21 Sep Five Mins With…..
Product of the Year took five minutes out of the day to catch up with Sian Dixon, Marketing Manager of Cushelle – A Product of the Year 2020 Winner* – to find out more about Cushelle, a household essential where every 3-ply sheet of velvety soft Cushelle Ultra Quilted has plump air cushions – even Kenny will do just about anything to get his paws on it!
1. You are pioneers of hygiene products – can you tell us a little more about that and how it has shaped your business?
Cushelle is a pioneering product in terms of its softness. Unlike conventional toilet tissue products whereby the moisture is squeezed out by giant rollers during the manufacturing process, Cushelle uses a unique process called Through-Air-Drying (TAD) which uses hot air to blow the moisture out leaving a much softer, more cushioned and quilted sheet. Consumers can feel the difference which is reflected in the brand performance over the last few years. While conventional products have struggled to grow, Cushelle has grown through the roof. It’s the UK’s fastest growing toilet tissue brand because its rivals can’t match the softness.
2. You won a Product of the Year award in Jan – how has this impacted on your business?
It’s fantastic to hear that shoppers voted for Cushelle Ultra Quilted. With 3 layers of cushiony soft quilted sheets, it’s our softest toilet tissue. Winning Product of the Year confirms the quality credentials of Cushelle and it’s a well-recognised accreditation by our retailers and shoppers. We have included Product of the Year in our TV advert and shopper comms which has increased our visibility and enhanced our brand equity.
3. What does your post-lockdown ’new normal’ Essity day look like? Have you been affected and been able to adapt?
I am usually in the office every day so I had to be ‘creative’ with my home office area which is in the dining room (right next to the fridge and snack cupboard!). Essity have been great in supporting everyone during this time and we have been constantly in touch with team quizzes, team drinks and exercise classes. My new normal consists of a lot of investment in our home which I probably would have never got round to. Our garden has never looked better! Plus I have had to find new ways to keep fit so YouTube has become my PT during lockdown, I work out every day as there are thousands of video workouts out there giving me variety and new challenges. I do balance this out though by baking triple chocolate cheesecakes each week too.
4. Do you have any new products or developments in the pipeline that you can tell us about?
We have just launched Cushelle Double Rolls in paper packaging. Twice as many sheets on a roll and wrapped in paper packaging that can easily be recycled at home. We wanted to provide shoppers with a convenient product that allowed them to change the roll less often and environmentally friendly packaging which has reduced our carbon footprint by -2%. We are also making changes to the packaging on the rest of our range, reducing the thickness of the poly which will save 50 tonnes of plastic a year
5. Tell us something we wouldn’t know about Cushelle and Essity.
Did you know Essity is working towards 100% recyclability of its packaging by 2025. Did you know that 2020 marks Cushelle’s 10th birthday!
6. You have three words to sum up Cushelle – what are they?
Irresistibly cushiony softness
Thanks Sian and Kenny.