ACDOCO is possibly one of the best companies you have never heard of, although some of their brands, under the Dr. Beckmann label, are likely to be very familiar. The company was established in 1919 by Harry Pilling in Bolton as the Astley Dye and Chemical Company, and it is still there today – Head Office was established in Mallison Street in 1928.
The company early on became a trailblazer in domestic cleaning and throughout the middle years of the twentieth century, bringing us some very important achievements – not least a chemical Harry discovered named Sodium Perborate, which is odourless and non-toxic, yet more effective and less damaging to fabric than bleach.
The oxygen action of Harry’s ACDO soap flakes took the elbow grease out of washday and transformed the workload of (what was back then) the Great British Housewife, and even more so when the famous Glowhite was added in the 1950s.
Bringing the story up to date, the rise of biological washing powders and liquids, with their enzymatic formulas, ate into ACDOCO’s market dominance in the 1970s, so it diversified using the “Glo” trademark and established truly national recognition for its whitening and laundry products. The “dream team” partnership with the Beckmann family was established in the 1980s not only through a shared set of values, but also through highly effective and trusted products. They now produce and distribute a range of household cleaning products, including Stain Devils, and an ever increasing health and beauty range – featuring Alpecin, Plantur and Bionsen among others – all of them highly effective, technical and great value products that remain true to the original family ethic: to sell a product you can trust, that does, superbly, what it says on the tin.
New broom
In September 2021 Alison O’Brien, a fifteen-year Kellogg’s veteran, was appointed as UK Country Manager for ACDOCO ,driving the specialist areas of laundry and household care, under the Dr Beckmann name, whilst also acting as a distributor of products and brands in specialist personal care areas.
So, ACDOCO – the big question: how do you pronounce it?
“Ak-doh-koh,” says Alison, in a gentle north-west accent – she and her husband hail from Ormskirk and decided against careers down south because they both wanted to stay in the region they loved.
It’s a big job with ACDOCO straddling the two categories of “household and health”, and moreover, Alison is stepping into a company with a long tradition and way of doing things.
“ACDOCO really sees itself as the forerunner of what was the original washing powder," she explains. “But as the big behemoths of Unilever and P&G entered the laundry category, ACDO couldn't really survive the competition in terms of the marketing budgets and the spend that these huge global conglomerates had. So they pivoted the business into laundry additives, which is essentially the additives part of the category: whiteners, stain removers, toilet cleaners, washing machine cleaners, dishwasher cleaners.”
Brilliant, practical products which are often distress and impulse purchases – as well as regular basket items – that suit the convenience channel perfectly.
“The brand has seen high growth for the last five or six years, both internationally and here in the UK. Our brands seem to really weather storms well because they are great value for money, and in my view worth what you pay, and that was one of the reasons why I joined the business.”
O’Brien is well versed in selling products she believes in, and began soon after finishing her degree in History and Economics at Durham University.
"I was going to do a post-grad but I thought, I'm going get myself a little job and then decide what I'm really going to do. So I took a ‘temporary job’ at PepsiCo.”
Soon she was selling crisps to shopkeepers straight out the back of her car.
“That is literally how I started,” she laughs, “I used to go to the cash and carry at eight o'clock in the morning, fill up my car with crisps, and merchandising stands and then have to sell them in the day, so anywhere between 12 and 18 calls. It was no mean feat, but what it did do was teach you whether you could sell and whether you liked selling. You're at the coalface, basically. You had a kitty and you had to sell stuff and had to bring the crisps in from the car – that is what you call asking for the business.”
Alison says she learned the oldest of all the selling skills – “and I found that I was quite good at it. And I really enjoyed it in a way that I never thought I could.”
That meant goodbye to academia, and looking at O’Brien’s career, it was a great swap.
“I always wanted to go work at Kellogg’s,” she says, “because you always saw the iconic factory from the M60. And I absolutely loved Special K, it was my dream to get a job there!”
Washing is fun!
The journey to ACDOCO was a classic “Just when you think you are out, it lures you back in,” story. Alison had finally left Kellogg’s and was thinking about doing “... something totally different. But the industry propels you back – and it is my passion: I love the FMCG industry. I love being out in store – I'm quite sad like that! I read the trade press and still do my shopping in-store because I like to be out and about and see what's going on.”
So the offer to join Delta and the Beckmann family was one she couldn’t refuse.
