Labud

What Labud does

Labud (legal name: Meteor Grupa - Labud d.o.o.) is a Croatian chemical manufacturer founded in May 1947 in Zagreb, producing detergents, cleaning agents, and chemical products for both household and professional use. The company operates a multi-brand portfolio covering the full household cleaning value chain: Čarli (hand dishwashing detergent, launched 1974 and still Croatia's category leader), Sanitar (bathroom and toilet cleaning with proprietary Smart Clean and Flash Power technologies), Super Jon (multi-surface household cleaners), Permetal (heavy-duty degreasers for ovens and grills), Meri Merino (laundry care with RECOVER & PROTECT 4D formula), Oliver (universal detergent), and iQ Clean (eco refill tablets). For the professional segment, LABpro, Kalisto, Specijal, and Pjenolab sub-brands serve hotels, restaurants, catering, healthcare, food processing, and professional laundry customers.

Underlying the product portfolio is in-house chemical formulation R&D and integrated manufacturing at the Radnička cesta headquarters in Zagreb, which also hosts a 400 kW integrated solar power plant co-financed by Croatia's Modernization Fund. Proprietary technology platforms include Smart Clean Technology (limescale dissolution and protective film), HYDROPOWER TECHNOLOGY (turbine-based water circulation for toilet hygiene), Flash Power (1-minute disinfection), and the RECOVER & PROTECT 4D laundry formula externally validated by the Textile Technology Faculty in Zagreb.

Labud makes money through one-time-purchase branded consumer cleaning products distributed via retail chains, supermarkets, and grocery stores across Croatia and regional Southeast European markets, supplemented by a B2B channel serving HORECA, healthcare, and industrial customers. No pricing tiers or per-unit economics are publicly disclosed; sales occur at standard retail price points. The company holds ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, Superbrands Croatia status, Croatian Quality mark, Kosher certification, and UN Global Compact membership. Following the 2018 merger with Meteor d.o.o. and Badel d.o.o., the combined entity operates as Meteor Grupa - Labud d.o.o. under private ownership by Ante Raspudić and Darko Knez.

Name

Labud

Legal name

Meteor Grupa - Labud d.o.o.

Website

https://labud.hr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1947

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Labud (Meteor Grupa - Labud d.o.o.) is a Zagreb-based Croatian manufacturer founded in 1947 that produces branded detergents and cleaning chemicals for household consumers and professional HORECA, healthcare, and food-industry customers across Croatia and Southeast European markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Household Cleaning Products

NAICS

Soap, Cleaning Compound, and Toilet Preparation Manufacturing (3256), Soap and Other Detergent Manufacturing (325611)

SIC

Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840), Specialty Cleaning, Polishing And Sanitation Preparations (2842)

akta.pro primary industry

Dishwashing Products (Hand Dish Soap, Automatic Dishwasher Detergents, Rinse Aids) (CRADAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Kitchen & Countertop Cleaners & Degreasers (CRAJACAA), Bathroom Surface Cleaners (Sinks, Tubs, Tiles, Grout) (CRAJADAE)

Keywords

• Household cleaning products
• Laundry detergents
• Dishwashing detergents
• Industrial cleaning chemicals
• Professional hygiene products

Headquarters

HQ city

Zagreb

HQ country

Croatia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consumer Cleaning Products Sales: Revenue generated from the sale of branded cleaning products including dishwashing detergents, household cleaners, laundry care products, and personal hygiene products through retail channels across Croatia and the region.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Labud manufactures and sells a comprehensive portfolio of detergents and cleaning products for both household and professional use. Consumer offerings span dishwashing (Čarli brand), bathroom/toilet cleaning (Sanitar), multi-surface household cleaners (Super Jon), heavy-duty degreasers (Permetal), laundry care (Meri Merino), and eco-friendly refill systems (iQ Clean). The professional line (LABpro, Kalisto, Specijal, Pjenolab) covers kitchen cleaning, professional laundry, food industry hygiene, hand disinfection, and surface disinfection for HORECA, healthcare, and food processing sectors.

Product overview

Labud is a Croatian manufacturer of detergents and cleaning products operating since 1947, now part of Meteor Group. The company offers a diversified portfolio of consumer and professional cleaning products organized across multiple brands: Čarli (dishwashing - the original 1974 hand dishwashing detergent), Sanitar (bathroom/toilet cleaning with Smart Clean and Flash Power technologies), Super Jon (multi-surface household cleaning), Permetal (heavy-duty degreasers), Meri Merino (laundry care with 4D RECOVER & PROTECT technology), and iQ Clean (eco refill tablets). For professional markets, the LABpro line covers kitchen cleaning (Kalisto and LABpro products), professional laundry services (Specijal, Everest, Rosana), food industry cleaning (Specijal industrial cleaners, Pjenolab foaming agents), hand hygiene (LABpro soaps and disinfectants), and surface disinfection (LABpro UniverzalPlus, Dermodez). The portfolio ranges from consumer retail products to industrial-grade cleaning solutions for food processing, healthcare, and hospitality sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Čarli: Hand dishwashing detergent - the first and oldest Croatian dishwashing detergent launched in 1974
• Sanitar
• Meri Merino
• Permetal
• Super Jon
• Oliver
• LABpro
• iQ Clean
• Meteor
• LAB PRO

