Australian cleaning product and handwash company Thankyou has replaced its new hospital-grade disinfectant range after some customers complained the product smelled of a foul odour similar to “cat wee” and “vomit”.
In doing so, the brand has exposed the perils of bringing new product categories to market, while showing how brands can transparently and effectively communicate their mishaps to loyal customers.
Thankyou launched its Universal Cleaner in late 2023, promising a 100% natural and skin-friendly product capable of matching the strongest all-purpose cleaners on the market.
The promotional copy asked if the product was Australia’s “most affordable cleaning system”.
Taking to social media on Monday, Thankyou co-founder and lead spokesperson Daniel Flynn made an unconventional statement: the new product will be replaced with a fresh formulation.
The reason, he said, was customers reporting a foul odour from the supposedly scent-free product.
“Some people started writing in, and one customer said, ‘Your product smells like cat wee,’ which is not good,” Flynn said.
“Another said it smelled like vomit.”
The problem, the company said in a subsequent post, came down to a fermentation error in the initial batch. That resulted in the product containing a level of lactic acid that was noticeable to some, but not all, customers.
Thankyou compared this to coriander, the commonplace garnish that some (genetically predisposed) diners perceive as a soap-like flavour.
“It didn’t change the effectiveness of the cleaner, but it did change the smell,” Flynn said.
Thankyou says it has worked with scientists to reformulate the product, with a new version now present on supermarket shelves.
Customers who can prove they purchased the original cleaner, and found it to smell putrid, are eligible for a voucher code to purchase a new version of the cleaner.
The brand’s transparency about the mishap has been welcomed by customers on social media.
“Taking ownership, being transparent and rectifying the problem,” one Instagram commenter wrote.
“This is why we all love you.”
But not every customer appears to be happy with the re-worked product.
“Any chance we can still buy the old formulation for those that love coriander”, another commenter asked.
The Universal Cleaner is one of several new products the social enterprise launched in 2023, in what Flynn called a major milestone for the 15-year-old brand.
“When you see it come out, hopefully that gives us all a sense of, ‘Wow, this is not just Thankyou reimagined, it could be consumerism reimagined, and even categories themselves,’” Flynn told SmartCompany before the launch.
Senior Business Journalist
Focused on the small business sector, David’s work covers the political, regulatory, and economic issues facing Australian entrepreneurs. Prior to joining SmartCompany, he was a reporter for Business Insider Australia. You can follow him on LinkedIn.
