Well-known for providing cleaning services, Clentec also manufactures its own products locally under the VAP label. The brand has been available in Malta for more than twenty-five years and is now all the more accessible to customers, with a dedicated online portal launched earlier this year.

Naomi Turner, Marketing Manager at Clentec, joined the family business during the last two years. With qualifications in marketing and graphic design, she has spearheaded the move to an online store for a company whose history now surpasses over two decades.

The VAP brand has a strong base of loyal and experienced customers, explains Ms Turner, adding that there are several factors which contribute to such a following. The products are manufactured by Clentec in Malta, allowing the company to keep a close eye on the quality while having a thorough understanding of the composition and processes leading to what it finally offers on the market.

Manufacturing locally also drastically reduces the time it takes to reach the client, keeping the products “fresh” in comparison to most other competing brands. The company had also taken the decision to host the process locally to keep costs competitive, and as Ms Turner notes “the prices of its products are kept reasonable”.

The VAP brand in Malta was acquired by Clentec around fifteen years ago, while the signs all show that the company is continuing to take the brand forward. And with Clentec’s expertise as a well-known cleaning company, one can deduce that the know-how greatly compliments the products being offered. This family business is now gradually transitioning into its second generation, and as can be seen, decisions in line with market expectations continue to come to the fore.

With these elements in place and a touch that only a family business can provide, perhaps it then comes as no surprise that the main clientele is composed of customers who have been following the company for years. The next step was for the business to distribute directly to households, a move that has surely been appreciated by long-standing customers. The recent pandemic may have quickened the process to introduce online purchases with more popular social media channels already providing a testing ground for the company. The dedicated portal mainly aimed at retail customers was launched in July 2023, with an easily accessible address on vap.com.mt and attractive branding and design.

This latest initiative has been well received, confirms Ms Turner, and, scrolling through the various comments on the company’s social media channel corroborates this. The current range available online covers necessary supplies such as laundry detergents and fabric conditioners, floor detergents and antiseptic disinfectants, dishwashing liquids and other products. Most of these come in various fragrances and the company’s hands-on experience deftly translates into quickly identifying consumers’ preferences, catering for these accordingly.

Understanding clients’ need, Ms Turner notes that Clentec regularly offers special packages including all-round cleaning solutions for a household setting.  These often comprise of several dishwashing, floor and laundry detergents, with the possibility to select according to personal preferences and at an advantageous overall price.

Judging from the online reactions, the packages seem to be quite popular, indicating Clentec’s strategy of seeking to meet the requirements of its customer base. Offering packages also lends itself to clients trying out new items or fragrances of their usual product of choice, segueing nicely into exploring the VAP collection with minimal effort.

The design of the online store facilitates the process of making purchases quite easily, while also showing off the whole range supplied under the VAP brand. The website also has a chat functionality, touted for its usefulness, especially for customers getting used to the concept of the online portal and an important facility to ensure that all clientele can successfully navigate through the web and procure the products they are after.

Payment options are also straightforward, catering for both tech-savvy generations and the more timeless method of cash on delivery. Free deliveries are applied for orders from just over €25, making this an attractive proposition, with minimal charges then coming in only in the case of delivery to higher floors.

Thanks to its in-house delivery service, Clentec strives to ensure that the purchased items arrive to the customer in a convenient manner. For the end user, there is less carrying around of what are generally the bulkier items on any shopping list, and these are made available at a suitable time without the need to leave the comfort of one’s home.

An appointment system and close coordination with the person responsible works well, giving more clarity to the client of when to expect the items to be delivered, rather than very general indications that have a tendency to be unhelpful in the contemporary context of constantly busy lives. And as Ms Turner confirms, with deliveries done by the company itself, here too the company ensures that service quality is in line with its standards and customer expectations.   

One can only expect that Clentec, already well-positioned in its sector, will pursue to invest in the cleaning products it distinctly manufactures and promotes on the local market under the VAP name. With that direction in mind, the firm provides continued assurance to both its long-standing customers and new clients of its commitment to clean and fresh households, with ease of convenience in mind.