PZ Cussons, a leading producer and distributor of personal and homecare products, has re-launched its biggest brand and Ghana’s number one antiseptic Camel from Carex at a colourful ceremony in Accra.

The event marks the first phase of the transitioning of the Camel brand to a global PZ Cussons brand ‘Carex.’

“Today we are proud to say the Camel brand is the most valuable brand in the PZ Cussons team. We wish to elevate it to a global stage and properly transition it to one of our global brands that our consumers would cherish and love,” Mr David Afflu, Business Unit Director, PZ Cussons Ghana Limited said at the launch.

Mr Afflu said the re-launch of Camel from Carex was a major milestone in the journey of PZ Cussons Ghana and for the brand Camel.

“We are moving the Camel brand to the global stage by moving under our global brand called Carex, which I am happy to say, is UK’s number one handwash brand and this would take us a period of about two to three years,” he said.

Mr Afflu said all over the world businesses were making crucial decisions to stay ahead of competition whilst making decent profits.

He said PZ Cussons Ghana had taken cognisance of the current tough economic times within the fast-moving consumer goods sector and that called for marketers to be creative in marketing and sales agenda such as consumer insights and line extensions to be able to drive consumer recruitment and retention.

“As we launch the new phase of Camel transitioning to the Carex family we wish to take our cherish consumers along this journey to embrace the change and be part of the global hygiene consumer base,” he said.

He said Camel from the Carex family would provide the same great protection.

Mrs Tina Gifty Naa Ayeley Mensah, the Deputy Minister of Health, said with the transition of Camel, which was one of the leading antiseptic brands in Ghana to the brand Carex, the global hygiene brand of high repute, the gains for Ghanaians would be much higher with more support system to improve healthy lifestyles.

She commended PZ Cussons for the partnership with various agencies in the area of health to ensure the delivery of utmost health care to the people through several donations to the Ghana Health Service, championing the National sanitation day as well as donation to schools and most recently the support to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital Mother and Baby unit.

Mrs Mensah said the Ministry of Health sought to improve the health status of all people leaving in Ghana thereby contributing to Government’s vision of universal health coverage and a healthy population.

“One of our core policy objectives is to intensify prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases and the primary way of doing this is the promotion of hygiene across demographics and localities,” she said.

She said government would continue to intensify the prevention and control of diseases to improve the health status of all people in Ghana through effective and efficient policy formulation, resource mobilisation, monitoring and regulation of delivery of health care by different health agencies.

Mrs Mensah emphasised the need for personal hygiene, saying it was the number one sure way of preventing the spread of diseases.

“People need to make conscious effort to observe personal hygiene and avoid actions that promote the spread of infections. It is a habit we need to form now than ever,” she said.

She called on corporate bodies to come on board in partnership with products and programme, which promoted good hygiene habits.

The Head of Brand Development and Activation at PZ Cussons, Madam Hafsa Arthur, said Camel as a local Ghanaian brand had not benefitted directly from global synergies that ensure resources, skills and best practices from around the world to bring local consumers the best in product development, in innovation and in brand communication.

She said the Camel migration to Carex would be gradual where both brand names would be used concurrently to ensure consumer and trade partners across the country have been carried aboard the transition.