Products and services

• Čarli Hand dishwashing liquid detergent available in multiple variants (Original lemon, Classic apple, Sensitive with chamomile, Balsam, Concentrate, Energy wild cherry). Sold to household consumers through retail chains and supermarkets; the brand became synonymous with dishwashing detergent in Croatia.
• Sanitar Bathroom and toilet cleaning brand featuring Smart Clean Technology and Flash Power technology. Includes WC cleaners, surface cleaners in multiple scents (Citrus Fresh, Forest Fresh, Lavender, Ocean Fresh), HydroPower Technology hygiene rings, and wet wipes. Market leader in the bathroom cleaning category in Croatia.
• Super Jon Household cleaning brand covering kitchen degreaser, universal cleaners, glass cleaners, furniture polish, and wet wipes with antibacterial formula and allergen-free scents. Sold to household consumers through retail.
• Permetal Specialized degreaser for tough and burned grease from ovens, barbecues, and range hoods. Available in Gold professional version, Universal degreaser, and Anti-Scale formula for removing limescale and rust. The #1 professional kitchen degreaser in Croatia.
• Meri Merino Laundry care brand with 4D RECOVER & PROTECT technology for colored, dark/black, sensitive/delicate, and extra-white fabrics. Tested with Zagreb's Textile Technology Faculty, proving effectiveness over 25+ washes by creating a protective shield that repairs fibers and maintains elasticity, softness, and strength.
• iQ Clean Eco-friendly refill tablet system for responsible cleaning. Start packs include reusable spray bottle and 3 tablets, available for glass/mirrors, kitchen, and universal cleaning. Designed to reduce plastic waste through reusable bottles and concentrated tablets.
• LABpro / LAB PRO Professional cleaning and hygiene line covering kitchen (dishwashing, glass cleaning, oven cleaners), professional laundry service (detergents, bleach, fabric softeners), food industry (acidic/alkaline cleaners, disinfectants), hand hygiene (soaps, disinfectants), and household disinfection. Sold to HORECA, healthcare, food industry, and through retail for the household disinfection variant.
• Oliver Universal detergent brand for machine and hand laundry washing. Legacy brand within the Labud portfolio.
• Rosana Fabric softener brand for machine and hand laundry softening, the first fabric softener product launched in 1975.
• Kalisto

Quantifiable outcome

• Čarli enables 40% more plates washed than the previous formula (per product claim)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core - merger creating meteor grupa and historical corporate grouping; tita grupa managed companies including badel d.o.o., kutrilin-tpv d.o.o., and renteks d.o.o..

• Badel d.o.o. and Meteor d.o.o.core - merger creating meteor grupaOthers · 1 December 2018On 1 December 2018, Meteor d.o.o. was merged with Labud d.o.o. and Badel d.o.o., continuing operations under the name Meteor Grupa - Labud d.o.o. headquartered in Zagreb. This created an integrated group under unified management.
• TITA grupa d.o.o. (Chromos Tower)historical corporate grouping; tita grupa managed companies including badel d.o.o., kutrilin-tpv d.o.o., and renteks d.o.o.Others · 21 August 2009On 21 August 2009, Labud d.o.o. became a member of TITA grupa d.o.o., headquartered in Chromos Tower. TITA grupa managed other companies it owned including Badel d.o.o., Kutrilin-TPV d.o.o. (Vučković Plastics Factory and Graniti plant), and Renteks d.o.o. This was a corporate grouping relationship.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Werner & Mertz (Frosch): German manufacturer of eco-friendly cleaning products under the Frosch brand. As an emerging player in plant-based/sustainable cleaning, Werner & Mertz's positioning overlaps with Labud's newer iQ Clean refill-tablet initiative, providing a reference point for how an eco-positioned mid-size brand competes against multinational incumbents in Europe.
• McBride: UK-headquartered European private-label manufacturer of household cleaning and personal care products. McBride illustrates the private-label supply model that increasingly competes for shelf space in the same Croatian/SEE retailers that stock Labud, and serves as a reference for private-label share dynamics affecting Labud's branded business.

Broad incumbents

• Unilever: UK/Netherlands multinational whose Home Care division (Cif, Domestos, Sun, Savo) competes in bathroom, surface, and dishwashing segments where Labud's Sanitar, Super Jon, and Čarli brands operate. Unilever is a broad incumbent whose priorities across SEE shape retailer shelf allocations relevant to Labud's distribution strategy.
• Henkel: German multinational whose Laundry & Home Care division (Persil, Vernel, Somat, Bref, Sidolin) competes with Labud across Croatia and the broader SEE region. Henkel is a broad incumbent with materially larger marketing budgets and global R&D, providing the principal competitive benchmark for branded share dynamics in the regions Labud serves.
• S.C. Johnson & Son: US-family-owned multinational whose cleaning portfolio includes Mr. Proper, Pronto, Duck, and Cif-rival brands in European markets. Comparable to Labud in combining consumer-brand scale with category extension and B2B institutional distribution, S.C. Johnson provides a useful comparable for long-running, family/private-controlled CPG cleaning operators.
• Reckitt Benckiser: UK-listed multinational with leading positions in household cleaning, hygiene, and disinfection (Finish, Cillit Bang, Dettol, Vanish). Reckitt's Finish competes in automatic dishwashing while its disinfection portfolio intersects with Labud's LABpro professional range, making it a relevant horizontal competitor across multiple categories Labud operates in.
• Procter & Gamble: US-listed multinational whose Fabric & Home Care division (Fairy, Ariel, Lenor, Mr. Clean) is a global category leader including across Croatia and SEE. P&G's Fairy is the principal global competitor to Labud's Čarli in hand dishwashing, and its scale and media spend set the competitive ceiling for branded cleaning in Labud's home market.

Direct peers

• Saponia: Zagreb/Osijek-based Croatian manufacturer of detergents, soaps, and cleaning products (Persil-like brands and own labels). Saponia is the closest direct competitor to Labud in the Croatian household and industrial cleaning segment, operating with overlapping retail distribution and similar brand-led strategy in the same small market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCoqMsI5OGyDcyeYcb7mnG3w
• Facebookfacebook.com/labud.hr
• Instagraminstagram.com/labudcistakvaliteta

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Labud