Tom Branna, Editorial Director01.01.16
It’s been described as having an overtly fruity, dark berry construction combined with signature cassis notes. No, that’s not Robert M. Parker Jr.’s take on a 2012 cabernet sauvignon, it’s Mark Haward’s description of Gain Moonlight Breeze, the newest fragrance variant for P&G’s popular laundry detergent.
“Scent has become a much more intrinsic part of peoples’ lives, and we see a higher penetration of upscale niche retailers providing consumers with the opportunity to try out a variety of fragrances,” explained Haward, a perfumer at P&G. “The result is that more and more consumers are ‘scent literate’ enabling them to more easily translate communication and artwork about scent which then gets factored into their product choices.”
Though he may be just a wee bit biased, Bell Flavors & Fragrances perfumer Marvel A. Fields insists that fragrance is the deciding factor in the to-buy or not-to-buy decisions that go into household cleaning product purchases. After all, who hasn’t walked down the cleaner aisle in the supermarket, grabbed a bottle off the shelf, twisted the cap and sniffed the formula before dropping dish detergent into her cart?
“Many consumers smell products before they buy them,” noted Fields.
Formulators know that how a product smells goes a long way in determining sales success. Now, consumers are able to experience scents in new ways, too.
“It’s all exploding in fragrance,” noted Avery Gilbert, a highly regarded “smell scientist” based in Fort Collins, CO. “Finally, the science has connected with the creative, artistic and advertising world and that’s opened the floodgates.”
Sure, the ubiquitous pine and lemon scents can still be found in hard surface cleaners, but as consumers become more adventurous, perfumers are obliging them with exotic notes and new twists on classics. The result, insists Gilbert, is that in many ways, fragrance houses have an even more arduous task than ever before.
“Companies must try to cater to people who have no barriers when it comes to fragrance,” he told Happi. “They expect a sensory delight in large-scale commercial products where cost matters.”
Method fragrance director Suzanne McCormick certainly agrees.
“At Method, we develop fragrances that are inspired by nature with a modern twist,” she told Happi. “It is our intention to add an element of delight to the task of cleaning.”
Age Matters
The move toward more sophisticated scents has been going on for years, agreed Jennifer Powderly, VP-marketing, Robertet. Now Millennials have even more stringent requirements about their household cleaners.
“Millennials, especially those with children, are very concerned about chemicals,” she explained. “They want simple formulas with fewer ingredients.”
As a result, they respond to products that feature labels with words such as fresh-cut mint and sage; something that brands like Method and Mrs. Meyer’s have been promoting for years.
“These names and notes resonate with younger consumers who want a fresh and clean fragrance,” said Powderly.
Cultural bias can play a key role in what makes for a successful scent. During the past six months, Robertet conducted a lot of research into what fragrances work with different consumer groups. For example, Hispanics prefer big, bold scents such as lavender that have staying power. In addition, they prefer their household product scents to have roots in fine fragrance.
Aromatic fougéres resonate with men, who also prefer woody fragrances. With that in mind, new household cleaning brands that are targeted specifically to guys often feature bolder, outdoorsy kinds of fragrances.
The Hero Clean line includes liquid laundry detergent, liquid dish soap and all-purpose and odor-eliminating sprays. All contain a juniper berry-based fragrance that’s designed to appeal to a guy’s olfactive sensibilities. Similarly, new Frey Detergent for Men features a musk- and oak-based scent developed after company founders did extensive research on the men’s cologne category.
There’s certainly a growing market for household cleaning products with more masculine scents. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of men living alone grew nearly 20%. Many studies predict those numbers will spike during the next 10 years, as people wait to get married or decide to never tie the knot. Mike Eaton, founder of Hero Clean, told Happi that the average marriage age is nearly 30, while the divorce rate is nearly 50% for first marriages and 65% for second marriages. As a result, the US Census Bureau estimates that there are between 40 and 50 million men living alone in the US, and that doesn’t even include college students—many of who could certainly use a jug or two of laundry detergent to call their own.
Top Shelf in the Household Cleaning Aisle
Formulators notice that consumers, both men and women, expect more from their household cleaners. The newest household fragrances at Method include Honeycrisp Apple in dish detergent and all-purpose cleaner, Pear Ginger in dish detergent and Wildflower in antibacterial all-purpose cleaner, both of which debut next month.
