COMPANY PROFILE
2013
BLISS CHEMICALS
An affordable choice
company report
An affordable
choice Editorial – Tim Hands Production – Hal Hutchison
MAQ Washing Powder has quickly cemented itself as the country’s number two choice throughout the fabric care aisles and its popularity continues to rise month by month. It has been just 10 years since the opening of Bliss Chemicals, a decade during which the company has continually sought to offer consumers an effective and financially viable household alternative.
2003 was a year notable for many key worldwide events; be it the final communication between Earth and ground breaking space probe Pioneer 10, the breaking of the SARS virus that caused untold disruption throughout Beijing, or the first open-air, wicker-basket hot air balloon crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by one David Hempleman-Adams, it was year packed full of incident. More locally, it was also the marking of a significant change in the washing powder market, when Bliss Chemicals cast itself in the David role against the perennial Goliath of the sector, Unilever, and launched its own MAQ Washing Powder into the South African wholesale market. This sudden appearance of a new choice for South African consumers had a resounding effect throughout the shelves of washing powder aisles across the country,
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with the new-found competition paying dividends for South African shoppers. Jacqueline Jacobs, Sales and Marketing Manager of Bliss Chemicals, details how this change was sparked by the launch of the company’s product; “When it became obvious that MAQ Washing Powder was making inroads into retail, the price of washing powder in the market dropped, something unheard of in the industry.” An important factor in shaping habits and trends of consumers since its arrival, the veracity of MAQ’s claims were however called into question in April 2005 following a series of highly popular radio and television advertisements. The product, when put to the test, proved itself more than worthy of its place in the market, in both its standard of washing and the whitening abilities it affords, and continued its quest to establish an affordable
Bliss Chemicals
choice of fabric care. Now proudly billing itself as the second largest producer of washing powder in South Africa, Bliss Chemicals started commercial production in September 2003, employing at present around 680 personnel. The company is concerned principally with the manufacturing, selling, marketing and distributing of Fabric Care, Personal Care and Kitchen Care solutions in the SADC region, comprising among others Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. MAQ Washing Powder has become the company’s real stand-out product, earning itself a household name throughout the region. It is all the more significant given that this is a wholly South African product, manufactured on the company’s premises in Industria, Gauteng. The marketing which paved the way for MAQ’s pioneering success is a real testament to the potential of
simple, yet powerful campaigns, which in this case have seen MAQ Washing Powder move quickly from the wholesale sector into the all-important retail market. When launched in South Africa at the bottom end of the market, Bliss Chemicals’ only promotional technique was the distribution of free samples which, although a simple ploy, led rapidly to an increased demand for the MAQ Washing Powder and a very strong wholesale presence which is still enjoyed today. So effective was the way in which MAQ was placed into the South African conscious that these strategies are being tracked by advertising agency LeoBurnett as a case study - high praise for the little ‘David’ of the market and the foothold it has subsequently gained. MAQ’s very existence is to be credited to Bliss Chemicals Managing Director, Shoaib Iqbal, who opened
JUL 13 PAGE 3
company report
“One of the reasons JMV has grown from nothing to where we are today, covering 17,000m², is because we are a family owned company and management is in the hands of the family”
the manufacturing company in South Africa after many years of involvement in trading in Africa. Spying a gap in the South African market with the advent of ‘free trade’, Iqbal acted upon his desire to provide the South African consumer with an alternative affordable washing powder, with MAQ’s launch filling this void with its quality, branded, product widening the previously limited range of options. The knock-on effect of boosting the South African economy has also remained a notable aspect in MAQ’s success, with the company boasting exceptional growth over the ten years since its arrival on the shelves, a growth that is being sustained to this day by increased distribution at retail and wholesale level, where MAQ and Bliss Chemicals continue to receive excellent support from the South African trade. The strong position of MAQ Washing Powder has allowed Bliss Chemicals to branch out further in its business, introducing new products at every turn in its principle facets of trading; fabric care, personal care and kitchen care. MAQ Auto is typical of Bliss Chemicals’ approach so confident was the company of its multi-formulated automatic washing powder for use in front-loading washing machines, consumers were invited to claim a sample sachet completely free of charge, in order to ensure absolute satisfaction when eventually buying.
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Also brandishing the now inescapable MAQ label is a range of household items designed to offer that same affordable choice to South African consumers. The company’s Securex soap is an active germ protector soap, designed to keep skin hygienically clean and fresh, while its kitchen care range focuses on three key features: natural ingredients, care and efficacy. Bliss Chemicals is very clear when it comes to the main focus surrounding its ever-growing business; the most critical aspect of its company values is still the need to be ethical in its operations. This integrity extends to its dealings with customers, suppliers, vendors and other external parties, and in turn leads to the mutual respect Bliss feels is so crucial to the way in which these parties interact with each other. The tenacity which Bliss aims to apply to its work is reflected in its crucial donations to schools in Tlabane. In this case, ‘going the extra mile’ meant sponsoring 25000 lapdesks to learners in Rustenburg, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, and thousands more in Tlabane in the North West Province. Similarly to his initial desire to offer South African consumers a more affordable range of household products, Shoaib Iqbal states, “We want to help tackle the shortage of desks and in this way help to improve the lives and learning conditions of thousands of school children
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and teachers.” Clearly this is a crucial initiative; it is estimated that 4.2 million children in South Africa are without this basic element in their education, and the MAQ roadshow team ensured that another basic need was catered for in the same motion - not only were the children furnished with these new writing desks, but samples of MAQ Washing Powder were also sent home with them, a charitable way to introduce yet more South African consumers to the benefits of the affordable choice.
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“When it became obvious that MAQ Washing Powder was making inroads into retail, the price of washing powder in the market dropped, something unheard of in the industry” JUL 13 PAGE 5
+27 11 474 2626 www.blisschem.com
(0)1603 618 000 info@industrysa.com East Coast Promotions Ltd, Ferndale Business Centre, 1 Exeter Street. Norwich, Norfolk NR2 4QB