Cif
{{short description|Cleaning product}}
{{about|the cleaning product||CIF (disambiguation){{!}}CIF}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{primary sources|date=March 2015}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2017}}
}}
{{Infobox Brand
|logo = Cif logo.png
|name = Cif
|image = HK Jif Cif household 清潔液 Cream cleanser 香港聯合利華 Unilever 500ml August 2017 Lnv2 front.jpg
|caption = Products sold in Hong Kong
|currentowner = Unilever
|origin = France
|introduced = {{Start date and age|1965}}
|discontinued =
|related = Jif, Vim, Viss, Handy Andy
|markets = Global
|previousowners =
|trademarkregistrations =
|website = {{url|http://www.cifclean.co.uk}}
{{url|http://www.viss.de}}
}}
Cif is a French brand of household cleaning products owned by the English-Dutch company Unilever, known as Jif in Australia, New Zealand, Japan,{{cite web|url=http://www.jif.jp/|title=Jif {{!}} Unilever[Japan]|language=ja|publisher=Unilever Japan}} Middle East and the Nordic countries.{{citation needed|reason=In Denmark it seems to be marketed as Cif|date=August 2016}}
Cif was launched in France in 1965 and was marketed in competition against scouring powders such as Vim.
Name
Cif is sold under the names Jif, Vim, Viss and Handy Andy, depending on which of the 51 countries it is sold in.
In Sweden, and South Africa, the products were originally sold under the name Vim before this was changed to Jif, the launch name in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands and Hong Kong.
In January 2001, the name in most of these countries was changed to Cif in order to align marketing and product inventories across the continent.{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/comment/4475088/Ad-hoc-Jif-becomes-Cif-in-Unilevers-spring-clean.html|title=Ad hoc: Jif becomes Cif in Unilever's spring clean|publisher=www.telegraph.co.uk|date=12 December 2000|accessdate=6 November 2017}}
In Belgium, Finland and Portugal, the product was known as Vim for quite some time, after which it became Cif. In Canada{{cite web |url=https://www.vim.ca/product/category/creams.html |title=Vim Creams |publisher=Unilever Canada |accessdate=28 October 2021}} it is still called Vim. In Germany, the cleaner's name is Viss. In Iraq it is still traded as Jif, with local Arabic and English writing.
In Norway, the product is traded as Jif and owned by Lilleborg, a part of Solenis. Unilever had a decades long partnership with Lilleborg when they were given the exclusive rights to the brand Jif in Norway. Lilleborg registered the trademark in 1968. Without consent from Lilleborg, Unilever registered their trademark Cif in 1998 and started selling Cif products in 2018. Thereafter Lilleborg protested and two JIF vs CIF court cases followed. The court decided that Unilever was allowed to keep the brand Cif, but not allowed to sell Cif products in Norway.{{cite web |url=https://braekhus.no/en/unilever-may-keep-its-cif-trademarks-in-norway-but-is-not-allowed-to-use-them/ |title=Unilever may keep its CIF trademarks in Norway, but is not allowed to use them |author=Julius Berg Kaasin, Elena Steen Eriksen |date=2022-05-24 |website=Brækhus Advokatfirma DA (Norway)}} The article was first published in World Trademark Review Daily, April 21, 2022 ([https://www.worldtrademarkreview.com/article/unilever-may-keep-its-cif-trademarks-in-norway-not-allowed-use-them WTR internet article] is restricted by paywall).
In the United States, Cif Cream Cleaner is sold as a co-branded product with Scrub Daddy.{{Cite web |date=2023-03-21 |title=Cif and Scrub Daddy: a perfect partnership for growth |url=https://www.unilever.com/news/news-search/2023/cif-and-scrub-daddy-a-perfect-partnership-for-growth/ |access-date=2023-08-22 |website=Unilever |language=en-GB}}
Products
- Cif Bathroom Mousse
- Cif Stainless Steel Cleaner
- Cif Bathroom Cleaner
- Cif Kitchen Cleaner
- Cif Power Cream
- Cif Cream Cleaner, a non-abrasive version
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.cifclean.co.uk UK product website]
- [https://www.unilever.com.au/brands/our-brands/jif.html Australian Jif product website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180204120434/https://www.unilever.com.au/brands/our-brands/jif.html |date=2018-02-04 }}
- [http://www.viss.de/ German Viss product website] (in German)
- [http://www.jif.jp/ Japanese Jif product website] (in Japanese)
{{Unilever}}