P&G plots fresh variant for Daz to see off rival Surf

Procter & Gamble is revamping its budget detergent brand Daz in a bid to fight back against Unilever’s Surf, the star performer among washing powder value brands.

P&G is scrapping the Citrus Blast and Ocean Burst variants and replacing them with a mandarin-fragranced line together with a floral variant. The new products will appear early in 2009 and will be backed by a major marketing push.

The move comes as P&G seeks to defend Daz’s position at the budget end of the laundry detergent market, following strong growth from Surf and encroachment on market share by supermarket own-brand labels.

Surf saw a rise in its market share of 20% between 2005 and 2007, according to Mintel. In 2007, Unilever relaunched the brand with essential oils, introducing three variants, Lavender and Oriental Blossom, Sunshine, and Tropical. The brand also benefited from Unilever’s launch of its Small & Mighty sub brand, across Persil and Surf.

By contrast, Daz grew by only 1.3% for the same period, but it still leads Surf with a 9% share of the category, compared with Surf’s 7%.

The fragrances trend in laundry detergent has been led by P&G’s Bold. It now accounts for 18% of the market, a similar share to P&G’s premium brand, Ariel.

Bold will update its range in early 2009 and is scrapping its Apple Blossom and Lemon Zest variant in favour of an Orange and Pomegranate version, following the brand’s theme of exotic-sounding fragrances.