By, Emma Burroughs
So, we’ve raided your kitchen cupboards and established what you could invest in as well as eat. We’ve taken you back to your student days and proven that even the ropiest of halls provided potential investment goldmines.
Next up? Your bathroom.
Now we all know that keeping clean and tidy is an expensive and very lucrative business. Gone are the days that a bar of soap and flannel were deemed acceptable – with companies worldwide cashing in on just that.
As a society we are becoming more and more obsessed with our appearance, with ‘Insta-worthy’ perfection being the bar we for some reason set ourselves. And the result? Our bathrooms cupboards are piled high with the lotions and potions that we hope will leave us looking permanently filtered.
However, fear not! It’s not all bad news. With many of these products, you may be able to invest in more than just your personal hygiene.
Let us explain.
In a similar tone to articles gone by, everything you see on the shelf will be owned by someone. Whether that’s a multinational corporation, or Lynn and Steve who turned their love for lavender into a family run business. Some of these will be private companies, which will mean they’re owned privately and are therefore not up for grabs. Others however, will be public companies, with stock ready and waiting for the next investor.
On that note, let’s take a look at some of the nations favourite brands and see who’s hiding behind the bottle;
Dove, Radox and Lynx. All completely different brands aimed at completely different audiences, right?
Right.
But all owned by Unilever.
That’s not mentioning TRESemme, Vaseline and deodorising Sure, who are also part of the Unilever family.
And it’s not just you they’re keen on cleaning, but your bathroom too, with Cif and Domestos also residing under the Unilever umbrella – clean freaks who?
Next up, it’s Johnson & Johnson, famed for their range of baby bath products and ‘no tears’ shampoo. But that’s not all they have on offer, Johnson & Johnson also own;
- Aveeno, a skincare brand using oats as a base for those suffering with sensitive skin.
- Listerine, for those of us who deem ordinary mouthwash ‘for wimps’.
- Piz Buin, for those of us who take our tanning very seriously.
Third on the list of those who are quite literally cleaning up are Proctor and Gamble, with this umbrella company featuring in many a shower;
- Aussie haircare, that smells as good as it cleans.
- Olay, is there anyone’s Mum who doesn’t have this?
- Pantene
- Gillette – the best a man can get.
- Nice ‘n’ easy
So we’ve run the bath, we’ve dyed and washed our hair, shaving and then moisturising within an inch of our lives. Hell! We’ve even cleaned the sink and bleached the bog! What next?
A slightly less glamorous topic but necessary none the less – hair removal. Veet, the product used nationwide, is owned by Reckitt Benckiser Group. But it’s not just hair they get rid of, with blemish beating brand Clearasil also under their belt.
Lastly, Colgate-Palmolive – because everyone knows that the teeth brushing comes last. The clues in the name here folks!
The above array of products can teach a Dabbler two things;
- If you invest a toiletry item every week, you clearly trust the quality and purpose of the product, which in turn means you probably trust in the brand. With investing that should always be at the core of any decision. Whether or not your mate likes it is irrelevant – you’re the investor and it’s the brands that you love who should be at the forefront of your investment agenda.
- Brands can appear to be completely separate entities with a different purpose and entirely different target market. But remember, they’re just that – brands. It’s the company at the helm that should be on your radar. If they know what they’re doing in the bubbles department? Follow them on Dabbl and see how they do on the Stock Market. Notice a rebrand of your favourite face wash with an advertising campaign to boot? See how the stock is affected and educate yourself to truly savvy investor standards.
There are many more companies around just like the few we’ve mentioned here. Have a brand you love? Get curious and find out who owns them. Use the Dabbl app to find out more, adding your favourites to your watchlist to see how they perform, and more importantly how they react to any change.
So what are you waiting for? It’s time to log in and scrub up.
