Harpic clinches FMCG Brand of the Year at SLIM-Nielsen People’s Awards

By Gayathri Kothalawala

The power of the people and their choices can play a big part in the development and subsequent popularity and growth of a product. Organised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), the SLIM-Neilsen People’s Awards recognises brands and personalities that have made a profound impression on the consumer. 

The leader in sanitation category in Sri Lanka – Harpic – once again proved its popularity among the consumer by receiving the FMCG Brand of the Year for the second consecutive year at this year’s SLIM Neilson People’s Awards. Since 2008, Harpic has won a series of consumer accreditations at the SLIM-Nielsen People’s Awards such as Household Care brand of the year and Youth Choice FMCG Brand of the Year. Introduced to the Sri Lankan market three decades ago, Harpic is a specialised toilet cleaning product that has taken steps to develop the sector as well as educating the locals on hygienic toilet cleaning habits. 

“This is one of the most awaited marketing events in the corporate calendar as the nominees and awardees are chosen by the voice of the people, through a comprehensive nation-wide research conducted by Nielsen Sri Lanka – one of the largest information and research companies in the world that provides market research expertise. The SLIM-Nielsen Peoples Awards stands out and is distinct as the public acts as the panel of judges and are able to rate their favourite brands, personalities, advertisements, films, tele-dramas etc. and apprehend their verdict,” states the SLIM Neilson People’s Award website.

Following a nationwide quantitative face to face survey over a period of months following a structured questionnaire, SLIM seeks to determine the brands and personalities that have impacted the most upon the consumers’ preferences.

As a brand that has become a household name, Harpic has been responsible for the sanitisation of the toilet bowls of many a house. As a location where germs are most likely to gather, the toilet bowl needs special attention and a product solely dedicated to its maintenance and hygiene. 

In addition to presenting the Sri Lankan population with one of the best formulations in the world when it comes to sanitary toilet bowls, Harpic has been educating the locals on how to properly clean their toilets and has approached over 200,000 households in a given year for nearly 10 years. Harpic is also focused on supporting the community through its mobile toilet program which provides sanitation relief to the public at large social and religious gatherings free of charge.

Marketed by Reckitt Benckiser (Lanka) Ltd. within Sri Lanka, Harpic was first introduced to the world nearly 100 years ago. Formulated by Harry Pickup in the 1920s in England, the product has now spread its reach to cover almost 76 countries worldwide, sold by Reckitt Benckiser. 

Reckitt Benckiser (Lanka) Ltd. was established in 1962 in Sri Lanka, initially as Reckitt & Colman of Ceylon Ltd. and was later changed to Reckitt Benckiser (Lanka) Ltd. in 2000. The company primarily focuses on providing the customers with products across three key sectors – Health, Home and Hygiene. The key products in the company portfolio includes Dettol, Mortein, Harpic, Lysol, AirWick, Veet, Durex and Strepsils.

Expanding the Harpic brand, the company launched the Harpic Bathroom Cleaner, which focuses on providing a cleaning solution for your entire bathroom. Having won the FMCG Brand of the Year award in two consecutive years, the company expressed their utmost gratitude to their customers, who have chosen Harpic as their preferred brand time and again in the previous years.