COMPETITIVE

ANALYSIS
Seventh Generation Friday, September 12, 2014
 Today we’ll evaluate the
dynamics of our category, the
strengths and weaknesses of
our competition, to locate our
distinct advantage.
Primary Competitors
Brand Founded Headquarters

1988 Burlington, VT

2000 Minneapolis, MN

2001 San Francisco, CA

2008 Oakland, CA

2011 Santa Monica, CA

 Competitor Map
Advocate for Safe Cleaning
Life
Liberated

Traditional Progressive

Casually Nontoxic
Brand Snapshot: Green Works
Brand Promise: We make being “green” more approachable for the
masses.
Main Messages: You don’t have to be like those weird, overly eco-
conscious consumers to buy our stuff & be “green.”

Tone of Voice: Saying it like it is to the “real” mom who doesn’t have
time to be perfect.

Visual Style: Packaging is similar to conventional cleaner packing: bold

font and bright colors, but with a bit more green.

Unique Tactics: 1. Rescuing eco-consciousness from being a status

symbol, and giving it to the normal, everyday,
imperfect mom.
!
2. Leveraging efficacy of Clorox
Green Works: Unique Tactics
Green Works: Unique Tactics
Brand Snapshot: Mrs. Meyer’s
Brand Promise: Our products make homes as fresh, nurturing and
fragrant as the garden of 80-year-old Thelma Meyer.
Main Messages: Cleaning should be “no-nonsense.” It should have a
pleasant smell and get the job done with simple
ingredients.
Tone of Voice: Voice is that of Thelma Meyer: old-fashioned words like
“toodle-oo,” “scoot,” and “like the dickens.”

Visual Style: Pastels with an earthy touch, old-fashioned fonts, and

lots of text in varying sizes. Stick figure illustration.

Unique Tactics: 1. Leveraging character of Mrs. Meyer to bring a

nurturing, advice-giving, maternal vibe to the
company.
!
2. Wide variety of garden-inspired scents.
Mrs. Meyer’s: Unique Tactics
Mrs. Meyer’s: Unique Tactics
Brand Snapshot: Method
Brand Promise: Our products make people happy when they clean. They
bring color, youthfulness and modernity into homes.
Main Messages: Everyone makes messes, and Method lets you clean them
up easily and be happy while you’re at it.

Tone of Voice: Young, upbeat, witty, minimalist. Street-savvy and to-the-

point language.

Visual Style: White backgrounds with pops of rainbow color. Very clean,
uncluttered, with a modern twist. Stylish bottle design.
Unique Tactics: 1. Style-forward product design
!
2. Quirky TV spots featuring attractive French
newlyweds
!
3. Heavily targeting millennials with humor and energy
!
Method: Unique Tactics
Method: Unique Tactics
Brand Snapshot: Honest
Brand Promise: Our products are the safest and most effective for your
family — they’ll help you be the best parent you can be.
Main Messages: These products are safe, effective, and they have
everything you need. We’re parents too, and we use these
products.
Tone of Voice: Very “mom-to-mom” tone. Nurturing & squeaky clean.

Visual Style: Signature pastel teal with a stylish, trendy combination

of red and light-green accents. Clear plastic bottles.

Unique Tactics: 1. Leveraging celebrity of founder Jessica Alba

!
2. Design-centric diapers
!
3. Subscription and auto-ship services
Honest: Unique Tactics
Honest: Unique Tactics
Brand Snapshot: 7th Generation
Brand Promise: Our products are best-in-class when it comes to efficacy
and being chemical-free and safe for the environment.
Main Messages: Toxic chemicals are unsafe for your family, and our
products can liberate you from that for a better life.

Tone of Voice: Caring, bright, bold and liberating.

Visual Style: Green, white, orange and blue. Packaging is no-nonsense

and utility-driven.
Unique Tactics: 1. Progressive, ‘Life Liberated’ content
!
2. Advocacy for safer chemicals & a clean environment
!
3. Long-term goals to continue innovating for safer
products, transparency about tactics
!
4. Positioning of “green” as a way to be free
7th Generation: Unique Tactics
7th Generation: Unique Tactics
 Timeline of Category Disruptions
1988
1. Care
Seventh Generation advocates for
products that prioritize
environmental and human health.
2000
2. Scent
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day
4. Mainstream
offers a “no-nonsense” line
inspired by old-fashioned,
homemade, herbal cleaning,
in a range of unique,
garden-inspired scents.
Method introduces
modern, minimalist
product design to the
household cleaning
market, showing young
people that they can be
happy when they clean.
2008
Clorox is the first major
brand to bring a natural
cleaning line into the
mainstream cleaning
aisle: Green Works. What’s
next?
Actress Jessica Alba starts the
Honest Company and merges
natural household care &
fashion with patterned diapers
and design-forward cleaning
products.

3. Design 5. Fashion
2011
2001
No. Views of Top Web Videos
Seventh Generation leads in content views.
7,000,000

3,500,000

0
Seventh Generation Method The Honest Company Mrs. Meyer’s Green Works
Conclusions
- Let’s continue to leverage and remain true to our unique
advantage: Life Liberated.
!

- Let’s seek the next category disruption.

!

- We have a differentiated position. Let’s continue to seek ways to

get in front of more people.
THANK YOU