UK: Unilever partners with dry-cleaning start-up ZipJet

In a bid to exapnd into new channels, FMCG multinational Unilever has entered a partnership with dry-cleaning start-up ZipJet through its Persil laundry detergent brand.

According to reports in Campaign Live and Marketing Week, the partnership will allow the FMCG giant to put the Persil brand on ZipJet’s uniforms and clothing bags. In addition, consumers will be offered a Persil Wash & Fold service through which clothes are washed with Persil washing powder. Customers can book the service through a Persil branded website, as well as using the ZipJet app.

ZipJet is a mobile platform offering washing, dry cleaning and shoe care services. The firm collects the customer’s laundry from their doorstep within a two hour time slot and returns the items within 48 hours.

“We know that the summer holidays can be an extra busy time for families, with all the extra laundry that time playing outside or going to the beach brings”, said Persil marketing manager Rosalind Brown. "ZipJet’s easy, time-saving and affordable way to take care of all your laundry tasks is a unique opportunity to bring alive Persil’s belief that laundry should be so easy that getting dirty is not a worry anymore".

Speaking to Marketing Week, ZipJet co-founder and managing director Lorenzo Franzi added that the move would enable Unilever to better understand consumer trends. “We are extremely close to customers and data driven. This is a key opportunity for Unilever to better understand how customers are changing”, he said.

Source: Campaign Live / Marketing Week