“For Honeycrisp and Pear Ginger, we brought these back due to their success in our limited edition lines,” explained McCormick. “With anti-bac, we are trying to deliver a differentiated olfactive experience from the competitive set.”
Even some of the oldest brands in household cleaning have rolled out unique scents. During the past year, we’ve had Thai Dragon Fruit notes pop up in Dawn Destinations hand dish detergent and Clean Linen notes in Clorox Smart Seek Bleach.
“The fragrances supporting these products have evolved away from simple lemon or pine scents to more complex fresh fruity scents,” agreed Fields. “Consumers read labels and they are attracted to new, exotic fresh notes.”
New scents, he noted, help retain customers and gain new ones. Bell Flavors & Fragrances adds another dimension to the equation since it makes and sells botanical and plant extracts for many market segments.
“They are becoming increasingly important to consumers,” Fields added.
Increasingly important to Bell, which is actively pursuing research in botanicals, are performance-based accords, fragrance application improvements and head turning scents. This year, Bell breaks ground on a new innovation center for its fragrance division.
Demand for innovative fragrances certainly isn’t limited to household cleaners; marketers are putting more emphasis on environmental scents, too. According to Euromonitor International, global air care sales rose 3.5% last year to $9.3 billion.
“Air care manufacturers have made conscious efforts to cultivate a fragrance as a component of home décor,” explained Ryan Tuttle, research analyst with Euromonitor.” I think this plays into why consumers react well to fragrance in their surroundings. Additionally, the growth of a wide variety of scents gives consumers increasing opportunities to personalize the scents that people associate with them.”
The creative air care market has definitely brought new and innovative scents to cleaning products, said Marilynn Kelly, VP-marketing, Belle-Aire Fragrances.
“If a new fragrance does well in air care, it will certainly make its way into the cleaning category,” she observed.
That’s good news for fragrance suppliers to the laundry category which, in recent years, has embraced scent and the need for exciting new directions as fragrance has become a much more intrinsic part of peoples’ lives, according to Haward.
“It’s clear that there is a significant portion of category users seeking new experiences,” he said. “However, there is also a need to provide great classic options to satisfy long-time users who appreciate the more iconic heritage scents.”
Haward noted that some of the most interesting new launches have been inspired by new trends emerging in the market.
“It’s a continuing priority for P&G to create and execute behind new trend areas,” he told Happi. “A recent example is the Moonlight Breeze scent for Gain which has allowed the brand to explore increasingly sweet and comforting scents as well as being able to explore a more dark and stand-out holistic execution.
According to Haward, the P&G perfume team is constantly seeking out inspiration from multiple sources including publications, beauty products, trade shows and, of course, the culinary world, all of which is then used to create the right character that resonates with the target user.
Food for Thought…and Fragrance
Consumer interest in exotic-smelling household cleaning products scents may be closely related to their love of travel…and beer.
Air traffic rose more than 7% last year, according to the International Air Transport Association, and when consumers vacation in exotic locales, they tend to pick up a new favorite fragrance or two. In time, these new notes make their way into everyday household cleaners.
“The consumer is feeling more attached to the global marketplace,” agreed Kelly. “A long time ago, it was a big deal to experience something from another state in the US, now we can surf all over the world. Food, travel and the internet have changed everything. Cultures are becoming more diversified and learning new experiences from each other.”
More recently, as love for all things artisanal surges, consumers are acquiring a sophisticated taste for, well, taste.
“Product fragrancing has gotten better and more subtle and is keeping up with a more sophisticated consumer palette,” noted Gilbert. “The fragrance impact is like artisanal brewing. Here in Fort Collins we have 15 breweries and four distilleries. It has opened the field.”
According to some estimates, a new craft brewery opens in the US every 12 hours. In 2014, there were nearly 3,500 craft breweries in the US, compared to 44 in 1980 and 537 in 1991. In fact, experts say craft brewers now make up nearly 20% of the total US consumer spend on beer.
