Convenience, performance add luster to detergents
Gordon Graff -- Purchasing, 1/15/2004 2:00:00 AM
Soap and detergent producers face the twin challenges of shrinking revenues and customers who are demanding more value for their money. To stay on top in this climate, detergent makers are emphasizing products that enhance convenience, prolong garment life, and improve the health and hygiene of the home environment.
The value of laundry detergents sold in the U.S. declined 2.8% to $3.67 billion for the one-year period ending Nov. 2, 2003, according to Information Resources, a Chicago-based market research firm. But sales volumes, measured by the number of packaged units sold, dropped only 0.7% during the same period, the company finds. The figures illustrate the unit price erosion besetting laundry product producers.
Behind the slide in prices are shifting customer choices. "There's been some movement away from premium-priced brands toward the mid-priced brands" of laundry products, says Mike Cheek, head of the home and fabric care unit for the NAFTA region at Ciba Specialty Chemicals, High Point, N.C. In general, he adds, "the consumer is not willing to spend extra for laundry products anymore." This puts considerable pressure on detergent manufacturers, he says, "to either provide the same performance as before, perhaps at a lower price, or additional performance at the same price."
Stymied in their ability to significantly boost prices, soap and detergent manufacturers are trying to retain or expand their market shares by differentiating their products. In the fabric softener area, for instance, "the driving force behind customer preference, in addition to cost, continues to be performance, ease of use and the delivery of additional benefits," says David Del Guercio, business director for textile care at Goldschmidt Chemical Corp., Hopewell, Va., a subsidiary of Degussa. The company has a line of cationic surfactants and specialized additives for fabric softeners and detergents that are said to improve color retention, absorb odor and facilitate ironing.
In 2004, Goldschmidt will introduce products that "satisfy the ongoing consumer need for bleaching enhancements, antisoiling benefits, fragrance enhancements and improved softening," says Del Guercio.
Ciba has a continuing program to develop rheology modifiers to enhance the flow characteristics of detergents. The company is also developing oxidation catalysts that enhance the stain-removal and bleaching effect obtainable with existing cleaning formulas. In addition, the new catalysts allow bleaching to take place at lower water temperatures—say 100°F instead of the usual 140°F. Not only does this feature trim energy use, Cheek says, it also adds to fabric lifetimes. The first commercial introduction of the new catalysts, which are part of Ciba's Tinocat line, will be in Asia "in the coming months" says Cheek.
There is a new emphasis too on cleaning agents that prolong the strength, durability and appearance of fabrics, dishes, and kitchen and bathroom surfaces. Henkel, the European detergent giant, says it has just launched a light-duty detergent for dark-colored clothes that prolongs the freshness of garments during the day by absorbing odors. According to Thomas Müller-Kirschbaum, vice president of R&D for laundry and home care at the Düsseldorf, Germany-based company, the product, known as Black Magic, also contains a "unique" dye fixative to keep dark colors from fading. He adds that Henkel is unveiling a "new to the world" glass cleaner with an ingredient, based on nanotechnology, that doubles the lifetime of a shine on cleaned surfaces.
Ciba also has "a fairly focused effort" to develop new detergent additives that enhance garment care, says Cheek.
Cleaning products that also promote health and safety are an emerging area of development, and one which most detergent makers and their chemical suppliers are exploring. Such formulations are intended not only to clean, says Cheek, but to "provide lifestyle benefits." Typically, he notes, they improve indoor air quality by reducing dust, allergens or other offensive agents on the surfaces of clothing, carpets and household furnishings and fixtures. Consumers today are "concerned about the environment around them," says Cheek, and meeting this demand represents "a big opportunity" for the cleaning products industry.
Top-five list of U.S. laundry detergent brands
| Product/Manufacturer | Dollar Sales* ($millions) |
| *Detergent sales in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers, excluding Wal-Mart, for the 52 weeks ending Nov. 3, 2002. Source: Information Resources Inc. |
|
| Tide Liquid (Procter & Gamble) | $966 |
| Tide Powder (Procter & Gamble) | $456 |
| Purex Liquid (Dial) | $265 |
| All Liquid (Unilever) | $247 |
| Wisk Liquid (Unilever) | $156 |
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