• by Les Luchter , June 17, 2025

Ensueño Laundry, which markets its laundry care products largely to Hispanic-Americans, has partnered with regional supermarket chain H-E-B on the "Abuela Tag Reader": a mobile activation that translates the symbols on clothing laundry care tags into plain language, as well as providing tips for washing and drying, along with other info.

Developed by the VML agency, the tag reader experience is guided by real-life “abuelas” – Spanish for grandmothers.

"In Latino culture, there's an abuela way to do your laundry and a wrong way to do your laundry," states Cristina Mustieles, Ensueño senior brand manager. "These matriarchs have decades of experience, so what better way to share 'expert advice' than by having it come from the true, original source?”

“As far as we are aware, the laundry tag reader is the first of its kind that has meshed a digital experience like this with a unique cultural tie-in,” Mustieles tells Marketing Daily. “Your iPhone has a function that can direct you to definitions for each laundry symbol, but there is no personality, no real-life experience and no visual cues, which the abuelas bring.”

The tag reader lives not on an app, but on a landing page, a strategy that Mustieles says “allows us to reach more people. There is less of a barrier to entry when customers can simply click a link or scan a QR code and get started right from their phone browser with no need to download an app, set up an account, or take more steps.”

She adds, “The QR code to landing page funnel lends well to digital and physical promotion.”

In addition to the symbol translations and abuela advice, the landing page also includes a coupon for $2 off certain Ensueño products at H-E-B.

Select H-E-B locations are supporting the tag reader with retail media including pallet displays, Mustieles says, with additional brand support from “targeted media on Youtube, paid ads and organic content on Ensueño social media.”

Despite Ensueño’s large Hispanic-American audience, the tag reader is currently available only in English.

“With our audience primarily being in the US, English is the most accessible language,” Mustieles explains. “We also wanted (it) to be an opportunity for those who aren’t Hispanic to learn a little bit about the culture in a way that’s digestible.

The reader’s target audience?

Mustieles cites “everyone,” including “the college student learning to do laundry on their own for the first time, the mom who is juggling everything and needs a little reminder of what’s what, someone who is missing their own grandmother and wants a little nostalgia.”

But, particularly, she notes, “we hope this resonates with the Hispanic-American community and brings them a smile in a way that is light-hearted and personal. Ensueño…has strong ties to Mexican heritage, so it was important to us to stay authentic to that culture and demonstrate both the spice and support that abuelas bring to the family.”

For now, the tag reader is a limited-time activation, says Mustieles, “but depending on consumer engagement, we would consider expanding it into something more long-term.”

Houston-based Ensueño is part of the AlEn USA group, which markets Pinalen Multipurpose Cleaner and Cloralen Bleach in addition to Ensueno Laundry. In addition to H-E-B, retailers carrying the brands across the country include CVS, Walmart and Amazon.