RB to spend £6m on Finish 4-in-1 launch

Reckitt Benckiser is preparing for the £6m launch of what it says is the biggest innovation in the dishwashing market in four years: Finish 4-in-1 dishwashing detergent.

Reckitt Benckiser is preparing for the &£6m launch of what it says is the biggest innovation in the dishwashing market in four years: Finish 4-in-1 dishwashing detergent.

The range will join the company’s Finish 3-in-1 brand as one of the flagships of Reckitt Benckiser’s household goods portfolio. Industry sources say the company will support the range with one of its largest launch advertising campaigns to date.

The range is expected to launch in January. A television, press and print advertising campaign, created by Euro RSCG London, is scheduled to break in February. Finish 4-in-1 will offer the combination of salt, a rinse aid, a cleaner and a glass protector.

The existing Finish range, which has 50 per cent of the dishwashing detergent market, is backed with an annual advertising budget estimated at &£10m, with &£6m spent on Finish 3-in-1 alone. The 3-in-1 range was launched in 2000, followed almost immediately by rival Henkel’s Glist 3-in-1 product.

Since then, the format has been emulated by all major brands and supermarket own-brands, including Aquados’ soluble dishwashing powder sachets (MW June 3). Reckitt Benckiser has responded with innovations including the addition of a “Powerball” and an orange-based variant, as well as rebranding its Finish 3-in-1 Total dishwasher tablets as Finish 3-in-1 Brilliant last year (MW March 6, 2003).

Finish is the leading brand in the dishwasher products market, which was worth &£138m in 2003 (Mintel).