Workplace Hygiene: A Shared Responsibility. An Opportunity for Growth with Ric Senese of Reckitt

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Foreign. Welcome to distribution unpacked.
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Thanks, Adam. Nice to be here.
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Vic. So happy to have you. What's, what's new at Lysol?
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You know, it's cold and flu season right now, so obviously it's a very important time for Lysol. We have a real job to do during the cold and flu season to help break the spread of infections commonly touched surfaces, real common areas to infect other people by spreading the germs from person to person via surfaces.
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You know, I know we're obviously in the middle of cold and flu season, but you know, trends usually come from the southern hemisphere as we get ready for it. Was there any major trends that showed up this year that we were. You guys were able to get ahead of?
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Yeah, we always track that. And this year was a little different than most because it was so warm for so long. So we didn't have the typical cooldown around Thanksgiving. The US Stayed very warm in the climate, so the peak came actually later than most years. So in January right now is when we're seeing that peak surge really happen. As the temperatures dropped as people came out of the holidays, they shared amongst their family and friends and then they bring it back to school and work. So we're actually seeing that peak right now. It's a little later than expected or anticipated.
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Hopefully it dies out pretty quick. Yeah, that's awesome. You know, one of the things we're talking about a lot today is end user verticals and things of that nature. At sp, we focus where, you know, vertical markets is a big focus for us now. We think about whether that's health care, Fed Gov education. As you guys look at 26 and beyond, where are you guys looking to focus in? A little bit more so than usual.
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Yeah. So the good thing about our products is they really play in all sectors. I can walk into almost any business and find a Lysol product somewhere inside their facility. So every customer is an opportunity. We're very strong in the restroom. Obviously every business has a restroom or at least one and ultimately multiple. And people really care about cleanliness in the bathroom. Even though it may not be the germiest place, it's always perceived to be the germiest place. And you see the studies these days that your cell phone has more germs than a toilet seat does. But good news is our Lysol wipes are safe on your phone as well, so you can use them on your touchscreens and other devices.
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When we think about any innovative products or anything of that nature, where are you guys on the pipeline that you can share with us today publicly.
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So a couple of line expansions. We've introduced an 800 count bucket of wipes. So, so everybody knows our 80 count, the smaller formats, but in the pro space people are using high volume. They could put them on the housekeeping carts. You can put it in a break room. And the great thing about the 800 count bucket, it's large and it stays put. When somebody puts it down there, you always know where to find it because it doesn't walk away to another desk or something else in the business. Kind of gives you that home run.
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That's a fair one. I was actually just recently in a gym and they had, you know, typically you see like the, the wipes that are in like a stand or whatnot. And I think you guys did a really great job of coming up with a Lysol branded look and feel. So you kind of pulling out. I was like, well that's exciting.
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We knew the bucket need to be our branding, that it really stands for itself. It doesn't necessarily need to be wrapped in an enclosure. It can be and then they're also refillable. And when you refill it, you're using a lot less plastic. You don't have to replace the bucket. Refill it up to 30 times and you're reducing plastic by using those refills.
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That's awesome. You know, when we think about success in 26 or really for our customers, we think about our distribution or dealer community. What's one or two things that how they can win, how can they position your products or your solutions to win with their end users?
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Yes, we talked a little about cold and flu, but we, we've seen after coming out of COVID out of the pandemic that illness is really year round and it's increased since the pre pandemic kind of standards. When we look at the judgments, there's more infections during the cold and flu season, but also year round. And then we also have bugs like the stomach bug, norovirus. So Lysol really plays a part full year. So those who focus on year round cleaning and disinfection protocols really succeed because you set yourself up for success when it peaks. But you're also always on the ready. So if you're already gonna be cleaning, you might as well be cleaning and disinfecting with the Lysol products. You have that double benefit of both cleaning to make sure hygiene is kept up, but also killing germs to help reduce illnesses.
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And it smells Good.
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That too. Yeah. We've got a great mango and hibiscus white that people have been raving about.
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I've smelled that. That smells awesome. So, you know, obviously, you know, Reckitt bank is a. Reckitt is the parent company and so there's many other cool brands under, under Reckitt besides just Lysol. Anything we can talk about for 26 or anything, you know, any other brands you want to highlight?
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Yeah. In the professional space, Lysol really is our hero brand. Reckitt is a large consumer packaged goods company with a global footprint and we have all different brands around the glob. Lysol plays strongest here. We also have a selection of health products like Mucinex and Sepa Call. So really when you do get sick, we have the products help relieve those pains as well in our portfolio.
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That's awesome. That's super cool. You know, as SP is going to be launching this year, our big focus on simplifying complexity. And that's going to be our tagline and mantra. And you know, we all work together to make it a better experience. How can our customers or how can we work together really for the end user at the end of the day through distribution to really simplify that supply chain and make it a better experience not only for our, our shared distribution partners, but onward to their end users.
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So something we hear regardless whether we're talking to a distributor, a dealer or an end user, everybody wants that simplification and they want to reduce the number of products that they carry. Why do I need three when I can do the same job with one? So we focus a lot on our things like our all purpose cleaners where you can take them from place to place. But also when it's a Lysol professional product, it's right for the professional cleaner, but it's also right for the common person that's in the office when they just have to pick up a product and do a job. And the more frequently you use our products, the less likely you are to get sick because you're breaking that spread. So it's important you just don't make your products available to the contract cleaners or the professional cleaners. Get them out to the regular employees, let them stand in and be part of that hygiene process to continue the cleaning. So we could simplify your assortment as a distributor. You don't need to carry as many products, then also simplify what's in the end user's facility so they always have the right products at the right time.
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That's awesome. That's. That's. So that makes sense. I mean, SK rationalization is critical. People want to have less on the floor, less in their facilities. That makes total sense. Anything new and exciting or anything else we want to talk about for the upcoming year? Yeah.
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The other one that we brought in today was our Lysol air sanitizer. So Lysol disinfectant spray is made for surfaces. You can use it on soft surfaces like this couch to kill germs. You can use it on hard surfaces like the table. But it's really not meant for the air. It's a very wet spray. It falls quickly to the surfaces because that's the intention of the product. So we've recently introduced Lysol air sanitizer, which is designed for the air. So you spray in the air, it's a very fine mist. It stays in the air. And it's the only EPA registered product to kill germs in the air. So we kill viruses and bacteria. So you're helping prevent that spread from airborne viruses as well as the surfaces and everything else Lysol's been known for.
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So just a regular spray sprayed in a room. Like, what's the.
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Like how long everybody else just has air freshener in their. Their mix. We're going to freshen the air and we're also going to disinfect the air at the same time.
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Passive and active air care or just more of a.
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Just active. It's an instant action. We've quickly grown that category. We're premiumizing it because you're adding that extra benefit of. Of killing germs. And we're now the number two incinera product in the market in the U.S.
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what, what end user vertical are you seeing the biggest growth?
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So education. You think about kids in the classroom, their tax money comes in based on, I call it butts and seats. By getting people into the chairs and they're at home sick, they're going to get less funding and then the school suffer. So teachers have been using it in between classrooms. A lot of different opportunities there.
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And box tops are still a big thing for you guys?
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Not as much. They digitalized it so it doesn't play as much in the pro space. You don't have to go and cut them off anymore.
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Okay.
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But it's still something that we've participated in.
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That's awesome. Vic, thanks for taking some time with us today.
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Yeah, thanks for the opportunity.