and Ceraclen is for ceramic cooktops. But next Generation has products in all three cleaning categories – general household cleaning, dishwash and laundry.
“Quantum Pacific is a small New Zealand owned and operated business who manufactures all their products in New Zealand for New Zealand conditions” according to New Zealand business manager, Lucky Smythe.
“We are committed to protecting our natural environment and creating a safer, healthier home by producing products that are more caring for our families and generations to come” says Smythe.
“Environmental care is becoming more of a focus in the grocery industry, whether its ensuring products are packaged in recyclable materials, reducing the use of plastic bags or reformulating products to make them more environmentally friendly.”
In laundry there are four sku’s, a 1kg Laundry Powder, a 1kg Soaker, a 600ml Fabric Softener and a 375ml Stain Remover all under the next Generation brand.
The Stain Remover was originally in a bottle, but Quantum Pacific felt a trigger-operated product would be more effective in today’s environment.
Significant manufacturer
A significant manufacturer of environmentally-friendly product in the Laundry category is Aucklandbased ecostore.
The company has a range of products not only in Laundry, but also in Dishwash and Personal Care.
This year there are two new products just released by the company which takes it into two new subsegments and also signals the global movement towards ultra concentrates.
For the last 18 months ecostore has been developing a fabric softener and this has now just arrived in store.
It is available in 500ml containers.The product is not only garden and skin friendly but is also grey water safe in septic tanks.
With the arrival of ecostore Fabric Softener, the company now has a full laundry solution.
Also new this month is its Ultra Concentrate Laundry Liquid which follows a global trend among manufacturers of laundry powders and liquids to move to concentrates.
“With the ever-increasing number of products fighting for shelf space, this means not only will consumers be able to buy product that lasts longer in a smaller pack size than before, but retailers will be able to accommodate more product on shelf,” said CEO Mitch Cuevas.
The new ecostore Ultra Concentrate Laundry Liquid is available in 500ml and 1L sizes.
“The intention is that the concentrate will replace the normal liquid,” Cuevas continued. “We expect it will take about a month to clear out the old stock.”
