Bacoff planting its flag in Malaysia

Bacoff (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Gabriel Ravindran with the companys range of products

Company actively taking on different approach to market its 100% natural and organic cleaning products

BACOFF Malaysia Sdn Bhd may not be a very common name when it comes to household products but it is gradually gaining momentum as more consumers become aware of the benefits of using natural and organic items.

The company is actively taking on a different approach in marketing its 100% natural and organic cleaning products in Malaysia.

Its two partners in Australia were set up some 20 years and seven years ago respectively. The environment there, managing director Gabriel Ravindran says, made it easy for the company’s partners to market their products.

“When it started in Australia, it was simple because Aussies love the environment. Anything ‘green’ sells,” he says.

However, when Bacoff started to introduce its product line in Malaysia in 2012, its marketing strategy had to change, as Malaysians did not take environmental friendly products as seriously as Australians.

“We had to brand our products as natural, organic and safe, especially for children. We promoted the safety aspect of our products,” he says.

Bacoff has claimed the title of being the first ever 100% all natural and organic cleaning range in Malaysia. Its products are made from fruit and vegetable extracts and bioflavanoids. These ingredients are already classified and found in foods that people eat everyday.

“Currently, cleaning product ranges in the market here – there are a lot of chemicals used. What we set out to do is to create a range that performs equally or better than what the chemical products are offering,” Ravindran says.

Bacoff recently participated in the Australian fair at Jaya Grocer outlets. Ravindran says the overall reaction from consumers was good. One of its more popular products in Malaysia is the natural and organic mosquito repellent, which it will launch in a couple of months under the Verdiluxe brand.

“We also try to participate in exhibitions and trade fairs as often as we can. It is one of the best touch-points with customers,” he says.

The company is currently working on launching its two new product ranges, Verdiluxe and NatuurClean, in the next two to three months.

Verdiluxe is a natural and organic personal care range, covering shampoo, soap, toothpaste and more.

Meanwhile, NatuurClean will be different household cleaning range catered to the younger generation.

“Currently, we are doing license manufacturing in Malaysia. Each time we do manufacturing, we have to pass through standards and guidelines. There is no shortcut for that.

“In the long term, we want to do all our manufacturing in Malaysia. Our conglomerate consists of companies taking care of different continents around the world,” he says.

It is also working on launching a mega website in the next month or so to educate consumers about natural and organic products, among others.

Bacoff in Malaysia looks after the Asian market and currently exports to China, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines and Hong Kong. It targets to expand its reach to Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and India within the next year.

Even in China, Bacoff had to adopt a different marketing strategy. Its packaging is quite simple and clean but it is not something that appeals to consumers there.

“Our packaging for our range of products does not have many photos on the front but the Chinese like infographics. We spend a lot of time with the people there and we do a lot of market research to feel what consumers there like,” Ravindran says.

In Malaysia, while its focus area is the Klang Valley, it sells its products nationwide and has distributors in Sabah, Sarawak, Johor and Penang.

On the retail side, it has 12 products while commercially, it has 18. The retail range is available in supermarkets and can be bought online while the commercial range caters to restaurants, offices and pet shops.

“Our retail product range is tailored for light usage while the commercial range is more for industrial use. We find that our range is either equal or better than chemical cleaners and that, for us, is a big plus point,” Ravindran says.

Bacoff’s biggest challenge is still educating the market.

“The green and natural wave in Malaysia is not yet mature. We see it in more developed countries. We haven’t seen the shift yet in Asia. Currently, the biggest obstacle is the education process,” he says.

Ravindran adds that he sees the Malaysian mindset on green products maturing in the next three to five years.

He expects to see a lot of brands coming in and also some smaller Malaysian manufacturers adopting the green and all-natural theme. “I believe it will continue picking up,” he says.

Many competitors have pitched their products as natural cleaners, he says. “We don’t dispute that their ingredients come from natural products but do you know that sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) comes from coconuts?” he says.

SLS is a chemical used in many personal care products as it is inexpensive and a very effective foaming agent. Soaps, shampoos and toothpastes are common products that contain SLS, which has been known to cause allergies and is a skin irritant.

“Although coconuts are natural and a renewable resource, the manufacturing process changes its chemical structure that makes it dangerous to us, hence I believe they can’t be considered as 100% natural. That’s what we tell our customers,” he says.