Frog (brand)

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Brand logo

Frosch is a brand for cleaning and care products from Werner & Mertz GmbH in Mainz . The brand family, introduced in 1986, includes more than 80 products, including universal cleaners, scouring milk , glass cleaners, special cleaners, toilet cleaners , dishwashing detergents and detergents . Hand soaps, shower gels and room fresheners are also new to the range. With Frosch, the company added a brand to its existing product range (including Erdal ), which, in addition to effectiveness, focused on ecological aspects. The brand is the company's biggest sales driver. Werner & Mertz also runs sustainability initiatives under its name. According to surveys by Reader's Digest, Frosch is one of the most trustworthy brands from the consumer's point of view. In 2019 Werner & Mertz achieved a turnover of 455 million euros, for 2020 the forecast turnover is 525 million euros.

Ecological orientation

Werner & Mertz presents itself as an ecological and sustainable manufacturer of household products under the Frosch brand . At the time of market launch, Frosch cleaning products were the first phosphate-free cleaning agents on the German market. The company's production facilities in Mainz and Hallein, where Frosch brand products are manufactured, are validated according to EMAS II . In its own production, Frosch works in cooperation with the Naturschutzbund Deutschland on the increased use of old plastic, for example from plastic bottles, for the production of packaging. Since 2010, 80% of the packaging has been made from recycled plastic, initially mainly from plastic bottles. The Recyclatt initiative was started in 2010. All of the brand's cleaner bottles are now made from 100 percent recyclable materials. In 2019, Frosch, in cooperation with Der Grüne Punkt and Erema, launched the first packaging made from 100% recycled plastic from the yellow sack . As in products from other manufacturers, surfactants made from palm kernel oil are still used in cleaning agents from Frosch . This is the subject of criticism because tropical rainforests were cut down for the cultivation of corresponding plantations, especially in Southeast Asia . According to its own information, Frosch is researching the replacement of surfactants from palm kernel oil with vegetable oils from Europe, e.g. B. from rapeseed , olives or flax . Since 2013 Frosch products contain between 10% and 100% surfactants from European cultivation.

In the “Initiative Frosch” Werner & Mertz bundles its sustainability initiatives, which aim at a higher recycling rate of plastic and the use of European vegetable oils. The declared aim is to establish a circular economy and to combat plastic waste in the oceans .

At the local level, Werner & Mertz supports the resettlement of tree frogs in the Rhine floodplains near Mainz in the Naturschutzbund Deutschland project “Frog protects frogs”.

Brand history

Cartoon character of the brand Frosch

Werner & Mertz registered the “Frosch Neutral Soap Cleaner” as a brand in April 1986, which was the first phosphate-free household cleaner. In the 1990s, Frosch products became the German market leader in household cleaners, but lost this position in 1999 after competitors also positioned themselves with an environmental focus and Frosch had refrained from advertising for six years. Market leadership was achieved again with a 6.1 million euro advertising campaign in 2000 and 2001. In 2001, Frosch's market share in household cleaners was 19.5 percent, ahead of the competing products Der General (18.7 percent) and Meister Proper (18.4 percent). In 2006, the share of the green frog in the total turnover of Werner & Mertz GmbH was around 80 percent. In 2019 Werner & Mertz generated 455 million euros.

reception

Brand awareness and industry awards

According to marketing professor Franz-Rudolf Esch , the frog is a successful brand for environmentally friendly cleaning agents. The brand has a positive image among consumers. Most recently, it took first place in the “Household Cleaners” category in the “Trusted Brands 2020” market study by Reader's Digest . The study has been carried out annually since 2001, and Frosch has won every year in its category since 2002 and extended its lead to second place. Study participants were also asked to name a brand they particularly trust when it comes to environmental protection. Here, of all brands, frog was named the most frequently.

The trade journal Lebensmittel Praxis has named Frosch Products Product of the Year several times: Frosch Aloe Vera Hand Rinsing Lotion received the Gold Product of the Year award in 2005, the Lavender Urine Stone and Lime Remover 2009 in silver and the Frosch Oase Room Freshener Water Lily 2010 in bronze. Most recently, Frosch Senses Orange Blossom Sensitive Shower was named Gold Product of the Year 2020. Another product was awarded in silver and bronze.

