Similarly to previous years, the market of cleaning products is slowly, nevertheless steadily growing. Polish consumers are becoming increasingly aware of their needs and, consequently, more demanding. This trend can also be observed in the household cleaning products sector.

Longer product life
The increasing level of affluence in Polish society and the extent of equipping households with modern technology furnishings necessitate particular attention to their maintenance in order to ensure these products’ longer life spans.

Price
Price is clearly becoming a secondary factor when it comes to choosing a product. Consumers are looking for effective and specialised products that guarantee the safety of the cleaned surfaces. What is more, Polish consumers are loyal to these products, since they are cautious of experiments. Hence, they remain loyal to the brands that meet their expectations.

Changes in Polish habits
Polish people are becoming increasingly fond of cleanliness and manufacturers are striving to meet the most sophisticated needs. The continuously expanding offer of specialised products is effectively replacing that of all purpose cleaners which, until recently, displayed a growth trend. Nevertheless, it is this group of products that continues to be the leader in this category (30.9%) followed closely by toilet cleaners (slightly below 30%). Sales results prove that the greatest growth in terms of value has taken place in the group of products for unblocking pipes. So far this has been a market segment with only a slight share in the category (less than 4%).

Market segmentation
The Polish market differs significantly from the markets in Western Europe being definitely more segmented and featured by specifically strong traditional distribution channels. In the UK, for example, only 4 percent of household cleaning products are sold through these channels, whereas in Poland they continue to account for approximately 40 percent of the sales. However, the recent years have shown a growth trend in the more modern forms of trade.

High competitiveness
A specific feature of the Polish market is also the high competitiveness among suppliers including both the large worldwide players and the local companies. The household cleaning products market is dominated by well-known global brands. The undisputable leader is Unilever with its chief brands Domestos and Cif (23% in the ranking of manufacturers), followed by S.C. Johnson, Colgate-Palmolive, Reckitt Benckiser and Henkel.

Brand revival
It is, however, possible to observe that both the old (but revived) Polish brands and some new ones are gaining an increasingly stronger position in the market. This also includes own brands which, in terms of sales volumes, are second in this segment with a share of 8.8%. The sales of these brands are steadily growing and displaying the greatest percentage increases in comparison to the largest manufacturers. Own brands also feature DELKO products sold under the Filip and Filip Fresh brands. The Filip brand comprises cleaning products like window cleaners, all purpose cleaners, lime and rust removing agents, products for unblocking pipes and scouring powders. The Filip Fresh brand is used to label a whole range of toilet cleaners, for example toilet blocks, gels and fresheners.  

Changes in the market
The Delko Brand Department focuses on monitoring the changes that take place in the market and immediately responds to them by providing a range of products that fulfils the needs and expectations of our customers. During the summer season we successfully launched a burn removal liquid which instantly found a group of buyers. This proved the high awareness of the Filip brand in the Polish market and the confidence that the customers have in it. In order not to disappoint them we continuously monitor and test the quality of our products. In the nearest future we are planning to extend our range of cleaning products, a category that displays a very strong growth trend comprising over 8% in the sales of Delko.
Dariusz Trusz