“There's not a product I've tried,” she says with real enthusiasm of the brands now under her care, “that doesn't do exactly what it says. The efficacy of the product is so very high that it means it's not a risky purchase for shoppers. They won't be let down, and then they’ll purchase again. We are very well known and very well loved, even though a lot of people don't know about the history and the heritage of the brand. But what they do know is that it's worth what you pay. And that's as important now as it ever was.”
I concur and add that I have white shirts that have had their life greatly extended, from me pouring sachets of Dr. Beckmann's into the washing machine. These products are part of household lore.
“I'm the same, I like to look out on the line and see my whites billowing in the wind, my bedding and everything:, it sparkles when you use your Glowhite.”
Coming to this interview, my thought was that this is something of a potential golden age for a company such as ACDOCO/Dr. Beckmann, because it’s about sustainability and hygiene – both being buzzwords, coming out of the pandemic and with environmental considerations top of mind culturally speaking.
But it’s also the case that as inflation bites and the cost-of-living crisis unfolds (keeping up with the laundry metaphors), that repairs and cost savings, make-do and-mend, DIY, value-for-money, domestic arts and all that are about to enjoy a resurgence we haven’t seen for decades in our fast-vanishing cheap, globalised, disposable economy. And they are products perfect for convenience shelves, for shopping and living locally.
“We know the convenience channel really thrived during lockdown, as did e-commerce,” Alison says. “We know that those channels are important and that they continue to adapt and demonstrate their value to the shoppers as we come into challenging economic times – and our products fit right into that. If you stain your carpets now, you're probably not going to rip them all up and replace them. Instead, our products help to take stains out. But then also on the other side of it, we are pretty unique in terms of things like our washing machine cleaner, which is also a servicer. Running our Service-it Deep Clean Washing Machine Cleaner through your washing machine every month or so, helps to prolong its life and saves you a big spend down the line.”
These are the priceless but almost-forgotten tips and wrinkles from a less affluent and therefore less wasteful era, but one which it looks like we might be revisiting.
“This is the thing, and I think that is where new growth is coming from, because although our penetration and our brand awareness and our loyalty metrics increase year on year on year, we’ve still got some big white space.”
Did you just say, white space?
“Yes, did you see what I did there?” she laughs. “But it’s incredible, the number of people that don't think about cleaning their washing machine.”
Scrubs up well
ACDOCO is now a company of many brands, and the production is divided roughly between the UK, where the powders are made, and Germany, which does the liquids. Beyond that, there is the sectoral opportunity – not only Household & Laundry, but also Health & Beauty,
“The business is in two parts, really,” Alison explains. "We have Dr. Beckmann and our well-known household & laundry products.
“The other side are our distribution brands: made by other companies outside the UK, distributed here by ACDOCO. Chiefly they are Alpecin and Plantur, haircare designed to combat hair loss for men and women. And that's made by Dr. Wolff, which is a German company, a partnership founded by our owners.
Another big growth driver is Bionsen, an excellent, unique, aluminium and paraben-free deodorant, “the best there is on the market, from Coswell in Italy,” Alison enthuses. "They have many brands in Italy in the Health and Beauty category, all uniquely positioned and true to their brand promise.
ACDOCO is on a mission to spread the good news about these products in the UK – they are good value, sleek, scientific and they all work exactly as they say on the tin, without expensive and glamourous hype.
“Exactly: Another brand is fenjal, a range of beautiful bath oils, shower gels, shower creams and body spray. The brand is sixty years old this year [Inspired by the luxurious products found in Swiss Spas, fenjal was created and launched in Switzerland in 1962]. It’s not well known in younger generations. If you spoke to your grandma about it, she would know it, and the scent! It's all about the fragrance – the fragrance is really iconic.”
By this point I am almost jumping up and down, and ask urgently where we can get these products and why not everywhere yet in convenience? Accomplishing this, of course, is Alison and her team’s task.
“They’re not widely available in places like supermarkets, although you can find a good range in Boots and Pharmacies” she says. “Boots is the place where we have pretty much the full ranges of fenjal, Dr. Wolff and Coswell. Equally, if you've got a local pharmacy, they do really well on fenjal – it's just a heritage thing, there. It's not your Original Source kind of price, but it's not your Clarins, either. Crucially, it’s ‘worth what you pay’.”
This, of course, perfectly fits the recession-favoured “affordable luxury” phenomenon that the impulse channel can do very well in, whereby a shopper will treat herself to a fancy lipstick rather than an expensive new frock: fenjal from the local store instead of Chanel from Selfridge’s.
“It has huge latent potential in terms of that [older] generation, and how we access this is, we've got a great new campaign to communicate this,” says Alison.
