Boon was born out of a pressing need for parents with children with sensitive skin. Three Romanian entrepreneurs, Stefan Niță, with 15 years experience in the field of flavors and passionate about chemistry, Raluca Neculache, with over 10 years experience in ecommerce and Sorin Aurelian, experienced entrepreneur to create a 100% Romanian detergent, tested at the Hohenstein Institute in Germany.
Boon is a new brand on the Romanian detergents market, 100% Romanian. What is the story behind the brand?
The Boon story is atypical for a business. How do you start a business in general? With a business plan, goals, KPI, etc. Boon was born out of a personal need. Two of the three Boon associates have children. One of the problems we faced was to find on the Romanian market a powerful detergent against the stains, but gentle with the sensitive skin of our children. Mine have dermatitis, so that has complicated things even more. Unfortunately, although we tested dozens of brands, with promises that are more convincing, we could not find a detergent that would wash well and not attack the skin. So, relying on my experience in chemistry and two other associates, Raluca and Sorin, in entrepreneurship and customer experience, we decided to create our own detergent. Some have told us that we are crazy, that we can not produce a 100% Romanian detergent, but to international standards. But those who really knew our stubbornness and perseverance, looked less skeptical and rather with curiosity and impatience. For a few years, I only tested formulas, I calibrated various parameters, perfumes, quantities, and in September this year I launched Boon for all Romanians.
The Boon concentrated formula promises to wash a full load with only 30ml compared to 50ml for classic detergents. What is the secret behind this efficiency and how do you make sure the cleaning power is not compromised?
One of the benefits of Boon is the efficiency: with only 30 ml of detergent, you wash a car with a capacity of 5 kg. The secret lies in the fact that Boon is a concentrated detergent. Why waste, when we can produce a strong enough detergent to wash with 30 ml what other brands do with 50 ml? In addition, we know that Romanians are facing the lack of storage space. And we have the same problem. Especially when you have children and pets, all storage spaces are busy. Where to put the Detergent bag of 10kg? Don't put it on. Give up it and take Boon at 1.5L, 3 l or 5L, with a bottle created so as to take up as little as possible and have space for the things that bring you joy or your family.
Romanians are known to be extremely sensitive to the price when it comes to household products. How do you balance the higher costs of ingredients with the price expectations of Romanian consumers?
And we are sensitive to the price. Yes, we are willing to pay for quality, but we will never pay for “image”. So we put in our ideal client's skin and said: Let's create a enough boon detergent, at a fair price, so that any Romanian can get fresh and pleasant clothes, but without spending a fortune. We address in particular to those customers who think, just like us, in terms of efficiency.
Because we use only quality ingredients in the European Union and because by respecting all the necessary standards, we have invested quite a lot in the production and bottling line, we could have imposed a price above average. However, we preferred to create an accessible detergent for all Romanians, not to face what we faced when we were looking for a suitable detergent. Even if the profit margin is smaller than what we could normally get, a decision made. And customers will always appreciate quality at a low price.
Boon Breeze and Bloom perfumes, jasmine, tears, green apples, seem to rely on nostalgia and emotional connection with childhood. Is this a deliberate strategy to compete with the technical promises of large brands?
Honestly, we didn't think so, but, indeed, that's what we got: two assortments of Boon-Breeze and Bloom-reminiscent of “home”. We tested dozens of perfumes and combinations. We stopped at these two because they were the ones we liked the most. Probably, somewhere in our minds, in the subconscious, this happened: we attached to the known perfumes, which give us a familiar, safety feeling. Maybe some remind them of the grandparents' garden. Anyway, we are glad how many times a customer tells us that he likes Boon perfumes and that he is surprised by their persistence.
Boon promises that laundry stays fresh even when they are left overnight in the washing machine – a problem that many Romanians welcome. How does this technology work and why did the industry giants manage to solve this common problem?
Yes. Let's be serious, everyone happened at least once in our lives to forget the clothes in the washing machine and remember only in a few hours. We all know how they smelled. What were I doing then? I washed them once more. And we hoped not to forget about them again … As the Boon customer is busy, he has a lot on his head, this might happen more often than we think. So I created Boon and thinking about them. If you forgot the clothes in the car overnight, you can stretch or put them at the dryer without any problems. They will smell just as fresh when they dry. On tested.
Hypermarkets remain the favorite place of Romanians for shopping for personal care products or housing. How do you reconcile the direct subscription model with the need to be present in the traditional retail to reach the critical customer mass?
In the last time, the ecommerce market in Romania is gaining more and more land. Maybe not at the speed with which this happens on the outside markets, but Romanians buy a lot online. At the moment Boon can be bought from three sources. From our site, from eMAG and Trendyol. In the future, you will definitely find us on the shelves in supermarkets.
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