How many of you have wanted (or tried) to purchase Clorox or Lysol Disinfecting Wipes sometime over the past 8-9 months?

How many of you have been successful?

There’s clearly a TON of demand for these products. And even though Clorox and Lysol have significantly increased their production output (according to Clorox’s CEO, they are producing 1MM packages per day), it’s likely still going to be a while before any of us regularly begin seeing these products on our grocery stores shelves again.

Seems like a huge opportunity, right?

Yes, but two fundamental barriers need to be considered.

1) Production Capabilities

2) Consumer Permission

If you’re already a manufacturer and your production capabilities involve paper products, or cloth/fiber products, and chemicals, you might look at the opportunity and think, “we could pull this off.” However, just because you can doesn’t mean that you… actually…. can.

Wait? What?

What I’m talking about here is that second barrier I noted above – Consumer Permission or Brand Fit.

Let’s say you’re in the cleaning products aisle at your local Target, and you come across wipes from Black & Decker, or FORD, or GE, or Bridgestone, or Shimano or…

I’m pretty sure your reaction would be similar to my exclamation above – What? What?

These are CLEAR examples of a Brand Disconnect. These brands are all clearly proficient manufacturers and probably HIGHLY capable of pivoting their operations to begin making disinfectant wipes. But… no. Just… no.

Now let’s say you’re walking down the cleaning products aisle at your local grocery store, and you come across disinfecting wipes from Bounty, or Dawn, or Tide, or Comet?

You’re probably thinking to yourself, “well… maybe?”

These last four examples (Bounty, Dawn, Tide, and Comet) are all terrific brands, and their reputations are associated with cleaning. And there is a higher likelihood of consumer acceptance or permission relative to a disinfecting wipe from Kingsford.

I know, you’re still thinking… “I’m still not sure… but maybe?”

Now, what if you’re walking down the power aisle at your local Costco and come across this?

Yes. That just really happened! Arm & Hammer Disinfecting Wipes.

The evolution of the Arm & Hammer brand has always fascinated me. This brand has been around since the mid-1800s – that’s over 175 years! Arm & Hammer’s origins are that of a baking ingredient. But baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) has been around for hundreds of years and is also known for its cleaning capabilities.

I swear by my wife’s Baking Soda-based DIY cleanser we use for our sinks and tubs!

Baking Soda is a leavening agent that causes bread to rise during the baking process by releasing carbon dioxide. As far as Baking Soda goes, Arm & Hammer is my Go-To brand.

In the 1970s, Arm & Hammer launched a marketing campaign asserting that an open box of their baking soda in your refrigerator will help control odors. This was a brilliant positioning pivot for a highly trusted brand. I know I have boxes of this stuff in my refrigerator and freezer today. And when I replace those, I pour the old box down a kitchen or bathroom drain. Anyone else?

Over the past several decades, Arm & Hammer has done an amazing job to move their brand into additional product spaces where it “made sense.” That is, where controlling odor mattered – e.g., toothpaste, deodorant, laundry detergent, and cat litter.

Back to my weekly Costco shopping trip this past weekend and my encounter with the pallet of Arm & Hammer Disinfecting Wipes.

Until this past weekend, I wasn’t aware that Arm & Hammer was actually in the disinfecting wipes business. But as it turns out, they launched this product last August, and this is an excerpt from their product launch press release.

“The demand for disinfecting wipes has skyrocketed since the onset of COVID-19. Both CR Brands and ARM & HAMMER™ have seen dramatic increases in demand for their cleaning and laundry products. ARM & HAMMER™ Essentials™ Disinfecting Wipes meet the EPA’s criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.”

It’s clear from this statement that the Arm & Hammer brand and product teams responded to market forces, but is this product launch aligned with consumer demand? That is, does the Arm & Hammer Brand have “permission” by consumers to move into the Disinfecting Wipes category?

In their statement, the folks from Arm & Hammer say, “Both CR Brands and ARM & HAMMER™ have seen dramatic increases in demand for their cleaning and laundry products.”

And there you have it… right there… CLEAN.

“Clean” is clearly related to “Disinfected,”  but in my mind, this might be a bit of a leap. If you scrunched your face when you saw my picture of the Arm & Hammer wipes at Costco, you’re also thinking the same thing.

Business Growth

If you’re in business, you have a growth objective. And when I’m working with brands and business leaders, I regularly leverage this framework.

While a very useful construct for thinking about business growth strategies and opportunities, is it still critical for your brand to use the “does this make sense?” filter.

The economics piece associated with the supply side of the equation is usually pretty straight forward. That is, answering the “what is it going to cost us to do this” from a manufacturing and distributions perspective isn’t too complicated.

However, the consumer demand side of the equation can be trickier.

As a business and as a brand, nobody should understand your customers better than you do. If your growth strategy is to sell new products (e.g., Disinfecting Wipes) to existing and potentially new customers, you have to understand consumer and market receptivity. Will your customer and potential consumers give you permission to enter this category?

NHL Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” This mindset is CRITICAL for successful business leaders and innovators. But I can guarantee that Gretzky isn’t endorsing that you take shots at your opponent’s goal, nor the penalty box, nor the refs. To be successful, you at least need to be shooting towards your own goal.

So, the Arm & Hammer folks took a shot. They have historically been very successful innovators and Brand builders. Did the Arm & Hammer folks take a shot towards their own goal? Only time will tell, but I applaud their shot!

Let us know what you think! And if you’re looking for help to grow your business or brand, give us a shout!