“Persil Power Gel is the innovative product that has changed the way we do laundry,”—Henkel spokesperson.
Developed in 1907, Persil, the pioneer of laundry detergents, is one of Henkel’s many revolutionary creations. Persil Power Gel was introduced in the region 8 years ago as the modern alternative to powder detergents to deliver superior performance.
Established in 1876 and headquartered in Dusseldorf Germany, Henkel is an international chemicals and consumer goods company, an early-entrant well-known for its innovative and effective products in laundry and home care, beauty care and adhesive technologies.
The company commenced GCC operations in 1998 and has since grown swiftly over the past two decades. Henkel is the institution behind the reputable brand names Persil, Fa, DAC and Loctite among others.
According to a company official, the in-house researched and developed Persil Power Gel liquid detergent is superior to traditional powder forms. Thanks to its advanced cleaning technology, innovative composition, tough-on-stains cleaning power, colour protection, and no residues benefits, it is rapidly gaining popularity with consumers. Persil Power Gel is suitable for both top and front loading machines with a variety of scents.
In an interview with LogisticsGulf.com, Ahmed Nasser, Vice President, Middle East Cluster and Sales, Middle East & Africa, Laundry & Home Care, Henkel, gave his insights on Henkel, its regenerative products and his corporate vision for the future.
LogisticsGulf.com (LG): How is Persil Power Gel liquid detergent advantageous over conventional powder detergents?
Ahmed Nasser (AN): Persil Power Gel, our premium product, provides the best results for laundry with every wash. Persil Power Gel has tough stain removal capabilities for the most stubborn stains. Persil Powder Gel has a concentrated and strong formula which allows twice as many washes than powder detergents of the similar size.
Persil Power Gel is the best option to preserve the fabrics. Thanks to its liquid format, it penetrates fabric easily, and leaves no white residues on the garment, so laundry remains as good as new.
It adds softness and a clean fragrance, so you only need to use one product.
Persil Power Gel has a long-lasting fragrance and it is available in a variety of scents such as, Lavender Freshness, White Flower Freshness as well as the original fragrance. With the twice yield and power vs powder detergents, it is eco-friendly, and a small dose is enough to get clothes clean and save energy.
LG: Do you have production or repackaging facilities in the GCC ? If not, do you anticipate developing one?
AN: Henkel’s laundry business has well-established operations in the Middle East which includes a manufacturing plant in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. The facility produces laundry and home care products for the region with a strong and talented local team on ground.
The consolidated distribution network for this product range has allowed Henkel to build a stronger distribution infrastructure in the region. Having a new state-of-the-art liquid plant in the region has helped Henkel’s Laundry & Home Care business to customise locally-made innovative products aimed at the local consumers, meeting their needs and requirements in our products.
Additionally, having an advanced Laundry & Home Care Research & Development Laboratory located in Dubai helps Henkel to continuously innovate by studying and understanding consumer needs in the local market.
LG: By how much on an average is Persil growing annually in the region?
AN: Our growth in the region is very good; suffice to say Persil has seen a strong double-digit growth in sales year-on-year in the GCC.
LG: Characterise the typical Persil consumer in the region?
AN: Persil consumers are demanding, looking for a highly effective product to remove their toughest stains, preserve the texture and colour of their fabrics and ensure long-lasting freshness. They are looking for modern products that are available in different sizes at competitive and cost-efficient prices.
LG: What are the opportunities and challenges confronting Persil in the region?
AN: The opportunities for Persil are plentiful. Persil is perceived by consumer as a highly effective product with a long-lasting freshness; it is appreciated for its strong performance along with its wide variety of fragrances and size offerings – catering to our consumers’ needs.
Henkel’s Regional Laundry and Home Care R&D centre located in Dubai, enables the team to develop specialized products based on each country’s unique buying and usage patterns. Such as, Persil Abaya Shampoo in GCC, Jasmin and Mesk el Lil fragrance in North Africa, Aleppo Soap in the Levant and more.
On the challenges front, the laundry category is both highly competitive and crowded market with a wide range of products on offer. As well consumers are traditional in approach which challenges the speed of conversion to liquid formats. Persil Power Gel, as the chief innovator in liquids, has been leading the conversion to liquid gel detergents in the region.