No doubt about it, craft brewers have raised the bar when it comes to their craft and consumers have raised the bar when it comes to what ales, ports, stouts and lagers they will raise at the bar. Gilbert predicts that foodies’ awareness will come back to the home and ultimately, to the products.
But not everyone agrees. Method remains committed to fragrances that cue clean; i.e., herbaceous and citrus.
“We stay away from anything too gourmand or sticky,” noted McCormick.
When the weather turns colder in the US, caffeine aficionados know that their local Starbucks will start stocking seasonal latte blends like Pumpkin Spice and, later, Chestnut Praline. According to Kelly, the seasonality trend will expand into the household cleaning market, too, with notes that speak to the season.
“For spring cleaning, a bright citrus or spring floral; for summer, the scent of the ocean or a summer fruit, for fall, a pumpkin or apple spice and for winter, of course, sparkling snow and crisp pines,” she told Happi. “These offerings will be limited editions sold alongside the other popular scents. The consumer nowadays is very fickle, always looking for something fun and different to try.”
In fact, Kelly suggests that fragrance marketing geared toward natural- and food-related scents has brought some comfort to consumers who, in the past, may have been bothered by fragrance allergies.
“I haven’t heard much about complaints about fragrance allergies,” she noted.
You’re So Fresh!
Despite a surge in gourmand notes in their lives, when it comes to cleaning, most consumers still prefer fresh notes. Much of the fragrance experience is driven by the name and emotion that the scent is trying to convey, according to Kelly.
“Very clever and talented perfumers have introduced new notes into household cleaning scents while still maintaining the underlying clean freshness we all look for,” she said. “Even though there have been many new fragrance introductions, the characteristic notes of a cleaner are still there.”
Fresh remains a key component of every cleaner, but what exactly that means varies.
“The idea of fresh is different for different people,” noted Powderly. “For example, some people think of bleach when they think of fresh; others hate it.”
For other consumers, citrus notes signal clean, but even modern lemon is far different than your mother’s lemon, according to Powderly.
“Today’s citrus notes have a juiciness to them with a sparkling quality that is true to nature,” Powderly explained. “The lemons of 20 years ago didn’t have this level of sophistication.”
So sophisticated in fact, that fragrance recently got its own showplace. SC Johnson paid homage to the power of scent with an interactive exhibition called The Museum of Feelings, which it set up in New York City. The experience was built to showcase the connection between scent and emotion. Visitors were taken on a sensory journey through the museum, where Glade fragrances act as the muse to inspire visitors to explore their emotions.
That connection between scent and emotion is ever-present, but, until recently, few fast-moving, consumer goods companies took advantage of the power of fragrance. Or, as Gilbert put it, multisensory qualities have always been part of consumer products, but marketers only focused on two of them “back in the Mad Men days.”
“Every product is five dimensional,” insisted Gilbert.
And that’s where having the right fragrance can make all the difference in whether a shopper sniffs and buys or keeps moving down the cleaning aisle. No wonder why so much time and effort is going into product perfumery these days.
As P&G’s Haward noted, “we’re always looking to broaden the appeal of our scents and provide a collection of fragrances that can become ‘a scent I love’ for as many people as possible.”
“Scent has become a much more intrinsic part of peoples’ lives, and we see a higher penetration of upscale niche retailers providing consumers with the opportunity to try out a variety of fragrances,” explained Haward, a perfumer at P&G. “The result is that more and more consumers are ‘scent literate’ enabling them to more easily translate communication and artwork about scent which then gets factored into their product choices.”
Though he may be just a wee bit biased, Bell Flavors & Fragrances perfumer Marvel A. Fields insists that fragrance is the deciding factor in the to-buy or not-to-buy decisions that go into household cleaning product purchases. After all, who hasn’t walked down the cleaner aisle in the supermarket, grabbed a bottle off the shelf, twisted the cap and sniffed the formula before dropping dish detergent into her cart?
“Many consumers smell products before they buy them,” noted Fields.
Formulators know that how a product smells goes a long way in determining sales success. Now, consumers are able to experience scents in new ways, too.
“It’s all exploding in fragrance,” noted Avery Gilbert, a highly regarded “smell scientist” based in Fort Collins, CO. “Finally, the science has connected with the creative, artistic and advertising world and that’s opened the floodgates.”
