When developing and supplying chemicals for home and personal care products, one might come across many kinds of complex problems.
Sometimes it can mean thinking up ways to test a chemical formula in temperatures that even the testing facilities don’t allow. For example, in Kazakhstan at Telko’s Central Asian office, during the winter the temperatures can drop to biting 40 degrees below zero. Come summertime, the mercury can climb up to 50. Each of the locations we serve our clients at has its own unique challenges.
Ultimately, what makes a product a best-seller is down to many things like marketing, trends and production – and not to forget location. It’s very different to serve markets in Finland, Lithuania or Central Asia for instance. To make sure the marketing messages of your products hold true, the chemicals used in them matter greatly. Luckily, making sure the chemical raw material supply is reliable, economical, and fit to purpose is something we specialise in.
Weathering through thick and thin
If your business uses chemicals, weather is one of the many factors to take into consideration when choosing products. For one, it affects logistics routes and timing. Transporting and storing chemical raw materials is challenging, because the ingredients need conditions that are as stable as possible. This ensures the product is delivered safely and without any irregularities in consistency, quality, or performance.
Secondly, the weather in the target market for the final product determines what the packaging and the product inside must withstand. UV-rays and humidity in some climates, freezing and dry in others. Or fluctuating between these extremes.
Thirdly, weather ties into the ways people actually use these products and what they expect to achieve by using them. When it comes to consumer products, it all comes down to how well you know what people truly want.
Knowing your customers
When trying to predict which personal care product is going to be a best-seller in a specific region, typical hair quality, color or even length can be a deciding factor when choosing a formula. For some, these things may seem irrelevant, but there’s a real incentive behind it.
For example, in the beauty sector, products for sensitive skin were catered to a minority of consumers, but when people were asked to describe their skin type, 80% percent of would say their skin is sensitive. That is a clear indication of intent and is plainly visible in the popularity of products that contain ingredients that are the least irritative or retain skin’s natural moisture better.
In the home care sector, regional differences are apparent, for example in environmental awareness. What is typical in one region can in another be thought of as a niche. In today’s world though, with social media, travel and other global modes of communication, details cumulate and sometimes transform into trends with global reach.
Trends change rapidly and keeping just an eye out is no longer enough. In the past, cosmetics companies could have planned two years ahead for a product launch. Those days are long gone, due to fluctuation in trends as well as the availability and price of raw materials.
Researching and trying new solutions hands-on
Testing every possible combination one by one would take too long, so it is important to have a supplier that can recommend and advise on the best-selling option with the optimal performance. Safety stock makes it relatively easy for manufacturers to try out new raw materials or formulas. If the test batch gets a positive response from the market, Telko can easily supply more, and full-scale production can take place at a fast pace.
Telko has a unique team working in the home and personal care field with a wide-ranging experience in different markets such as the Nordics, Baltic states and Central-Asia. We stay informed on the latest developments, analyse that insight and distill it into useful bits of information. Traveling is a big part of it, as is attending exhibitions and pointing out the products that have the most potential.
What makes Telko truly stand is our ability to bring our research and insight into practice. This could mean visiting production sites and offering hands-on support for more efficient ways of using a product. With so many collaborators we have a global scope that customers benefit from.
That is why in Telko’s Kazakhstan office, the staff tested chemical solutions outside in freezing weather. This is just one example of how we make sure our promises hold even in the most extreme conditions, in all types of environments.
We go out of our way to find the ideal solution. What could it be for your business? Let’s find out together, get in touch.