‘Laba’ Day: There’s now an app for your laundry needs

Laundry is about to go high-tech here in the Philippines—and we’re not talking about the latest washing machine.

All the way from Spain is Mr Jeff, an online, on-demand home laundry and dry cleaning service that offers monthly subscription options. Founded in Valencia in 2015 by 20-something entrepreneurs Eloi Gómez, Adrián Lorenzo and Rubén Muñoz, Mr Jeff is already present in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Costa Rica and Panama.

The startup officially arrived in the country in July, and is open to local franchisees (interested business owners can visit https://franquicias.mrjeffapp.com/en-us/en).

But with home laundry and dry cleaning services a dime a dozen—many have a trusted “labandera” (laundrywoman)—we had to ask, what exactly sets Mr Jeff apart?

“The whole concept of Mr Jeff is to give us more time and make our lives easier. Mr Jeff streamlines the whole process to make ordering all the way to pickup and delivery easy, and with the subscription-based service, you can just forget about your laundry and we will come weekly,” explains Gómez, Mr Jeff’s CEO.

Mr Jeff basically acts like one’s personal laundry butler, as the brand takes inspiration from the butler Geoffrey in the ’90s TV show “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”

According to Gómez, the service takes two days from pickup to delivery. One can choose from the regular laundry services (wash-dry-fold, wash-dry-press, or press only) or dry cleaning services.

Mr Jeff notifies customers the day before a pickup or delivery to remind them that staff are coming, and will send another message when they are on their way.

In case a client is not at home at the moment of delivery, he or she receives a notification that explains how to get in touch with the company to reschedule the delivery.

Without specifying a figure, Gómez says the service will be affordable and accessible to the general public.

Citing the company’s research on the Philippine market, Gómez says laundry is considered by 78 percent as the most disliked domestic chore, thus contributing to the 16.7-percent annual growth of the laundry service market.

The founders are banking on this growth, especially after realizing that in Spain—and globally—the industry had received very little innovation and modernization for decades, making almost no use of modern technologies, and with limited client orientation.

The company already has franchisees setting up shop in the cities of Taguig, Parañaque, Las Piñas and Makati, as well as Fairview in Quezon City and Alabang in Muntinlupa City. Gómez says their target is to open 75 stores in the country by the end of the year.

“The Philippines is one of the markets that Mr Jeff recognized had high potential and opportunity for the company,” Gómez says. —ANNELLE TAYAO-JUEGO