Moncton-based Laundry Solution Dizolve is Cleaning Up Internationally
MONCTON – Since 2009, a Moncton-based company has been plugging away at an alternative to bulky and wasteful laundry detergent delivery methods.
Dizolve calls their product a “tiny eco-strip of laundry detergent” and the “smartest way to clean laundry.” The product is designed to be hypoallergenic and environmentally friendly. The eco-strip is made from a movie ticket-sized piece of paper-like material, which takes up less space than traditional detergent packaging and can be delivered using smaller vehicles.
Dizolve CEO Nelson Wood says their product is superior in many ways to other detergents on the market.
“There have been powders, concentrated powders, liquids, concentrated liquids, pods and now we’ve developed it further to what looks like a little sheet of paper,” Wood says. “It’s about the size of a business card, two inches by five inches, that completely dissolves in water and it’s one strip, one load.”
Wood explains that the company’s main focus is less on heavy duty cleaning capabilities and more on the product’s biodegradable and hypoallergenic nature. He says that so far these qualities have been most appealing to customers in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. He expects the product to resonate with North American consumers soon.
“Eventually it will catch on,” Wood says. “It’s catching on with consumers through social media networks, market channels, a little bit of e-commerce. Primarily we sell globally. 95 percent plus of our sales are export business-to-business by the container load to exclusive territorial distributors.”
Currently, Dizolve sells its product outside of North America through exclusive distributors. These international distributors are familiar with different regions and work with Dizolve to market the product for particular areas.
“We pick companies … that know the market there, know how to deliver the product, what channels and what kind of messages make sense for this type of product,” Wood explains. “We look for marketing logistical partners on a country by country basis and we sign exclusive distribution agreements with them. They are the people we sell to by the container load. They, in turn, will sell by the pallet load or carton load to retailers.”
Wood says that the distribution structure is somewhat different in North America. Retailers usually buy directly from manufacturers, so Dizolve cannot operate here in the same way that the company does overseas. However, Dizolve is planning to launch in the U.S. in January through a private label called Dapple Baby. Wood expects that Dizolve will explore similar arrangements in Canada and with other retailers throughout North America as the company continues to grow.
“We’ve passed the $10 million dollar sales mark annually and we’re growing very quickly,” Wood says. “100 per cent plus per year. We’re gaining a lot of attention. We have more demand than we can supply so we’re figuring out how to increase our plant manufacturing capacity as quickly as possible.”
Dizolve is also considering expanding its detergent scent range beyond its two current offerings, which are unscented and fresh linen. It may even introduce a line of scent-enhancement products.
“It’s a strong Moncton-based company gaining traction,” Wood says. “It’s a multi-billion dollar market. We think we have a game-changing product and long term it’ll be a very successful company.”