FMCG looks at new products and some of the established best sellers in the Personal Wash category.

Global Products participates in the Liquid Handwash category with the Silk brand.

“The last 12 months has seen the Silk brand continue to grow (up 20.1% 6 months vs YA – ex-factory sales),” says director Chris Potter. The growth is mainly on the back of the recently launched variants – Silk Aloe Vera and Silk Golden Honey, in both 300ml pumps and 500ml refills. Both have been very well received by stores due to the high margins that Silk traditionally offers. Consumers have also enjoyed the new variants with Honey (2nd) and Aloe (3rd) only just being outsold by the traditionally strong Pearl White, says Potter.

He adds: “The future of Silk looks bright, with increased distribution goals and new products on the horizon. Traditionally, Liquid Handwash has been a strong growth category and we can see no reason for this to change over the coming years.

“The growth has been coming recently in the anti-bacterial sub-category. Customers are now more aware of bacterial concerns and more so around winter germs.”

Dettol

Trade marketing manager Michelle Dunn told FMCG, “Within the Personal Wash category Dettol Antibacterial has a 20.8% value share of Liquid Hand Wash and a 41.4% value share of Instant Hand Sanitisers (Nielsen Current 26 weeks to 18th September 2011).

“In May 2011 we launched the Dettol No Touch Hand Wash System Stainless Steel Look with aloe vera, vitamin E and moisturisers. We also launched new Dettol Healthy Touch Moisturising Hand Sanitiser in both 50ml and 200ml sizes into the hand sanitiser segment.

“Both launches have been very successful, with Dettol No Touch Aloe Vera becoming the number one variant for both the system and the refill within the Dettol No Touch range. Since launch in mid-August 2010, the Dettol No Touch range has contributed 75% of value growth to the Liquid Hand Wash category and has taken a category that was declining by 1% into 9.6% growth MAT (Nielsen MAT to 18 September 2011),” says Dunn.

She adds: “Dettol Moisturising Hand Sanitiser has contributed $48.600 to the segment in the last quarter, with consumers excited about the 2-in-1 formula that not only kills 99.9% of germs without water, but is enriched with Dettol’s special moisturising complex to provide long lasting moisturisation.

“We know that Dettol No Touch has been so successful because consumers understand that hands are one of the biggest cause of the spread of germs and that traditional soap pumps can harbour hundreds of germs, the very same germs mums are trying to protect the family against,” she adds.

The new Dettol No Touch Stainless Steel look was developed by Dettol to provide an option for consumers to use in the kitchen. Research shows that 51% of consumers would purchase stainless steel specifically to use in the kitchen*. The new aloe vera fragrance with vitamin E and moisturisers generates the greatest share of preference, with around 40% of consumers preferring it*, says Dunn.

Within the hand sanitiser category, research shows that although hand sanitisers are great when you are out and about with your family and no soap and water is available, some hand sanitisers can make your hands dry out and feel harsh, particularly when you use them frequently. As a result, you sometimes feel the need to apply hand cream afterwards.

“That’s why Dettol developed Dettol Moisturising Hand Sanitiser, a 2-in-1 hand sanitiser that effectively sanitises your family’s hands while also leaving them feeling moisturised and nourished. It leaves your hands feeling soft, smooth and supple without a sticky after feel,” says Dunn.

Dettol continues to grow the personal wash category both within antibacterial soap and hand sanitisers by trading consumers up from standard liquid hand wash pumps and refills into premium innovation.

NPD and media are the key growth drivers for the personal wash category and therefore these are the areas Reckitt Benckiser invests in to ensure category growth. “Reckitt Benckiser’s heavy investment in media is to ensure we drive education and awareness of germ protection, and in 2012 we plan to continue to increase our media spend on both Liquid Hand Wash and Instant Hand Sanitiser,” says Dunn.

*US Nielsen Final Report BCE Stainless Steel

Primal Earth and Dominate

MIX has recently launched two new exciting Personal Wash ranges under the Dominate and Primal Earth brands.

Managing director Anthony Gadsdon says: “Dominate’s large consumer base was the perfect platform to launch the new Dominate Shower Gel range: Don’t Just Stink, Dominate Your Stink.

“Available in two popular men’s scents, Fresh and Musk comes in an easy-to-use grip bottle. Priced at RRP$5.99, these new products will inject some fresh life into the Men’s Personal wash category. The Dominate Showergel launch is supported with a cutting-edge social media programme and extensive consumer sampling,” says Gadsdon.

