Oman’s celebrated detergents company hopes to make a dent in the Middle East market with its recently introduced product named after a male Arabic costume.

National Detergent Company (NDC) said the Bahar Dishdasha it launched this year was the first of its kind in the ME and designed to provide “unmatched whiteness and a total solution” for white fabrics.
Omanis regularly wear the dishdasha and NDC hopes the new liquid detergent will catch on in the Sultanate as well as elsewhere in the region.
“We introduced the product only this year and people are trying it out. They have to get used to the detergent which is in liquid form,” said brands manager Anish Kumar.
The product is a diversification of the NDC’s flagship Bahar brand, a household name in Oman and well recognised in Gulf markets.
NDC also markets a product for women called Bahar Abaya Care. It was launched in 2007 and Kumar said it was doing well in Oman and Saudi Arabia.
The company manufactures and distributes detergent powders, liquid detergents, toilet soaps, shampoos, fabric softeners, household disinfectants, handwash liquids and industrial cleaners.
Production began in 1981 with soaps and detergents. NDC was established by Abdul Hassan bin Bhacker Al Lawati, whose trading house Bhacker Suleiman Jaffer Co (BSJ), has been associated with the consumer trade and distribution business for more than 50 years in Oman.  The detergent company’s main shareholders are BSJ, Omzest and Ominvest.
The company recently received an order from Iraq for 8,000 tonnes of detergents. Iraq is one of 30 countries that NDC counts as its export markets. Exports account for most of sales and this year the company estimates its overseas markets will contribute RO9.5 million ($24.6 million) of a total sales value of RO13.5 million. In 2007 exports were RO9 million (total sales RO12.47 million) and in the previous year RO7.5 million (RO10.15 million).
Net profits for the first nine months of 2008 were RO521,932 compared with RO273,510 for the same period in 2007.
Detergents contribute to more than 75 per cent of the total turnover.
NDC has all its production facilities in Muscat Governorate – a powder production pant in Al Ghubrah, a sulphonation unit in Ghala and a liquid detergent and soap plant in Rusayl.
As well as Bahar, NDC’s popular brands are No 1 Action, Gentle and Sur. It has a range of dishwashing liquids including Bahar, No 1 Action, Site, Glo and Luv. Other products are shampoos – Sidr, Farah and Bliss; soaps – Sahar, Farah and Nada Lather; handwash – Farah and Bliss; cleanliness products – Bahar Clean Disinfect, Bahar Antiseptic.
For a number of years the company was involved with third-party production for multinationals including Unilever and Henkel. It now manufactures and packs detergents for Kuwait’s Sultan’s Centre.
The company stands out as one of Oman’s leading businesses having won the Sultan of Oman’s cup and certificate several times.
Discussing business prospects, Kumar says volatility in raw material prices and the global recession would certainly affect its business. “The challenge would be to deliver results inspite of this,” he says.
“NDC will broaden its base by introducing new products and exploring new export markets to drive growth. The challenge would be to continue offering ‘value for money’ to customers with consistent quality.
“In the long term the detergent market will surely see some consolidation happening with MNCs like P&G, Levers and Henkel continuing to dominate the industry.”