Muc-Off talks continued investment and drive to sustainability

Whether it’s shooting for a claim to have created the world’s fastest lubricant, or cleaning up a cleaner’s act to reduce environmental impact, the Muc-Off R&D department never has a day off. Managing Director Alex Trimnell shares the firm’s latest solutions…

Talk us through the ups and downs of the past 18 months at Muc-Off. Have you ridden the wave and following storm well so far?

It’s certainly been a crazy period, from the fear of lockdowns at the start of the pandemic to the increase in demand driven by new and existing riders; it has been a rollercoaster. We pivoted early in the pandemic to manufacturing hand sanitiser, which is something which I wouldn’t have imagined in pre-Covid times. That was a really rewarding project in supporting frontline workers when there was a packaging shortage and being able to support wider vulnerable groups. We also supported the World Health Organisation with a 10% donation of profits to the COVID-19 solidarity response fund on all the sanitiser sold.

This period soon followed with an immediate uplift in our core ranges. We’ve had a really strong last 18 months, with so many supply chains struggling people are certainly looking after their bikes and equipment, which for our category has been reflected in the numbers.

For shops that have had their attention turned to more pressing sourcing issues, what new products from Muc-Off might they have missed?

We’ve had a very busy period with new product launches into the market. Our Tubeless range has allowed us to revisit our engineering heritage from the X-Lite days with the Stealth Puncture Plug Tool.

Most notable has been our Ludicrous AF chain lube, the world’s fastest race lube. This has been no mean feat with lots of man-hours and testing at our R&D facility in Poole. We also launched our new Punk Powder bike cleaner, a completely plastic-free powder that mixes to create our famous pink bike cleaner. It’s taken us over four years to come together, but it has been worth the wait and underpins all the hard work we’ve been driving with our Project Green sustainability program. We have an exciting list of innovative products in the pipeline which we’re excited to continue into 2022.

How is Muc-Off fairing in production and distribution terms and how’s the picture for the next 12 months?

It’s been very challenging to manage the flow of products, but we always try to hold a high level of inventory so our retailers can rely on our supply. It’s been difficult with many variables outside our control, but we’re really pleased how the team have coped. We are on next day delivery for B2C and UK IBD orders, and our international customers are seeing orders ready in less than 21 days. A large part of this is due to the implementation of our new 50,000 square foot warehouse in Southampton which is now fully operational.

Tell us about your recent lab work to give pros and consumers alike an edge?

Having developed lubes for nearly 20 years we always want to talk in facts and data, this is key to ensure our consumers can rely on our lubes under extreme conditions. Innovation is always at the centre of what we do and we have built a key understanding and relentless testing protocols to produce the fastest lubes possible. This combined with real-world race testing with the likes of INEOS Grenadiers, EF Education-NIPPO, Canyon/SRAM and the Great British Cycling squad supports our innovation.

We’ve heavily invested over seven figures in our chain optimisation department over the past five years, ensuring we’re industry leading, which is a very exciting position to be in. The growth in our team has really bought together what we feel are the best in the industry for developing and innovating the category, this has been supported in further innovation to formulate the new Ludicrous AF Race Lube. This recent launch has really cemented our position as the fastest race lubes in the market, however, we’ve also called for the wider industry to work on some set testing protocols to help the consumer navigate the data. We also worked with third-party experts to validate our testing methods.

Sustainability is a subject in the spotlight. Talk us through the progress Muc-Off has made here with products like the Punk Powder:

Yes, as mentioned earlier we’ve been working on Punk Powder for many years and are really excited to get the world’s first plastic-free bike cleaner. Our packaging is 100% plastic-free and petroleum-free, it’s made from more than 50% renewable raw materials – we even used vegetable-based inks. Each sachet is compostable and certified to EN 13432 standard. Creating this product has allowed us to reduce the use of petrochemicals right through the manufacturing and supply process. It’s also has a very small footprint, so right through the supply chain we’ve been able to benefit.
Accompanying this is our aluminium Bottle For Life, again pushing for the reduction in plastic manufacture. For the retailer, initiatives we’ve implemented are refill stations; where customers can go back in-store to refill their bottle of cleaner – but we have lots more to deliver from what we call “Project Green”.

It’s always at the forefront of our product development, while also assessing what can be improved from the existing range and supply chain. Packaging is a major focus where we’ve been removing plastic from many items across the range. Alongside product initiatives, it’s key to be partnering with projects like 1% For The Planet who support pressing environmental issues. We work with them as part of our refill station program.

The biggest challenge is changing consumer behaviours. For example, we launched our 25L refill station back in 2012, but consumers and retailers were not quite ready for the behaviour change of bringing back empty bottles to refill them in-store. Since our relaunch of this last year, it’s been a huge success and helped us save over 91 tonnes of plastic in less than two years. Consumers are always looking to support their environmental impact, so it’s even more important that retailers look to support these initiatives.

The brand is now a significant exporter. Can you give us a snapshot of where you’re seen and the volumes now heading overseas?

International exports now represent more than half of our business, we are present in over 100 countries and are seeing strong growth everywhere, despite the additional complexities presented by Brexit. There are some gaps still to fill, but broadly our target territories are covered.

For workshop professionals and those starting up as mobile mechanics, what specialist business tooling and solutions now sit within the catalogue?

Muc-Off offers a comprehensive range of workshop specific products, predominantly our core products in more cost-effective and larger sizes, ensuring servicing costs are as minimal as possible. This is key for someone starting up, as kitting out your consumables can be a heavy upfront investment. Alongside this, we have our parts washer which is a must for any mechanic in terms of time efficiency. Muc-Off has removed any barriers retail accounts might face when starting their new business; notably our B2B web platform which gives them fast and effective ordering capabilities – we know how time poor a manager can be starting a new venture.

With so much competition, why might shops choose Muc-Off as a lead brand for cleaners, lubes and more?

Since 1994 we’ve created a large proportion of the bike care category and continue to develop and innovate industry leading products. We invest heavily in education and consumer demand, this gives our retailer network confidence as the go-to brand and a recognisable product range for consumers. Working with many of the world’s highest profile athletes and teams where performance matters also enhances our pedigree.

We want to support the retailers especially in the categories we offer, giving advice, POS solutions and support to their business in any way we can. We as a brand want to support their customer and riders’ needs too. We centre all of our products around this, as we are creating products we as riders need, which is paramount for all our retail partners. our field sales team work tirelessly to support IBDs and in particular offering our Ambassador store program. This has proven that we’re able to give them category leading margins, event support, sampling opportunities, bespoke instore branding, bike maintenance clinics and much more.

Our team would be happy to discuss opening an account with prospective buyers. You can call on 01202 307799, or email ukorders@muc-off.com to start the dialogue.