When Brendan Small’s father first began cleaning carpets 50 years ago, little did he know his Dad’s commitment to delivering a stellar service for his customers would wide up in the creation of SpotGo, a range of consumer products sold throughout Australia.

Since the launch of the family business in the 1960s, the Small family have established a reputation for delivering quality commercial cleaning services. When the business expanded to include a consumer carpet cleaning offering in the 70s, the business really took off. By the time Brendan took the reins in the 2000s, the business’s reputation as a quality service was cemented. Yet Brendan knew there were more opportunities to explore.

Like any small business owner with nous, Brendan looked to his customers for inspiration. A common refrain emerged. Whenever he or staff visited a client’s premises or residence, there was a question on everyone’s lips. What was the best solution for spot cleaning a carpet?

In 2008, Brendan decided to take the matter into his own hands, and find the perfect product for his clients. Engaging the talents of an industrial chemist, he set to work – but despite years of trial and error, nothing matched his exacting criteria. Then in 2012 Brendan joined forces with one of the best industrial chemists in Australia and continued his quest towards perfection.  The result was SpotGo.

Since then, with Small at the helm, SpotGo has formulated a range of premium household cleaning products to compliment the original carpet spot cleaner including a recent foray into BBQ cleaning products.

Brendan and his dad in the early days of the business

“Myself and the SpotGo team have worked tirelessly over the past 10 years to bring SpotGo to this new and exciting chapter in the SpotGo story. When myself and my wife Nancy began this journey we never gave up striving for the opportunity to have our products ranged not only in Woolworths but now Coles on a national level. It was always our dream and ambition for SpotGo to become a household name and readily available for all Australians,” he says.

“Having succeeded with the development of our flagship product, it became clear that to be successful in the consumer market among some pretty strong competitors, we needed a range of premium cleaning products not just the one fan favourite”, says Brendan.

The SpotGo brand now features eight products in total: Carpet Spot Cleaner, Citrus All Purpose Cleaner, Power Bathroom Cleaner, Streakfree Glass Cleaner, Ocean Air Deodoriser, Kitchen Degreaser, Antibacterial Disinfectant Spray and a Surface / BBQ Degreaser. The latter has seen the much-loved brand achieve  the final piece in their Australian expansion, allowing them to extend their range into Coles nationwide.

So how did this little independent business take on the retail giants? For the Small family, it took a big strategy.

“We firstly had to concentrate on building a loyal customer base within the Woolworths supermarkets, therefore if Coles checked on our sales data it would represent growing trends within the BBQ category.  We increased our social media marketing campaign to encourage customers to visit the Woolworths stores to purchase our product as well as continuously presenting ourselves to Coles each range review of this category to keep them well informed on our growth”, explains Brendan.

Professional cleaning is easy with spotgo

While many businesses have been negatively impacted by the pandemic Brendan says COVID-19 and the consequential change in household habits and behaviours was good news for the brand’s burgeoning  BBQ range.

According to Brendan a surprising 46 per cent of Australians are now creating more meals from scratch thanks to a burning desire to get back to the basics. So, with backyard BBQs now getting a workout all year round, SpotGo’s Surface /BBQ Degreaser is a great way to cut through the grime and keep on grilling.

Brendan believes the trend of more people cooking at home has pushed Coles to refocus their BBQ category based on the opportunity for growth:

“People are cooking from home, we’re seeing the uplift. Similarly, Australian consumers are now focusing on supporting Australian made and owned products, and SpotGo luckily fits within both of these spaces.”

Indeed the impact of the pandemic has seen many consumers look to support locally made products. Fifty-two per cent of Australians now say they have a higher preference for Australian-made goods, while 90 per cent of the population believe Australia should be pushing to produce more products on home soil.

Brendan says for SpotGo the focus is now on building brand awareness via heavier marketing channels, “We have a dedicated TV campaign soon to launch as well as renewed advertising materials and a greater push on social. With the Surface / BBQ Degreaser gaining traction we want to make the whole range known. A little further down the track we can explore the export market and see what it takes to have SpotGo go global.”

Becoming a household name was not the Small family’s only dream. Cleaning products are traditionally harsh on the environment and Brendan was determined SpotGo would limit its impact on people and the planet.

SpotGo formulations contain the highest quality non-polluting surfactants available in Australia in line with the company’s high quality environmental and safety policy. The surfactants have low toxicity and also readily biodegradable in both soils and aquatic environments.

Brendan says SpotGo has not only employed chemists to work to develop their products but also took the novel approach of employing environmental scientists to work with the chemists to ensure the products have the lowest environmental impact possible.

It’s great news for Aussie consumers wanting to protect the planet from harmful chemicals.

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