Henkel’ s ‘Dial’ up amid coronavirus outbreak worries

STAMFORD — For 16 years, Henkel has promoted handwashing through the marketing of its flagship U.S. soap brand. As the COVID-19 epidemic grows, company officials say that message is resonating more than ever.

In their efforts to contain the spread of a highly contagious virus with more than 700 cases and more than 25 deaths in the U.S., public health officials across the country are imploring citizens to frequently and thoroughly wash their hands with soap. In response, Henkel said it is seeing increased demand for Dial soap, whose sales and marketing are overseen at the company’s North American consumer goods headquarters in downtown Stamford.

“People are worried about what they’re hearing about the novel coronavirus. They’re looking for ways to keep their families safe,” said Martina Spinatsch, Henkel’s vice president of beauty care research and development. “Hand-washing is one of the simplest things that you can do in order to help prevent the spread of diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has some great messaging on that, and we’re working to amplify those messages.”

Henkel does not break out sales figures specifically for Dial, but the brand’s products figure among the top-selling hand washes in the U.S.

On Tuesday, a one-gallon version of Dial’s Gold liquid antimicrobial soap ranked No. 1 among hand washes on Amazon.com.

Several other Dial products have also placed among the top 50 sellers in that category on Amazon.

Amid the escalating number of virus cases — including the announcement Sunday of the first confirmed infection of a Connecticut resident and the Monday announcement of the second — Henkel officials said they are not overhauling Dial’s marketing strategy.

Since its acquisition of Dial in 2004, Henkel has conducted hygiene-focused public-education campaigns, many of which are aimed at students. They also help promote events such as Global Handwashing Day, which is held each year on Oct. 15.

“This is definitely a good time to stress the importance of handwashing because people are really receptive to it and hearing that in the news,” said Randi Melton, Henkel’s vice president of body care. “We’re happy to continue to tell that message and provide additional education in terms of the most effective techniques.”

Dial comes in liquid soap, bar soap and body wash versions. It is also available as a “Professional” hand sanitizer product for commercial and institutional users.

Henkel officials said they are not looking to ratchet up competition between Dial and Purell or other hand sanitizers, which have seen a spike in demand in the past month.

“If you’re in a spot where you don’t have access to water, hand sanitizer can be very helpful,” Spinatsch said. “If you’re in a place where you have access to water and soap, wash your hands.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials agree. They cite hand-washing as one of the most effective ways to reduce the spread of coronavirus, which they say is transmitted between people who are in close contact with one another and through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

The CDC recommends frequent hand-washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds — especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after nose-blowing, coughing or sneezing.

But correct hand-washing remains a challenge for most. A 2018 study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that before meals, Americans were failing to properly clean their hands 97 percent of the time.

“You really need to wash your whole hands,” Spinatsch said. “Not just the palms and fingertips, but you need to wash the tops of hands, scrubs between fingers and nail beds. … When you have 20 seconds, you have time to do all that. It’s that scrubbing action with soap that’s going to remove dirt and germs.”

Henkel has sold the soap since it acquired the Dial Corp. in 2004. In total, the product has been on the market in the U.S. for more than 70 years.

Through the Dial acquisition, Henkel established its U.S. consumer goods headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz. Those offices moved to 200 Elm St., in downtown Stamford in 2017.

About 430 Henkel employees work in Stamford. At the same time, there are respective contingents of about 420 employees in Rocky Hill, 120 in Darien and 80 in Trumbull. The company’s global headquarters are in Düsseldorf, Germany.