Sure, the ubiquitous pine and lemon scents can still be found in hard surface cleaners, but as consumers become more adventurous, perfumers are obliging them with exotic notes and new twists on classics. The result, insists Gilbert, is that in many ways, fragrance houses have an even more arduous task than ever before.
“Companies must try to cater to people who have no barriers when it comes to fragrance,” he told Happi. “They expect a sensory delight in large-scale commercial products where cost matters.”
Method fragrance director Suzanne McCormick certainly agrees.
“At Method, we develop fragrances that are inspired by nature with a modern twist,” she told Happi. “It is our intention to add an element of delight to the task of cleaning.”
Age Matters
The move toward more sophisticated scents has been going on for years, agreed Jennifer Powderly, VP-marketing, Robertet. Now Millennials have even more stringent requirements about their household cleaners.
“Millennials, especially those with children, are very concerned about chemicals,” she explained. “They want simple formulas with fewer ingredients.”
As a result, they respond to products that feature labels with words such as fresh-cut mint and sage; something that brands like Method and Mrs. Meyer’s have been promoting for years.
“These names and notes resonate with younger consumers who want a fresh and clean fragrance,” said Powderly.
Cultural bias can play a key role in what makes for a successful scent. During the past six months, Robertet conducted a lot of research into what fragrances work with different consumer groups. For example, Hispanics prefer big, bold scents such as lavender that have staying power. In addition, they prefer their household product scents to have roots in fine fragrance.
Aromatic fougéres resonate with men, who also prefer woody fragrances. With that in mind, new household cleaning brands that are targeted specifically to guys often feature bolder, outdoorsy kinds of fragrances.
The Hero Clean line includes liquid laundry detergent, liquid dish soap and all-purpose and odor-eliminating sprays. All contain a juniper berry-based fragrance that’s designed to appeal to a guy’s olfactive sensibilities. Similarly, new Frey Detergent for Men features a musk- and oak-based scent developed after company founders did extensive research on the men’s cologne category.
There’s certainly a growing market for household cleaning products with more masculine scents. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of men living alone grew nearly 20%. Many studies predict those numbers will spike during the next 10 years, as people wait to get married or decide to never tie the knot. Mike Eaton, founder of Hero Clean, told Happi that the average marriage age is nearly 30, while the divorce rate is nearly 50% for first marriages and 65% for second marriages. As a result, the US Census Bureau estimates that there are between 40 and 50 million men living alone in the US, and that doesn’t even include college students—many of who could certainly use a jug or two of laundry detergent to call their own.
Top Shelf in the Household Cleaning Aisle
Formulators notice that consumers, both men and women, expect more from their household cleaners. The newest household fragrances at Method include Honeycrisp Apple in dish detergent and all-purpose cleaner, Pear Ginger in dish detergent and Wildflower in antibacterial all-purpose cleaner, both of which debut next month.
“For Honeycrisp and Pear Ginger, we brought these back due to their success in our limited edition lines,” explained McCormick. “With anti-bac, we are trying to deliver a differentiated olfactive experience from the competitive set.”
Even some of the oldest brands in household cleaning have rolled out unique scents. During the past year, we’ve had Thai Dragon Fruit notes pop up in Dawn Destinations hand dish detergent and Clean Linen notes in Clorox Smart Seek Bleach.
“The fragrances supporting these products have evolved away from simple lemon or pine scents to more complex fresh fruity scents,” agreed Fields. “Consumers read labels and they are attracted to new, exotic fresh notes.”
New scents, he noted, help retain customers and gain new ones. Bell Flavors & Fragrances adds another dimension to the equation since it makes and sells botanical and plant extracts for many market segments.
“They are becoming increasingly important to consumers,” Fields added.
Increasingly important to Bell, which is actively pursuing research in botanicals, are performance-based accords, fragrance application improvements and head turning scents. This year, Bell breaks ground on a new innovation center for its fragrance division.
Demand for innovative fragrances certainly isn’t limited to household cleaners; marketers are putting more emphasis on environmental scents, too. According to Euromonitor International, global air care sales rose 3.5% last year to $9.3 billion.