“It's talking to and about women who are my age really, mid-40s to mid-50s but not anything like their mums were when they were our age. Because we are much younger in our outlook now and likely to live longer. So, our midpoint in life is a lot different from what our grandma's midpoint was. This means there's a huge opportunity for us accessing this generation.”
I say that I want to try out Bionsen – and that my wife is a stickler for non-carcinogenic aluminium-free deodorants.
“In deodorants they're all quite little, small brands," Alison says, explaining the highly fragmented market with a very few major players. “It's the big Sure, and other such brands taking up all the shelf space. But then if you look carefully, you'll find the more specific niche products. Bionsen is lovely, and we've been doing a campaign called, ‘It's good to sweat’ with our ambassador, Eilish McColgan the runner” – the 31-year-old won the 10,000 metre race at the recent Commonwealth Games 32 years after her mum, Liz, had also won it. Eilish then repeated the feat at the European Championships just weeks later.
“I was overwhelmed when I met her because she hadn't heard of the brand but then she started using it and loved it because of the key thing – that it doesn't block your pores like an anti-perspirant does. And people don’t know about that.”
Eilish has gone from strength to strength since she became Bionsen’s brand ambassador, and this leads me to remark that it does seem as if the stars are aligning in ACDOCO’s favour and promising some real growth opportunities in the channel.
“People want a little treat that’s not going to break the bank,” says Alison. “They might not buy Elemis or Clarins – one of those higher-end brands – but they don't want to compromise . So I think that that's where our job in the category is: to offer super products at a price, which is worth what customers need.”
The next step, then, is to increase distribution and get more of the brands onto the shelves of independent retailers – who are increasingly aware of how many potential sales lie in the household and hygiene, health and beauty categories, since the change in shopper outlook toward local living after COVID struck.
“Convenience retailers can buy direct, and they can buy via some wholesalers, but we just don't have the presence and the visibility, because I don't think this category really has been at the forefront of the convenience channel,” Alison opines.
“I've worked in impulse before and I know where it's at," she says: “Crisps and snacks, chocolate, soft drinks. That's where they make their money. We've got a big job to do, but I truly believe that there are opportunities in incremental sales and margin for convenience retailers for our best-selling SKUs.”
Which specifically?
"Things like Carpet Stain Remover: it's only a £3.50 outlay. Some of the convenience stores stock similar products that cost £7. It’s a distress purchase in my old simple eyes,” she laughs, “because if you spill something and you've not got anything to sort it, where better to go than pop down to your local Nisa or Premier store, or wherever’s near, and that you can get in an emergency.”
She notes that in many stores now, retailers either have nothing (“a total lost sale”), or they’ve got something that costs £6 or £7 – "Which again, could be prohibitive – so the customer will say, ‘Actually, I'll just pour white wine over it,’ which incidentally is the worst thing you could do.”
Bright shining future
So what’s the plan?
“I'm really trying to shout from the rooftops that it’s not a big outlay, and we're not asking for you to stock full ranges. We're just saying, give us a chance and if you stock one or two of these products, you will get incremental sales and good margin from them. Just let us show you!”
Can we then expect a lot more promotion and engagement from ACDOCO with our readers in the coming year, then?
“I think the convenience channel has really stepped up its game in recent years,” Alison says. “People have grown much more familiar with their local store, they can rely on it, they know they can shop safely and conveniently. And they want the best brands. It’s convenience stores where you're getting a lot of new innovation. You get a lot more inspiration in convenience stores these days than you ever did.”
And finally, what NPD are in the pipeline to entice us?
"Lots of innovation coming!” Alison promises. "We’ve got a great product just on the market called Dr Beckmann Magic Leaves, and it's the new way to wash clothes – essentially, it's 25 sheets that look a bit like tumble-dryer sheets. But you put them in the wash, they fully dissolve as low as 20 degrees. In terms of ease of use, it’s easy to carry, easy for the customers to put on shelf, easy to store, and we've had some great buy-in at the customer level, I'm pleased to say.
Alison says that some of the Instagram "clean-fluencers" (yes, it’s a thing) are on board already. “We're really excited about Magic Leaves and how we're going to transform washing in the coming years through this product. Gone may be the days of these big box powders and big plastic tubs.
Independent retailers are demanding tougher police action, more bobbies on the beat and harsher punishments as shoplifting levels reach an all-time high, a new survey reveals.
A whopping ninety-one per cent of respondents to a survey conducted by the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) called for more police patrols on streets, while a similar number - 90 per cent - said that shoplifters should be handed harsher sentences.
