Hemas (FMCG) celebrates the achievements of its flagship detergent powder 'Diva', the market leader in the washing powder category, which triumphed at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards 2009, with the prestigious Gold award for Product Brand of the Year. Diva further won Silver for the Local Brand of the Year.  Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) organizes 'The Brand Excellence Awards' every year to reward outstanding efforts of the best-performing brands in the country.

Commenting on Diva's exemplary performance at Brand Excellence Awards, Bimal Silva, and Marketing Manager-Foods & Homecare said: "This is a proud moment for the brand as well as for all our consumers who have made Diva the No. 1 washing powder in Sri Lanka – beating multinational brands.  Diva has made a paradigm change in the market place and has made a difference to the lives of Sri Lankan housewives by offering a value for money detergent powder affordable to all. The brand has reigned popular among all spheres of consumers and is recognized as surpassing the quality and convenience of ordinary laundry soaps.

Samudu de Silva, Diva Brand Manager, explaining the milestones of the product's progress since it was launched in 2003, commented that "Before we launched the brand, consumers had little choice and could not shift from ordinary laundry soap to washing powders …until Diva entered their lives." He added that consumers were quick to shift from ordinary laundry soap to Diva detergent powder since it was considerably more effective, efficient and economical compared to ordinary laundry soap for washing clothes.

Diva's market share expanded rapidly with more and more consumers, particularly rural housewives converting from ordinary laundry soap to Diva detergent powder.  Within a very short span of time Diva captured the hearts and minds of consumers and became the market leader in the washing powder category – a fact that was culled from the LMRB household panel data 2008 and 2009.  Diva offers a range of packs to meet varying needs and budgets of varied households. The best seller 1 kg pack of Diva is sufficient for monthly household consumption, while the 'sachet' pack for Rs.5 is enough for a basinful of washing.  In fact, Diva has the largest sachet pack size in the market with 15g extra.

The Diva range also boasts the Diva detergent soap, launched earlier this year, which enjoys wide popularity among consumers. The Diva detergent soap also poses a challenge to other ordinary laundry soaps in the market by providing high levels of effectiveness, convenience and value for money.

Imal Fonseka, Managing Director of Hemas FMCG commented: "We have to thank our loyal consumers and our trusted trade partners for our success because we achieved Brand Excellence status with their support, confidence and trust that we greatly value." Notably, prior to Diva's launch, ordinary laundry soap accounted for 80% of the market while washing powder had only 20%.  Today however, with Diva making an outstanding impact, the ordinary laundry soap category has declined to 70% while the washing powder market is fast gaining ground.