Case.IMCD Malaysia: Creating a fresh helmet spray to seize fresh market opportunities

In April 2025, IMCD Malaysia hosted its Home Care Excellence seminar, focused on smart solutions for laundry, fabrics and car care. A customer of IMCD’s Lubricants & Energy Business Group, who was attending this Home Care seminar, saw an opportunity that went beyond their usual core business. The concepts and applications for car care on display sparked an idea to develop a differentiated product range that would refresh their brand and open a new market category: a spray for helmets.

This was the start of a collaboration that brought together three IMCD Business Groups and showed the strength of IMCD’s commercial and technical network.

After the seminar, the IMCD's Lubricants & Energy commercial team worked closely with technical experts from IMCD Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care I&I. The aim was clear: Translate the customer’s idea into a practical solution that would suit Malaysia’s hot and humid climate and the lifestyle of riders and commuters.

Through joint discussions and technical training, the teams identified a gap in the market for an antibacterial helmet spray that could clean, deodorise and refresh in one step. The solution needed to be effective, pleasant to use and quick to bring to market.

The final formulation combined four carefully selected ingredients: an antibacterial and deodorising active, a broad-spectrum preservative, an efficient solubiliser, and an elegant signature fragrance.

“The turning point was when the customer saw that we could pull in the right experts, move quickly and stay very close to their needs. That is what commercial excellence means in practice. This case shows how IMCD uses its portfolio, labs and cross-industry expertise to create new growth paths for customers while strengthening relationships with key suppliers.”

Kevin Gan

Senior Sales Manager, Lubricants & Energy

“The team designed the formulation with agility in mind, choosing ingredients available on stock to support the customer’s tight launch schedule”, Kevin Gan, Senior Sales Manager, Lubricants & Energy recalls. “Prototype samples were evaluated and

refined with direct feedback from the customer.”

Once satisfied with performance and sensory profile, the customer adopted the full formulation and placed orders for all recommended ingredients. To secure a smooth scale up, IMCD Malaysia arranged a joint site visit where the Lubricants & Energy commercial team and technical experts provided practical training on handling, mixing and production steps at the customer’s facility.

The product was launched as part of a new helmet care range and helped the customer move into a fresh space with a clear point of difference.

Commercial excellence

IMCD’s role in the value chain is about more than moving products. We sit at the centre, connecting global and regional speciality chemical manufacturers with customers of all sizes, and turning that connection into practical solutions that work in the real world.

IMCD Malaysia: Creating a fresh helmet spray to seize fresh market opportunities

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