Almost a year ago, we launched our biggest Home Care innovation ever, Wonder Wash, under our Dirt Is Good brand (also known as OMO, Persil, Surf Excel, Breeze, Rinso, Ala and Skip).
This is our first liquid laundry detergent specifically designed to work in short cycles – as quick as 15 minutes – in response to the growing need for speed and convenience.
As well as addressing a huge gap in the market, it also marks the fastest deployment of an innovation from our Home Care business, on the back of unprecedented consumer demand. The roll-out has seen the whole business step up: from our supply chain teams scaling up production to our customer teams engaging retailers.
As Nadine Slyper, Dirt Is Good Global Marketing Director, says: “Wonder Wash is a great example of Unilever’s GAP 2030 strategy in action. We unlocked a truly global consumer insight and used science and technology to develop an innovation that creates a new sub-category. As well as applying the power of AI to transform our operations, we’re also tapping into new audiences and talking to them in innovative social-first ways.”
Insight-led disruption of the laundry category
Wonder Wash is the biggest disruptor in the laundry category for decades, responding to the insight that around 80% of consumers in key global markets use the quick cycle setting on their washing machine at least once a week.
We found that people are using quick washes for loads with either no or light visible staining. With changing lifestyles and jobs, on average, 70% of dirt on clothes is now invisible – caused by things like sweat and dust.
Also, the rise in synthetic clothing, such as sports and athleisurewear, can pose particular challenges to consumers as the synthetic fibres retain odours which are difficult to remove.
“In line with changing lifestyles, we’re seeing consumers increasingly use short cycles to do their laundry,” says Nadine. “However, regular detergents aren’t optimised to perform in short cycles. So we designed Wonder Wash to really deliver against what consumers are looking for even in the shortest cycles.”
Our plan is to roll out to 20 markets in 20 months from its initial April 2024 launch. So far, it’s landed in ten markets and it’s already the fastest-growing innovation in the category.
It has contributed to OMO becoming the No.1 brand in liquid detergents in the UK, France and Turkey. This is partly down to attracting new consumers to the brand, including pre-family households, Gen X and empty nesters.
A flexible, agile supply chain
With Wonder Wash proving an instant hit with consumers in every launch market, we’ve adapted our supply chain to respond to demand surges.
In just six months, we tripled our production line capacity by the use of advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence. Through digitisation, the team optimised factory assets and processes, which in turn allowed them to accelerate lead times and boost efficiency.
The strength of our partnerships has also been key. By collaborating closely with suppliers and customers, we designed systems that maximised output and expedited production capability. This ensured we could meet the expanded capacity needs seamlessly.
“Supply chain plays an integral role in creating unmissably superior brands that solve consumers’ real and evolving needs,” says Nadine. “This fuels the growth of our business.”
Social-first demand generation
To launch Wonder Wash, we’ve rewritten the rule book when it comes to laundry category communication. With this innovation, we’re tapping into a new generation of consumers, so we needed a totally new way of reaching them.
Who else would we get to front our global campaign other than the world’s fastest man, Usain Bolt: an iconic image of speed that people instantly associate with the product’s main benefit?
Activating across TV, online, out-of-home and in-store across markets, the campaign represents our biggest-ever marketing spend on a Home Care innovation. It also includes some novel experiences.
In Italy, for example, we launched during Milan fashion week with a highly Instagrammable specially constructed ‘launderette’ where visitors could relax for 15-minutes while the wash cycle completed.
In the UK, we boosted awareness through our ‘Fast Wash & Rave’ event featuring a 15-minute DJ set by singer-songwriter Craig David. The story was picked up widely by the media, delivering total potential reach of over 115 million.
In China, we partnered with actor Leo Wu who has 50 million Weibo followers. Leo’s launch announcement drove almost 100 million impressions and, with the help of influencers, online searches for Wonder Wash increased significantly.
We created a branded mobile launderette in France, where the Usain Bolt ad got 64 million impressions. And in Turkey, the online campaign achieved 1.2 billion impressions and 350 million views, with OMO Express Fresh becoming the first viral product in the detergent category.
“The successful launch in multiple markets demonstrates the product’s potential for further global expansion,” says Nadine. “Plans to enter more markets next year present significant growth opportunities.”