Dr. Beckmann owner Acdoco brings in Alison O’Brien as new MD

Acdoco – which includes the UK’s leading laundry brand Dr. Beckmann among its stable of marques – has appointed Alison O’Brien as new UK managing director.

O’Brien, who has spent over 15 years at Kellogg’s, joined Acdoco in September, and said she is excited by both the prospect of building on the success of its best-selling brands as well as leading some of its challenger brands to a bright future.

“I am really excited to be here,” O’Brien said. “Part of what attracted me to the role in the first place, other than this being my first UK managing director role, was the opportunity to build on the success of Acdoco’s market-leading brands and, at the same time, lead some of the smaller brands in the portfolio to bigger things – it was an irresistible sweet spot.”

Acdoco, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Pronatura, owns the famous Dr. Beckmann brand – manufacturers of No1 selling Carpet Stain Remover, the No1-selling Service-it Deep Clean Washing Machine Cleaner and the No1 selling fabric whitener, Glowhite. It also distributes a number of market-leading health and beauty brands, including Alpecin, Blanx and fenjal.

Born and bred in Ormskirk, near Southport in the North-west of England, O’Brien studied History & Economics at Durham University but was bitten by the sales bug very early on in her career.

“My first real job was a sales role with Pepsico. I would literally sell crisps out of the back of my car – I used to love nothing more than selling my entire stock in the morning and having to drive back to the cash and carry to restock at lunch time. That buzz of selling everything really drove me on,” she said.

Alison soon started working at Kellogg’s and rose to the role of sales director in the next one and a half decade. After leaving Kellogg’s in 2017, she worked at Warburtons and Manchester-based sauce, marinade and rub developer, The Flava People.

A four-generations-old family concern, Acdoco markets products in over 80 countries. And while brands like marketing-leading Dr. Beckmann have a firm UK base in the North-west of England, the company’s outlook is far beyond the shores of the UK.

O’Brien said: “The international piece is hugely important to the future for us. While we are a family-owned company, the owners are very ambitious to take the brands in their portfolio to the next level. We are constantly looking for new brands to work with.”

With such a strong portfolio of brands at Acdoco already outperforming rivals across the market, she knows maintaining that upward trajectory of momentum will be crucial, and has a people-centred approach to ensure that.

“The company has enjoyed great growth and momentum – doubling in growth for each of the last 5-year blocks. My challenge is to make sure that continues and ensure that the company, our staff and myself are all fit for the future,” O’Brien said.

“People are our biggest asset,” she added. “It is crucial that the people who work here want to be here. I aim to give every single team member a clear role profile, a smart set of objectives and a really strong development plan. This ensures we create lots of time for the individual and a team development process for the whole business, not just the leaders.

The pandemic has had a profound effect on the working environment and, more crucially, attitudes to work.

She said: “It has given us all a different lens on life. The value of time and how precious that time is to us, is very much the focus now. The lockdown and the whole working from home movement has proven we can operate successfully and do a good job from our homes, a coffee shop or the office.”