Seven out of 10 respondents (72 per cent) said their stores had experienced shoplifting, break ins and damage to property, while they and their staff had been physically or verbally threatened.
Just under half of respondents (47 per cent) said they and their employees had been threatened or had suffered abuse and violence when asking for proof of age ahead of selling an age-restricted product.
Forty-four per cent reported that they and their staff had faced abuse or violence because they had refused to make a proxy sale – selling an age restricted product to a customer buying for a minor.
The results of the Fed’s survey came as new figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed that shoplifting was at a record high, with almost half a million offences recorded last year.
According to the ONS, 469,788 offences were logged by forces in the year to June 2024 – a 29 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.
The ONS added that this figure was the highest since records began – in March 2003.
“Inadequate responses from the police and a slap on the wrist for offenders means that shoplifting is soaring, and offenders are becoming more aggressive and brazen,” said Fed National President Mo Razzaq.
“From the responses we received, it is clear that real action is needed by police, by courts and by the government to stem the overwhelming tide of crime against retailers and their staff. Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and for their businesses to be protected against criminals.
“Fed members are also sending a clear message that one of the catalysts for verbal and physical abuse in stores is asking for proof of age before selling an age restricted product. If the government presses ahead with its plans to phase out smoking and vaping through a progressive ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country, independent retailers will be subject to even greater levels of violence, abuse and theft.”
Calling for action from the government and not just words, Mr Razzaq continued: “Without effective deterrent, criminals and opportunistic members of the public will continue to commit crimes.”
According to Ministry of Justice statistics, during the year to March 2024, 431 fines were handed out for retail theft under £100, while Home Office statistics for the same period show that 2,252 cautions were accepted for shoplifting.
PayPoint has announced a new partnership with Leeds Credit Union (‘LCU’), a financial cooperative with 37,000 members, enabling them access to its CashOut service, effective immediately.
The partnership will mean that LCU customers can access their cash and savings across any of PayPoint’s UK network of 29,000 retailer partners. This represents an unprecedented growth in accessibility and the first partnership of its kind for LCU. Historically customers have needed to visit one of LCU’s four branches to withdraw money.
Leeds Credit Union provides straightforward, affordable financial services. As a mutual there are no shareholders, so it is owned by its members and always has the interests of the members at the heart of everything it does. The credit union prides itself on providing members with the most appropriate services based on their circumstances.
“Our partnership with Leeds Credit Union will enable its customers to access their funds more easily than ever before," said Jo Toolan, Managing Director of Payments at PayPoint. "We’re committed to pursuing these kinds of partnerships, which enable credit unions to offer a more competitive and technologically advanced service, while simultaneously making the lives of customers that little bit easier through enhanced access.”
Greg Potter, Head of Marketing & Member Experience at Leeds Credit Union, said: “Increasingly, we’re looking at ways that we can apply technological solutions and partnerships to add value to the experience of our members using Leeds Credit Union. This partnership is demonstrative of our determination to grow in their best interests and will make access to funds something that can be done at any of a number of PayPoint locations in the UK.”
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A Philip Morris logo is pictured on a factory in Serrieres near Neuchatel, Switzerland December 8, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
Marlboro-maker Philip Morris said Tuesday it planned to close down its two production sites in Germany, citing falling demand for cigarettes among Europeans.
"In recent years, demand for cigarettes in Europe has fallen significantly," the company said in a statement, adding that it saw the same trend for roll-your-own tobacco.
"This trend is expected to continue in the coming years," the company said.
Many smokers have been shifting to e-cigarettes, or vapes, and heated-tobacco devices.
Philip Morris employs 372 workers at its factories in Berlin and Dresden. Both sites are scheduled for closure next year.
The tobacco giant said it would begin discussions with labour representatives to find "fair and socially responsible solutions" for staff.
Nisa retailer Prem Uthayakumaran has made significant donations totalling £3,500 to two local community organisations through Nisa’s Making a Difference Locally (MADL) charity.
The funds will provide essential support to groups within the communities that his stores serve, helping them continue their invaluable work.
The first of these generous donations was a £1,000 contribution from Broxbourne Service Station in Hertfordshire, directed to the Lea Valley Karate Academy. The funds will enable the academy to purchase much-needed equipment, ensuring that young people and adults in the local area have access to high-quality resources as they develop their skills in martial arts.
Additionally, a £2,500 donation was made by Eastfield and Cross Road Service Stations to the Mansfield Town Ability Counts Football Club. The club, which provides opportunities for individuals with disabilities to participate in football, will use the funds to support their programs, enhancing the experience for current players and making it possible for even more participants to join.
