Unilever’s Cleanipedia brand continues to grow by providing advice and hacks via TikTok. Here’s how we’re using the platform to engage Gen Z consumers, a historically underserved and hard-to-reach group with increasing levels of disposable income.

Gen Z will be the world’s highest-paid spending power group in the next decade
A third of Gen Z get their cleaning and laundry advice from TikTok
Over half of TikTok users have bought a household product after seeing it on the platform
How do you remove superglue from skin or curry stains from a white shirt? What do all the symbols on a washing machine dial actually mean? Do tumble dryers really shrink clothes?

If you’re grappling with similar cleaning conundrums, you’ll find the answer on Cleanipedia, a platform we launched in 2013 to serve an emerging desire for advice grounded in science.

Offering content that’s expert-reviewed to ensure it’s accurate and effective, Cleanipedia has proven popular, with 1,000+ articles so far helping almost 30 million people. And it’s gaining ever more viewers, as the trend for sharing cleaning hacks and tips continues to grow.

Cleanipedia began life as a website but now we produce content for TikTok and Instagram, where we’re engaging Gen Z with our Home Care power brands including Dirt Is Good (DIG), Cif, Domestos, Sunlight and Comfort.

This is a group of consumers who are passionate about cleaning and whose income is expected to increase dramatically in the next few years. In fact, a study suggests they will be the world’s highest-paid spending power group in the next decade.[a]

Despite this, Gen Zs have been historically underserved when it comes to the household cleaning and laundry sector, as brands have traditionally targeted older segments, such as parents with children.

With over a third of Gen Z claiming they get their cleaning and laundry advice from TikTok[b] and this group now accounting for half of our million+ Cleanipedia followers on the platform, it presents a significant growth opportunity for our brands.

Fans convert to consumers
Cleanipedia is active on TikTok’s #CleanTok community, which is currently the most followed hashtag (with almost 150 billion views), outperforming even #BeautyTok (with 112 billion views).

Since we started posting on the platform in 2023, Cleanipedia has seen traffic increase by a third, reaching a total of over 2.4 billion views globally.

Importantly, data shows that these fans convert to consumers. In general terms (not Unilever-specific), over half (54%) of users have bought a household product after seeing it on the platform, with almost three-quarters (71%) of these being unplanned purchases. Almost 70% say that TikTok played a role in their discovery of household products.

A win–win for us and our TikTok creators
Rather than working with one big-name content creator, we have a programme that gives all creator types – from nano to mega influencers – an opportunity to work with our brands. We provide creators with product know-how, and in return get insights into their audiences.

As well as allowing us to be a part of authentic conversations, this approach is boosting sales. In 2023, cleanfluencers sparked a trend for cleaning white trainers with Cif Cream Cleaner, contributing to a 38% uplift in UK adults under the age of 28 buying the brand.

A younger demographic of consumers is starting to buy Cif. In 2023, 16.5% of Cif Cream consumers were under 34 compared with 12.1% in 2022. The proportion of consumers under 28 also rose to 7.5% from 5.4% over the same period.

Mario Dughi, Unilever Home Care Digital & Design Lead, says: “With the continued rise in popularity of #CleanTok, Cleanipedia has become an established authority on TikTok and gone from strength to strength. In the last 10 months, we’ve seen a six-fold follower growth across 13 Unilever markets.

“It has created a gateway for our Home Care brands to build credibility with Gen Z consumers by sharing relevant and authentic content, which is translating into sales. The pandemic saw Gen Z engage with cleaning in a way it hadn’t done before and that trend shows no sign of slowing down.”

[a]
Source: Oliver Wyman Forum/The News Movement Gen Z Survey from October-November 2022

[b]
Source: After Hours Research Data – Unilever

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