Battle for leadership in liquid soap and handwash market
By Ibidunni Banjoko
The use of hand and dishwashing liquid, particularly in Nigerian homes, has become very popular in recent times. Up till about two decades ago, hand-washing was an elitist practice seen in the homes of educated rich or the ‘been tos’. Today, probably due to the intensive campaigns globally for hand-washing following the outbreak of epidemics (Ebola and Lassa fever) and the COVID-19 pandemic, hand-washing has become a household ritual thus sparking an explosion in the liquid soap and handwash market.
Joy, a brand of dishwashing liquid detergent, was first introduced in the United States 1949 by Procter & Gamble. In its advert then, the soap promised to cut through the grease and water of dirty dishes. From this basic proposition of deep-cleansing, Joy soap has been at the forefront of nearly all the advancements in liquid soap and handwash manufacturing. They were the first to introduce the squeezable plastic bottle for liquid soap. They also introduced the lemon scent that most people associate with all cleaning products today.
In the Nigerian dishwashing liquid market, however, several companies and individuals have gone into the production and marketing of liquid soap and handwash which come in different fragrances. Leveraging their better economies of scale advantage, international brands in the liquid soap segment have also found Nigeria as an investors’ destination. This is attributed to the country’s huge market size with an estimated population of over 200 million people (with 60% youth population) and a fast-growing middle-class population.
The hand and dishwashing liquid market in Nigeria commands a unique hold in the soap sector of the economy despite the huge popularity of detergent and bar soap. This is perhaps due to the increased awareness of the importance of hand-washing following the outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic.
Another development that has influenced the growth in the foregoing sub-sector was the great upsurge in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) business. The business, which took definite shape in the 1990s, has recently witnessed an explosion with the entrance of international brands like Eat ‘N’ Go, Chicken Republic, Burger King, etc. This has also led to the modernisation of the local Buka popularly known as Mama Put by giving them the QSR look and feel thus increasing demands for liquid soap for hand and dish-washing.
Manufacturers of liquid soap products have adopted different tactics to increase their shares of the market and convert new consumers. The increasing demand for the products means that there is money to be earned and every manufacturer wants a chunk of that potential revenue thus intensifying the battle amongst manufacturers.
Multiple fragrances, alluring advertisements, incentives, promotions, pricing, product availability etc, have been some of the stratagem employed by these manufacturers to increase their customer base in the market. This has kept the market very active as the consumer has several offerings to choose from.
Local manufacturing of dishwashing liquid began in Nigeria in the 1990s when PZ Cussons introduced the Morning Fresh brand into the market. In October 1999, the Mama Lemon brand was introduced into the market by Holdent International Limited as the second local option. Since then, the dishwashing liquid market has been dominated by these two big players and their brands have been a toast for consumers of all ages.
Recently, other brands like Sunlight, Dawn, Fairy, 2sure, Wind, Sparkle, Carex, Olivia, etc staked their presence in the hand and dishwashing liquid market with their aggressive media, promotional campaigns, and strategy. The new entrants have not, however, been able to upset the apple cart in the market. Morning Fresh remains the market leader followed by Mama Lemon.
MARKETING EDGE findings revealed that the most recent entrant, 2sure, within a year of entering the market, has risen to be a strong contender for market leadership. The survey further revealed that 2sure is not only the toast of wholesalers who have a way of promoting the brand that serves their best interest through display and other marketing maneuverings; it has been able to attract the attention of end-users through competitive pricing, a point which plays heavily in the consumer buying decisions. 2sure was able to achieve this feat through a disruptive entry coupled with a remarkable marketing strategy. This much is evident from some of the responses by market operators and customers to the MARKETING EDGE survey crew.
Speaking to the MARKETING EDGE crew, Risikat Uthman, a wholesaler at Oke-Arin market on Lagos Island, said: “IOn the beginning, they gave us 2sure to display for one month and gave us one 25kg bag of rice. Later, they gave us 10 crates of soft drink, followed by 5 packs of soft drink at each visit. Recently, they gave us 1 pack of Teem soft drink and also a display stand. 2sure came out during during COVID-19. That was how they got the grace and made huge sales. Since then I can’t count how many packs of 2sure I have sold. Now it’s ‘cash and carry’, you have to pay before they can give you a product to sell.”
Commenting further on what stands 2sure out among competition, Mrs. Uthman noted: “Mama Lemon doesn’t engage in brand promotions and doesn’t take back damaged products. We make N200 naira gain on a pack of Mama Lemon, N500 profit on a pack of 2sure, and on Morning Fresh, we make N400 when it is scarce in the market. There are lots of fake Morning Fresh and Mama Lemon in the market except for 2sure that doesn’t have fake. The local products are affecting sales because they are multipurpose, they are used for clothes, dishes, etc.”
Another wholesaler at Oke-Arin simply called Tope said some people still prefer Morning Fresh despite the price which is #900 for 1000ml and it’s higher than other brands like Mama Fresh which goes for #700, and Glow Lemon which is also #700.
“For the hand wash, it is COVID-19 that has been helping the sales, and now that the pandemic is relaxing, the sales have dropped,” she said.
A customer, Bukola Onaolapo, who is a teacher, said she uses Mama Lemon because it is cheaper and it serves the same purpose as Morning Fresh, while Ope, a trader said she uses any dishwashing liquid as long as it is cheap.
“Everything in Nigeria is now expensive, so I have to manage what I have,” she said.
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