Football, as many purists like to think, is a fair sport. As a matter of fact, there are a number of fair-play awards in recognition of exactly that: fair play. Yet, players have been found to attempt to exploit every way to gain a competitive edge. Before a free-kick is played, the opposition is required by the laws of the game to stand 9.15 meters away from the spot where the free-kick should be taken but that was almost never the case until a certain Heine Allemagne decided to do something about it.
In 2000, Brazilian entrepreneur Heine Allemagne began a journey to solving football’s problem with keeping walls in place while free-kicks were being taken. Enlisting the help of a local cosmetics factory, Allemagne experimented with various ingredients while being careful to ensure that his final product was neither of danger to the players or at risk of causing damage to the playing surface. Allemagne eventually settled on a combination of water (80 percent), butane gas (17 percent), surfactant (1 percent), and vegetable oil (2 percent) to create the vanishing spray which referees could use to mark where walls ought to be while a free-kick was being taken. Intriguingly, Allemagne’s vanishing spray ‘evaporated’ after about a minute leaving no trace and not altering the playing surface with multiple white lines where it was sprayed. Allemagne had delivered a temporary yet permanent solution to an annoying problem.
Even though the product has been in use since 2001 and commercial production began in 2008, Allemagne hit the big time after the product was used for the first time at the FIFA 2014 World Cup in his native Brazil. Since then, the vanishing spray has been a hit across the world. As a result, Allemagne, who only a few years ago was on the verge of bankruptcy, is set to rake in millions- and there are five simple yet key lessons African entrepreneurs can learn from this.
Heine Allemagne, the man behind the innovative vanishing spray
Heine Allemagne, the man behind the innovative vanishing spray
Being a visionary always reaps rewards
Foresight is not overrated. The age-old mantra of finding a problem and then creating the solution remains valid. Viability of a product or business is enhanced if there is an apparent need for the peculiar service offered.
Some ideas take time
It took Heine Allemagne 14 years to hit the big time. Some ideas possess us and we feel compelled to chase it till the very end with no assurances that the idea will work and armed with nothing but self-belief and conviction. While there is not always light at the tunnel, sometimes lasting the distance results in success as it has in Allemagne’s case and when it does, the feeling of fulfillment, of satisfaction and of accomplishment is second to none.
“After the referee brought it out the first time [at the World Cup] I started receiving text messages from my family and friends. It was the first time I got emotional, my eyes welled up. I remember thinking, ‘I’m not crazy. It was all worth it’.”- Heine Allemagne.
Simple does it
The vanishing spray owes much of the attention it gets to its efficiency- but also its simplicity. Compared with the goal-line technology system which has polarized opinion amongst football’s decision’s makers, vanishing spray is a simple solution which has been roundly embraced. It interferes very little with the game, poses no health risks to players or to the playing surface and blends in just fine. As far as simple solutions go, vanishing spray is the gold standard.
Where there is a market, there is a way
The vanishing spray was created with a clearly defined market: the football world. It is safe to argue that products with clearly defined markets upon arrival have a greater chance of success and Allemagne’s vanishing spray is further proof. While ideas are varied and products can appeal to a wide range of demographic make-ups, having a clearly identified market helps on the long(er) run.
Seeing the bigger picture
At the FIFA 2014 World Cup when Allemagne got his big break, 320 cans were used. The interesting part is that Allemagne’s company allowed them to be used to free as for them the World Cup was just as about getting a break as it was about marketing. What bigger validation did the vanishing spray need than its use at the world’s biggest football competition? Predictably, within minutes of its first use, mentions on media- social, online and traditional- were measured in millions. It was a well calculated and affordable risk (Vanishing spray retails at $10 and Allemagne’s company could have potentially earned $3,200 at the World Cup) but it has begun to pay dividends. Already in mass production, Allemagne’s vanishing spray has made an appearance- as well as a disappearance- in the Premier League and has been confirmed to be used across Europe’s top football leagues including Spain, Italy and France. Even further proof that the vanishing spray has gone mainstream is the fact that it has featured in games on the African continent and in leagues such as the Thai Premier League, The Australian A-league and the Iran Pro League. The dollars he strategically chose to forego at the World Cup have been converted into millions- because Allemagne saw the bigger picture.
Heine Allemagne has gone from being a regular football fan to being market leader in referee aids which could possibly evolve into being a product category on its own if others pick up where Allemagne left off. A classic case of rising from the bottom to the very top, Allemagne should inspire all of us in more ways than one.
