São Paulo – Based in Salvador, the capital city of the Brazilian state of Bahia, company CleanNew is now planning to enter Gulf markets such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. The company specializes in upholstery cleaning and shielding, has seven years of expertise, and nowadays owns a chain of 40 units across Brazil.
The company focuses on home service to consumers with high purchasing power. To go beyond upholstery cleaning, the brand developed a service called shielding, which according to the company, involves nanotechnology and can increase up to three times the lifespan of upholstery.
Innovation
In an interview with ANBA, the CEO of CleanNew, Fritz Paixão, said the opportunity came from a need of the client base itself. “We started the company as a car wash and served luxury condominiums in Salvador, focusing on the female audience. They started asking for an upholstery cleaning service. With that in mind, we evaluated it in a way customers would pay for an added value against the risk [of damage to luxury furniture],” he said.
As a result, on-demand work brought other creative possibilities. “The customers we used to clean couches for started asking for cleaning solutions or waterproofing products. So, we built know-how within a segment that did not exist and patented the upholstery shielding,” said the executive.
From there, the company started replicating the model in other cities and countries, such as the United States, Argentina, Colombia, and, more recently, Madrid and Mallorca, Spain. Now, Paixão revealed the plans already include the Middle East.
TikTok
The path to countries like the UAE strengthened the company’s digital marketing strategy. “We use social networks, influencers, and artists to showcase the service. We build credibility that way. This was done from the beginning because we created this [shielding] market, and I’ve worked on TV, so I had that experience,” explained he, who closely follows the company’s advertising work.
Thus, in September 2021, the brand created an account on the TikTok app, a social network specializing in short videos. “In February, we had the first video with solid outreach; it went viral. This is because we presented the work, not just by explaining it but in the way we built it on the social network. It’s just another language we’re testing. Whatever works, we keep doing it,” he said.
The videos reached Arab consumers and investors, who became interested in the brand and made contributions. When visibility came through the application, the businessman had already visited the UAE and was studying ways to operate in the country; he recalls, “coincidence or not, several other countries got in touch to start operations.”
Demand in the region has enormous potential in the luxury market. “Arabs are very fond of upholstery; they spend a lot on it; Oriental rugs. We expect a very high demand because we have no competition. Shielding doesn’t exist there,” he said. In the new units, CleanNew works with franchising. “They are our partners within the operation. And it’s great to have a local manager who knows the country and customs,” he added.
For next year, the brand already plans to expand to Bahrain and is studying the possibility of entering Qatar.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