In July 2024, Prem donated £1,000 to Voice of the Vale – a group of young performers at Nottingham Trent University. This followed further self-donations from Prem to Broxbourne Organisation for Disabled and to Mansfield Under 12s Football Club in 2023.
Prem Uthayakumaran said: “Supporting the communities around my stores has always been important to me, and through Nisa’s Making a Difference Locally charity, we’re able to make a real, tangible difference. The Lea Valley Karate Academy and Mansfield Town Ability Counts Football Club both play vital roles in their respective communities, and I’m thrilled to be able to contribute to their success.”
Nisa’s Making a Difference Locally charity enables retailers to donate to local good causes through the sale of Co-op own brand products in their stores. A percentage of sales from these products goes into a MADL fund, which retailers can then use to make donations to charities, schools, sports clubs, and other community groups.Kate Carroll, Head of Charity at Nisa, said, “We are delighted to see retailers like Prem using their MADL funds to support such worthwhile local causes. Both the Lea Valley Karate Academy and Mansfield Town Ability Counts Football Club provide vital services to their communities, and donations like these enable them to continue their important work. At Nisa, we are incredibly proud of our retailers’ commitment to making a difference locally.”
Nisa’s Making a Difference Locally charity has been helping retailers like Prem Uthayakumaran give back to their communities for over 15 years, and with each donation, they help foster stronger, more Connected local areas.
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A selection of disposable vapes with bright and colourful packaging are seen in a convenience store, on January 29, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
The decision to ban disposable vapes by June 2025 has sparked strong reactions across the vaping and retail sectors, with key industry figures voicing concerns about the impact on public health and called for a balanced approach to support smokers switching to vaping as a safer alternative.
A spokesperson of Elfbar, the leading disposable vape brand, highlighted the role of the product in smoking cessation, citing that “nearly three million people in Britain have quit smoking using vapes in the last five years,” with single-use vapes comprising over 60 per cent of the UK market.
The brand warned of unintended consequences, noting, “Our concern is the potential impact on the majority of single-use vapers – adult smokers…pushing them to the black market and illicit products.”
Liam Humberstone, technical director at Totally Wicked, also pointed out the public health benefits of disposable vapes, noting they’ve served as “a key entry point for many smokers seeking an easy-to-use, effective alternative.”
While recognising environmental and youth access issues, Humberstone said “proper regulation, enforcement, and education are vital in addressing these concerns and … it’s crucial to ensure that adult smokers continue to have access to safer alternatives to cigarettes.”
James Lowman, chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores, welcomed the government’s intention to provide businesses with enough time to prepare for the changes, but added: “This is still a challenging timetable for retailers and their supply chains.” He called for strict enforcement against rogue sellers post-ban to prevent black-market sales, which “undermine legitimate retailers.”
Mo Razzaq, national president of the Federation of Independent Retailers, suggested an alternative approach to an outright ban, advocating for a recycling scheme akin to that for single-use drink containers. “An outright ban will simply send many vapers towards unorthodox and illicit sources,” he said, highlighting the risk posed by products that may not comply with UK health standards.
Consumer advocacy groups echoed these concerns. Mike Salem of the Consumer Choice Center criticised the government for pushing through the ban during Stoptober, a campaign month encouraging smokers to switch to vaping. “Announcing such a policy…seriously damages governmental and NGO efforts in reaching a smoke-free society by 2030,” Salem said.
The UK Vaping Industry Association’s director general, John Dunne, cautioned that a ban might exacerbate black market sales, saying, “Bans are not the answer as we’ve seen in other parts of the world…they will only boost the black market.”
Dunne advocated for stronger enforcement and proposed a licensing scheme for vape retailers to help control sales to minors and ensure environmental compliance, calling for “fines of up to £10,000 and £100,000 for retailers and distributors respectively who break the law.”
The Independent British Vape Trade Association’s chair Marcus Saxton also voiced concerns about the ban's potential to mislead the public on vaping’s relative safety.
“Banning an entire category of vapes is likely to fuel public misperceptions about the relative safety of vaping to smoking. Adults using single use disposable vapes outnumber those that are under 18 by several times. Consequently there needs to be clear messaging from government to encourage those adults not to simply revert to smoking,” he said.
Saxton criticised the absence of an importation ban in the new legislation, arguing that it will lead to increased illicit trade.
The government has laid legislation to introduce the ban and, subject to parliamentary approval, businesses will have until 1June 2025 to sell any remaining stock they hold and prepare for the ban coming into force.