Dettol has emerged as the Best Bathing Soap at the 2026 Consumers Value Awards (CVA), securing 59.4 per cent of consumer votes as Nigerian consumers used their collective voice to recognise brands delivering value, trust and consistent experiences.
The recognition places Dettol among a diverse group of private-sector brands and public institutions that emerged winners in the fifth edition of the consumer-driven awards.
According to the official results, Dettol won the Best Bathing Soap category with 59.4 per cent of the votes. The award was part of a broad list covering banking, fintech, online retail, food and beverages, telecommunications, healthcare, insurance, energy and other consumer-facing sectors.
The results also showed strong consumer support for brands such as Jumia, which won Excellence in Customer Service in Online Retail with 91.5 per cent; Coca-Cola, which emerged Most Preferred Carbonated Drink with 60.9 per cent; Golden Penny, which won the Emerging Value Leader category for noodles with 67 per cent; and Terra Cube, which recorded 70.4 per cent in the Outstanding Value for Money Seasoning Brand category.
MTN also featured prominently, winning Outstanding Value for Money Telecommunications Brand with 50.5 per cent and Most Reliable Internet Service Provider with 67.6 per cent. OPay secured two recognitions, emerging Most Trusted Brand in Fintech with 70.1 per cent and Most Consumer Friendly Innovative Fintech Brand with 70.2 per cent.
The results underline the central philosophy of the CVA: that consumers themselves should have a decisive voice in determining which brands deliver meaningful value.
Akonte Ekine, Convener of the Consumers Value Awards and CEO of BrandXchange, maintained that consumers are best placed to judge the brands they interact with every day.
“Consumers are the ultimate judges of value. They interact with brands every day and are best positioned to determine which organisations consistently deliver on their promises,” Ekine said.
He also explained that each vote represents more than a simple choice between competing brands. “Every vote represents a consumer’s experience, confidence and expectation,” Ekine said, stressing that the awards are designed to place consumers rather than industry insiders at the centre of the recognition process.
For Dettol, the 59.4 per cent result represents the collective assessment of consumers in a highly competitive personal-care market, where brand familiarity, product experience, trust and perceived value can influence purchasing decisions.
The 2026 CVA results extended beyond commercial brands to public institutions, reflecting the organisers’ expanded focus on both consumers and citizens.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission was named Citizen-Centric MDA of the Year with 38.2 per cent, while the Nigeria Communications Commission won the Outstanding MDA/Public Service Impact Award with 54.8 per cent. NAFDAC emerged Most Trusted Public Institution with 59.1 per cent.
At the state level, the Lagos State Printing Corporation received the Excellence in Service Delivery award with 81.1 per cent, while the Lagos State Waste Management Agency won the Outstanding Public Service Impact category with 46.9 per cent.
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, in his goodwill message to the awards, said the meaning of value was evolving beyond conventional measures of customer satisfaction.
Represented at the event by Fola Solebo, General Manager of the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency, the governor said customer satisfaction alone was no longer sufficient, highlighting the importance of trust, empathy, accessibility and sustainability in defining value.
He described the awards received by successful organisations as a “receipt of the trust the people have placed in you,” while urging businesses and government institutions to continue to respect and serve consumers.
The governor’s position mirrors the broader direction of the CVA, which has increasingly sought to make consumer experience and public accountability part of the conversation around brand performance.
The results reinforce the CVA’s emphasis on consumer participation as a measure of brand performance. Rather than relying solely on industry panels, the awards are built around the experiences and choices of consumers.
For Dettol, its emergence as the 2026 Best Bathing Soap therefore represents recognition from the very market it serves, placing consumer perception at the heart of the brand’s latest industry recognition.
Ekine noted that the significance of the CVA extends beyond the presentation of trophies. It is intended to encourage organisations to listen to consumers, improve their offerings and build trust through consistent delivery.
“The Consumers Value Awards has become a national conversation about trust, accountability and consumer confidence,” Ekine said, adding that consumers are not merely buying products and services but are helping to define the standards by which brands are judged.
