13/06/2025
HOW HYPO TOOK OVER THE BLEACH MARKET AND LEFT JIK STUNNED!
By Precious Ngozika Oli (Growth Strategist)
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Before Hypo, there was JIK.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, if you walked into a store and asked for bleach, there was only one name on everyone’s lips: JIK.
JIK was the king of the market.
JIK was the ogakpatakpata of bleach.
The don. The alpha. The industry landlord.
Other brands couldn’t even breathe near them, talk less of entering the market. They owned the space.
Even Harpic tried but quickly pivoted and focused on toilet cleaners instead. A smart move because JIK was not giving any brand breathing room in that market.
But why was JIK so untouchable?
It wasn’t just about branding. It was about the strength of the investors behind it, people who had enough capital to make sure that wherever you turned, you’d see JIK on the shelves, in the ads, and in your home.
But then…Nigeria happened.
The economy started doing what it does best, shocking everybody. Inflation came knocking. Salaries were stagnant. People began calculating cost per wash.
The average Nigerian couldn’t justify spending that much on JIK just to wash one stubborn stain. So they started looking for alternatives.
Hypo came in like a thief in the night, but this one came to steal market share, not just attention.
Their parent company, Multipro Enterprises Limited, did something JIK refused to do: they studied the people.
And when I say people, I mean the real people: the market women, the students, the mums on a tight budget, the low and mid-income earners.
They asked one simple question: how do we make this product accessible to people who can’t afford a big bottle right now?
Their answer: sachet bleach. Instead of selling one big bottle for 800, they brought it down to 80 per sachet.
They sachetised the product and made it so accessible, even a random person on the street could afford to buy bleach for 80.
Then they went to town with their marketing. Billboards. TV. Radio. Word of mouth. They didn’t whisper oh, they shouted:
HYPO GO WIPE O!
And then they activated their marketing in every corner of Nigeria. It wasn’t just about billboards and TV, they were everywhere:
They ran TV ads with a man in a black limousine, his white clothes blinding everyone. Simple message: “Hypo go wipe o!”
They ran the Madam Clean ad showing a housewife using Hypo sachets to clean her clothes, tiles, toilets, everything. This ad was so relatable that women across markets were now proudly buying Hypo and telling their neighbours.
They pushed the message of “Hypo for everywhere” not just for white clothes. They made people see that bleach isn’t just for laundry, it’s for your whole home.
They did market activations: live demonstrations where you’d see someone dip a stained white cloth, or scrub tiles, and BOOM! People saw with their own eyes how Hypo worked.
And later, when they introduced Hypo Toilet Cleaner, they used the same brand trust they had already built to dominate that new space too.
They used humour. They used visuals. They used consistency. They did everything to stay top of mind.
And guess what? It worked. It worked so well that today, Hypo is the first name that comes to mind when most people think of bleach.
Now here’s the part I want you to catch as a business owner: satchetising the product didn’t just make it affordable. It made the company more money.
Now let’s do small maths, imagine that:
A full bottle of Hypo is 800 for 1000ml.
One sachet is 80 for 75ml.
Now do the maths
10 sachets = 800
But 10 sachets will only give you 750ml, not 1000ml.
This means Hypo is earning more per ml when people buy the sachets. They made the product affordable AND found a way to increase profitability. That is smart business.
So, what’s the lesson for you?
If your customers are screaming “it’s too expensive,” don’t be too quick to slash your prices and lose profit. That’s not always the solution.
Instead, ask: How can I create a version of my offer that more people can afford, without lowering the value of what I’m selling?
Make it more affordable without making it cheaper.
Create smaller versions of your product or service that still deliver VALUE.
1. If you sell skincare, introduce travel-size packs. I know a skincare brand that sells mini satchet packs of body wash, creams, and the rest for 500 Naira.
2. If you’re a coach, offer a low-cost one-hour intensive instead of your 300k package.
3. If you sell zobo, start offering mini pouches for 500 alongside the 2,500 family pack.
4. If you offer social media management, maybe try a 15k audit only service for small brands.
It’s not about lowering your value. It’s about meeting people where they are without killing your business.
Hypo didn’t reduce the quality of their bleach, they just repackaged it for the people who actually needed it.
Right now, customers are not saying they don’t want your product. They are saying: “I want to buy, but I can’t carry this full cost at once.”
So meet them where they are.
Learn from Hypo:
They didn’t fight JIK on price.
They created an option the market needed.
They built trust and brand loyalty through accessibility.
They expanded their market by repositioning bleach as whole-home hygiene, not just for white clothes.
Take and apply this principle to your business today if you want to open up a whole new stream of customers.
Your market may not be broke.
They just need a version of your offer they can say yes to right now.
You get me?
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We commend this view by Ms. Precious. We love when experts or consumers give feedback or their views about brands. Do you have a brand you want to review or write about? Send us a dm.
In the mean time, I what do you think of this Kik Vs Hypo post?