LG: Are you considering acquisitions or mergers in the near foreseeable future?
AN: Henkel is continuously looking into expanding its businesses in promising markets in this region which holds considerable growth potential for us.
LG: What is Persil’s contribution to eco-friendliness?
AN: In Henkel, we aim in creating more value for our customers and consumers, for the communities we operate in, and for the company – while reducing our environmental footprint at the same time. This is the idea at the heart of Henkel’s sustainability strategy and its related ambitious targets. We are constantly looking at ways to improve our products and solutions through innovations and smart thinking – to create more value at a reduced ecological footprint.
We adopt the concept of “achieving more with less” which is the key to being sustainable. We strive to produce and deliver our detergents in the most environment and consumer-friendly method. We try our best to assure cutting waste and limiting environmental pollution in all our business functions, from the early stages of experimenting to manufacturing to packaging and transportation.
We see it as our responsibility that each Persil product contributes to sustainable development of the group’s overall sustainability ambitions. Our target with Persil is to give consumers the most powerful stain remover without taxing the environment and its natural resources. We focus on high quality and performance, so that garments are cleaned with the least detergent use, so consumers get more with less.
LG: Persil gel liquid is a relatively new entrant to the GCC, where in the pecking order is Persil in detergent sales terms?
AN: Persil has a leading position in the liquid detergent’s category. Being among the first to move from the traditional powdered detergents to liquid has helped the brand to maintain its lead.
LG: Do you see more consumers move from powders to gel? Roughly what is the proportion for gel to powder for Persil and other generic brands?
AN: Looking at the consumer trends in mature markets such as Europe and America, we have experienced a consumer shift towards using liquid detergents. We expect the GCC market to follow the global trend. With the introduction of Persil liquid detergents in GCC, we see year-on-year more consumers switching to liquid detergents.
E-commerce might be a game changer with an interesting evolution toward online purchase for laundry products. Persil is already present in all e-commerce platforms where FMCG products are available in the region.
LG: What about new products introduction in the region?
AN: We are constantly introducing new and innovative products. We have recently introduced a new range of Persil Premium Gel, K2R Colour Catchers (colour run prevention laundry sheets ), DAC Toilet Cleaners and DAC Toilet Rim Blocks.
LG: Tell us about some of your CSR activities?
AN: Henkel in the GCC is committed to giving back to the communities that it operates in with sustainability at the core of the company’s strategy. Henkel has engaged in numerous efforts to encourage sustainability, starting from educating school children on the importance of sustainability and to encourage them to engage and adopt best practices.
Activities such as Forscherwelt, a global program led by Henkel, aims to develop the interest in science experiments in children at an early age. The course is free and is open to all the children who are interested in science and science experiments.
Corporate volunteering with sustainability school visits, aims to educate children about the importance of sustainability in their daily lives. The regular school visits are conducted by Henkel Sustainability Ambassadors who go through the ‘Sustainability Ambassador Training Programme’. From 2017 onwards, all Henkel employees have been trained to be Sustainability Ambassadors.
Ongoing social partnerships with different non-profit organisations are put in place to give back to the society in countries that Henkel operates in. We involve in different activities such as regular visits to schools accommodating children with special needs, providing them with an annual supply of Henkel products.
LG: What is the wider vision for Persil in the region for the future?
AN: Persil will continue to be a leading premium detergent for all textile materials. Innovation has always been the company’s strength. Through our R&D lab in Dubai covering all India-Middle East & Africa (IMEA) markets, we integrate our innovative German technologies with our clear understanding of our consumer expectations in terms of product efficiency and preferences.
We regularly conduct in-home visits in order to accompany our consumers in their quest for the best quality product. We therefore aim at gaining market share by offering products that take into consideration consumer’s habits while introducing strong innovation and offering an eco-friendly experience.
In the years to come we aim to introduce new trends in laundry; such as, intense freshness with essential oils, eco-label with 100% vegetable soap, 100% recyclable packaging, products for baby textile, hypoallergenic and other benchmark innovations.
