At Spar in Ljubljana, a 3-litre bottle of own-label laundry gel costs €6.39. A 3.87-litre bottle of Ariel next to it is €39.29. Same aisle, same machine, six times the money.
What the data shows
Across nearly ten months of Slovenian shelf prices, the gap runs right through the category.
| Brand | Median €/litre | Records |
|---|---|---|
| Tuš own-label | €2.19 | 11 |
| Spar own-label | €2.33 | 30 |
| Dax own-label | €2.40 | 12 |
| Persil | €9.06 | 470 |
| Ariel | €10.15 | 447 |
| Dash | €11.29 | 114 |
Ariel sits at 4.6× Tuš per litre. Dash goes further — 5.2× the own-label. Persil's four-litre value pack is the closest a premium brand gets to its own-brand neighbour, at €5.80 a litre — and it is still 2.6× the house bottle.
Translate this to the bottles she actually carries home. A 3-litre Spar gel covers 40 washes for €6.39: roughly €0.16 a wash. The big 3.87-litre Ariel, claiming 86 washes, is €0.46 a wash on the median week — nearly three times the running cost, and that's before the swing weeks when the same Ariel bottle spikes to €43.99.
Cost per wash — Slovenia, laundry gel (€)
| Product | Cost per wash (EUR) |
|---|---|
| Spar own-label 3 L | 0.16 |
| Tuš own-label 3 L | 0.13 |
| Persil 3.96 L value | 0.26 |
| Ariel 3.87 L | 0.46 |
| Dash 2.7 L | 0.51 |
Source: Sivix, Slovenia, Jun 2025 – Apr 2026
Why this happens
Ariel, Persil and Dash are P&G and Henkel flagships. Their prices carry the freight of television budgets, formulation R&D, and recognisable packaging — costs retailer own-labels simply do not pay. Spar and Tuš source gel from contract manufacturers, stamp on the house logo, and price at the thinnest margin the shelf will bear.
Slovenia is a small, retail-concentrated market where the two biggest chains can put their own name next to the international brand on the same shelf. The shopper is invited, every single week, to compare them side by side. Most shoppers don't — they reach for the brand their mother used.
What it means for you
A household that washes twice a week runs through roughly ten litres of gel a year. That's €102 on Ariel, €23 on Spar — a gap of nearly €80 for the same clean laundry. The shirts come out the same. Try the house bottle once, and keep the €80.
Data source: Based on 1,100+ price records across 27 SKUs of Slovenian laundry detergent between 2025-06-26 and 2026-04-06. Data reflects real shelf prices as reported at time of purchase.
Products referenced in this story
Real shelf prices as reported by Sivix contributors. Tap any product to see current prices.
