Bleach in Costa Rica

PROSPECTS

Always in demand for being effective while offering value for money, bleach sees higher value growth, buttressed by additional levels of segmentation

Costa Rican consumers at all income levels view bleach as an effective and high-value product that is a healthier product for its disinfectant properties and one that can still be very or relatively cheap. Often considered one of the most generic home care options, bleach continued to see increased demand and saw higher value growth in 2019, driven by rising health awareness and consequent interest in finding affordable home care disinfecting alternatives among a large base of local low- and middle-income consumers, where bleach still benefits from the positive perception of being effective and offering value for money.

Costa Ricans have access to a wide range of bleach products from private label and from large and small domestic and multinational players

Together and separately, private label, small and larger local brands and major multinational brands exemplify the wide range of bleach products that are available to Costa Rican consumers. Low-priced private label bleach (especially from Wal-Mart`s Supermax) continue to capitalise on the appeal of large bulk presentations intended for daily consumption as a floor and surface cleaner or as a laundry aid option.

As middle- and high-income consumers gain interest in bleach options that offer specific value, bleach gels that reduce risk of splashing gain momentum

Middle- and high-income consumers continue to gain interest in more convenient and effective home and laundry care proposals, and because of this they are likely to continue choosing bleach options that offer specific value, particularly scented gels such as the latest Clorox proposals that also reduce the risk of splashing and spoiling fabrics. Therefore, demand for bleach gel is anticipated to gain additional momentum over the forecast period, as both local and imported brands are expected to capitalise on evolving consumption trends.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Multinational Clorox and domestic company Irex, each with two popular brands, continue to hold the leading value shares in a highly consolidated landscape

Clorox de Centroamerica with the multinational Clorox brand and its Los Conejos Cloro brand and the domestic player Irex de Costa Rica with IREX and Blankita continued to hold the leading value shares in 2019. Despite the rising penetration of low-priced private label bleach in major modern grocery retailers, Clorox and Irex maintain a clear competitive advantage based on their consolidated logistics networks, which are capable of guaranteeing their brands’ availability across a vast number of traditional and modern grocery retailers throughout the country, where private label loses in terms of availability and differentiation.

Major players moving away from price-based competition to value-generating options

Major players eager to move away from generic price-based competition, are quickly migrating towards value-generating alternatives. Beyond offering more specialised scents, such as Clorox has done with its latest line of Power Gel, we can expect to see more specialised scented gels in smaller packaging presentations (2-litre packs) to consolidate as one of the most relevant growth opportunities for bleach over the forecast period.

Private label bleach, while growing, still has negligible value share

While cheaper private label bleach is growing in Costa Rica, it still has negligible market share in comparison to companies such as Clorox, Irex and Grupo Constenla with its Cloro Blanco brand. Price-based competition also has been evolving to other types of competition such as value-based and packaging format competition.

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