In 2008 Frosch received the brand award in the area of ​​best brand stretching for the successful establishment of the independent brand Frosch Oase Raumerfrischer under the brand umbrella Frosch. At the end of 2009, Frosch was awarded the German Sustainability Prize as Germany's most sustainable brand . Frosch received another brand award in 2020, this time for the best sustainability strategy.

In addition, Frosch took top places at the EFFIE Awards several times: In 1991 the brand won the Gold Effie and in 2002 the Silver Effie. In 2003, Frosch was an Effie finalist.

In 2020 Frosch took over the market leadership in the category "glass cleaner" from the Henkel brand Sidolin. In the detergent business, the market share grew to 3.3%. In the first three months of 2020, sales in liquid soap increased by 93% and in detergent by 58% compared to the previous year.

criticism

In 2019, Ökotest revised the rating for a washing powder from Frosch in a test of washing powders. The reason was that the agent contained a synthetic polymer. The manufacturer announced that in future it would completely dispense with this type of ingredient. Ökotest checked this statement in April 2020 and no longer found the polymer in question in the ingredients. Liquid detergents were tested in the 7/2020 issue of Öko-Test magazine. The Frosch brand detergent was rated “satisfactory”. The Frosch Universal detergent has been given different levels due to the color transfer inhibitor it contains, which Ökotest counts as a synthetic polymer. According to Werner & Mertz, there is currently no purely natural alternative to active ingredients.

See also

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ Trademark register
  2. ↑ a b Georg Giersberg: “We cannot push through a product with advertising” on faz.net
  3. ↑ a b c "Werner & Mertz increases sales faster than ever before", in: Lebensmittelzeitung, April 30, 2020.
  4. ↑ Organic detergents and cleaning agents at reset.to
  5. ↑ Erdal Rex GmbH - Frosch cleaning agents. Together for more recycling. on nabu.de . Last accessed on June 20, 2020.
  6. ↑ Our Recyclate Initiative , press release on werner-mertz.de of September 9, 2014, last accessed on June 30, 2020.
  7. ↑ Reinhard Schneider: Frosch cleaning agent brand is a pioneer in plastic recycling. Retrieved July 7, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Bettina Röttig: Green lighthouse projects. In: Lebensmittel Praxis issue 18/2019, p. 80.
  9. ↑ Does Frosch use palm oil in its recipes? - FAQ on frosch.de. Last accessed on June 20, 2020.
  10. ↑ Sustainability at Frosch - local cultivation. Retrieved April 28, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Surfactants from domestic plants. Retrieved April 28, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Own presentation on initiative-frosch.de , last accessed on June 20, 2020
  13. ↑ Frog protects frogs on rlp.nabu.de. Last accessed on June 20, 2020.
  14. ^ Entry on “Frosch Neutral Soap Cleaner” in the Global Brand Database , last accessed on June 22, 2020.
  15. ↑ Simply a good feeling (PDF; 584 kB) on gwa.de
  16. ↑ Franz-Rudolf Esch: Advertising - a playground for managers? ( Memento from November 7, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on absatzwirtschaft.de
  17. ↑ a b Trusted Brands 2020: 4,000 consumers choose their “Most Trusted Brands” from 3,600 brands on rd-markengut.de, last accessed on June 20, 2020.
  18. ↑ Frosch on deutsche-standards.de, last accessed on June 20, 2020.
  19. ↑ David Hein: Trusted Brands: Consumers consider these brands to be particularly environmentally friendly. Published June 16, 2020 on horizont.net, last accessed June 20, 2020.
  20. ↑ Product of the year 2020 - Frosch Senses Orange Blossom Sensitive Shower / Werner & Mertz , published on November 26, 2019 on foodpraxis.de, last accessed on June 20, 2020.
  21. ↑ Frosch Reine Pflege - Silber on Lebensmittelpraxis.de, last accessed on June 30, 2020.
  22. ↑ Frosch Marine Minerals - Bronze on Lebensmittelpraxis.de, last accessed on June 30, 2020.
  23. ↑ Winner of the Brand Awards 2020 on marketingverband.de, last accessed on June 30, 2020.
  24. ↑ Oliver H. Hoffmann - personal details on brand-marks.com
  25. ↑ Frosch Citrus full washing powder is “satisfactory” - ÖKO-TEST. Retrieved on July 7, 2020 (German).
  26. ↑ Öko-Test -Magazin, issue 7/2020, p. 136 ff.