The Primal Earth brand is also taking Kiwi innovation to the next level with an organic body wash range consisting of shower gel, shower crème and shower scrub.

This new Primal Earth range takes organic and plant-based body wash to the mainstream with a very affordable price point of RRP$4.99, explains Gadsdon.

Containing 96% of ingredients derived from a natural source, the handy bottle with a hook is proving a huge hit with consumers searching the shelves for green products.

“Consumers are becoming more aware of the potentially harmful chemicals in personal products and are searching out green alternatives at competitive price points,” comments Gadsdon.

Primal Earth uses certified organic, plant based, wild and locally harvested raw material and does not contain Parabens, SLS, Ethoxylates or Phthalates.

ecostore

ecostore has recently launched new packaging, says Melissa Fletcher, marketing director – Australasia.

The new range of body care products from ecostore includes three variants of hand wash and three body washes. The products are formulated with gentle cleansers and blended

essential oil fragrances to make it easy to cleanse and nourish skin without removing the skin’s protective oils. With fragrances like Orange and Patchouli, Rose and Cardamom and Coconut and Vanilla, there is something to suit a broad range of individual tastes.

ecostore works with a world-class team of scientists and chemists, led by Sir Ray Avery (2011 Knighthood, 2010 New Zealander of the Year) to formulate its plant and mineral-based products with consideration for the environment and for the people who use them.

Fletcher explains: “ecostore practises the precautionary approach with regard to the ingredients they use, which means that if there is any doubt about the safety of an ingredient for people’s health or for the environment, they will look for a safer alternative. All ecostore products are independently proven to perform as well as the leading brand alternatives, so customers don’t have to compromise on performance. Their products are also safely concentrated, so a little goes a long way.”

The skin is our largest organ, accounting for 12%-15% of an average person’s body weight. While diet is an important factor in the health of the skin so are the products that are used to care for it. Many chemicals used in body care products are known skin irritants; they can dry out the skin by stripping away its natural protective oils. Dry skin can be more vulnerable to conditions like eczema and dermatitis. While it may seem impervious, the skin is porous at a microscopic level. Through millions of tiny openings, some substances applied to the skin can be absorbed into the bloodstream.

ecostore’s body care range features artwork by John Reynolds, one of New Zealand’s most internationally renowned artists. The products stand out on supermarket shelves and make a statement in people’s bathrooms.

Trade Aid’s Natural Soaps

Handmade natural soap is part of a new movement in today’s society – towards buying products that are healthy and good for us, for the producers in developing countries and also for the environment.

Trade Aid Importers’ marketing spokesperson, Nina Gresslehner says: “A green consumer revolution is gaining ground in bathrooms across New Zealand. As the public gains more knowledge about the quality and benefits of natural products – Trade Aid’s soap range is suddenly on people’s radar screens, and more importantly in their showers.

“A wide variety of Trade Aid’s natural soaps – Sandalwood, Jasmine, Rose, Honey, Coconut, Cucumber, Cinnamon, Cloves, Green Apple and Neem – from Palam Rural Centre is available in supermarkets and organic stores nationwide.

“Most supermarkets (mainly New World, Fresh Choice and Super Value) pick up four to eight different types and sell them successfully in store and sales of our soap continue to grow,” says Gresslehner. She adds: “People are willing to pay a fair price for a fair trade product, one that is in line with similar ethical alternatives.

“Also, as consumers become more aware of, and move away from, products containing potentially harmful ingredients such as sodium lauryl sulfate, our soaps may be seen as a better option,” she says.

All Trade Aid soaps are made from natural ingredients such as essential oils, pastes or jellies extracted from pulp/fruit or nuts. No petroleum products of any form are used in any of the Palam Rural Centre’s soap products.

Gresslehner says: “Our Neem soap, a very unique product, is made from the oil of the neem tree (the United Nations declared neem ‘the tree of the 21st century’).”

Neem has been used for thousands of years and has a wide range of properties. It is antibacterial and antifungal, soothing and moisturising. When diluted in water it can also be used as an insecticide and pesticide. Neem is said to be “the one that can cure all ailments and ills”. One of Trade Aid’s earliest trading partners, the Palam Rural Centre, India was established in 1978. Today the project employs 50 people, with 15 being involved in the manufacture of 100% vegetable oil-based soap, which uses palm oil sourced from sustainable palm plantations located in the state of Andra Pradesh, India.