“Air care manufacturers have made conscious efforts to cultivate a fragrance as a component of home décor,” explained Ryan Tuttle, research analyst with Euromonitor.” I think this plays into why consumers react well to fragrance in their surroundings. Additionally, the growth of a wide variety of scents gives consumers increasing opportunities to personalize the scents that people associate with them.”
The creative air care market has definitely brought new and innovative scents to cleaning products, said Marilynn Kelly, VP-marketing, Belle-Aire Fragrances.
“If a new fragrance does well in air care, it will certainly make its way into the cleaning category,” she observed.
That’s good news for fragrance suppliers to the laundry category which, in recent years, has embraced scent and the need for exciting new directions as fragrance has become a much more intrinsic part of peoples’ lives, according to Haward.
“It’s clear that there is a significant portion of category users seeking new experiences,” he said. “However, there is also a need to provide great classic options to satisfy long-time users who appreciate the more iconic heritage scents.”
Haward noted that some of the most interesting new launches have been inspired by new trends emerging in the market.
“It’s a continuing priority for P&G to create and execute behind new trend areas,” he told Happi. “A recent example is the Moonlight Breeze scent for Gain which has allowed the brand to explore increasingly sweet and comforting scents as well as being able to explore a more dark and stand-out holistic execution.
According to Haward, the P&G perfume team is constantly seeking out inspiration from multiple sources including publications, beauty products, trade shows and, of course, the culinary world, all of which is then used to create the right character that resonates with the target user.
Food for Thought…and Fragrance
Consumer interest in exotic-smelling household cleaning products scents may be closely related to their love of travel…and beer.
Air traffic rose more than 7% last year, according to the International Air Transport Association, and when consumers vacation in exotic locales, they tend to pick up a new favorite fragrance or two. In time, these new notes make their way into everyday household cleaners.
“The consumer is feeling more attached to the global marketplace,” agreed Kelly. “A long time ago, it was a big deal to experience something from another state in the US, now we can surf all over the world. Food, travel and the internet have changed everything. Cultures are becoming more diversified and learning new experiences from each other.”
More recently, as love for all things artisanal surges, consumers are acquiring a sophisticated taste for, well, taste.
“Product fragrancing has gotten better and more subtle and is keeping up with a more sophisticated consumer palette,” noted Gilbert. “The fragrance impact is like artisanal brewing. Here in Fort Collins we have 15 breweries and four distilleries. It has opened the field.”
According to some estimates, a new craft brewery opens in the US every 12 hours. In 2014, there were nearly 3,500 craft breweries in the US, compared to 44 in 1980 and 537 in 1991. In fact, experts say craft brewers now make up nearly 20% of the total US consumer spend on beer.
No doubt about it, craft brewers have raised the bar when it comes to their craft and consumers have raised the bar when it comes to what ales, ports, stouts and lagers they will raise at the bar. Gilbert predicts that foodies’ awareness will come back to the home and ultimately, to the products.
But not everyone agrees. Method remains committed to fragrances that cue clean; i.e., herbaceous and citrus.
“We stay away from anything too gourmand or sticky,” noted McCormick.
When the weather turns colder in the US, caffeine aficionados know that their local Starbucks will start stocking seasonal latte blends like Pumpkin Spice and, later, Chestnut Praline. According to Kelly, the seasonality trend will expand into the household cleaning market, too, with notes that speak to the season.
“For spring cleaning, a bright citrus or spring floral; for summer, the scent of the ocean or a summer fruit, for fall, a pumpkin or apple spice and for winter, of course, sparkling snow and crisp pines,” she told Happi. “These offerings will be limited editions sold alongside the other popular scents. The consumer nowadays is very fickle, always looking for something fun and different to try.”
In fact, Kelly suggests that fragrance marketing geared toward natural- and food-related scents has brought some comfort to consumers who, in the past, may have been bothered by fragrance allergies.
“I haven’t heard much about complaints about fragrance allergies,” she noted.
You’re So Fresh!
Despite a surge in gourmand notes in their lives, when it comes to cleaning, most consumers still prefer fresh notes. Much of the fragrance experience is driven by the name and emotion that the scent is trying to convey, according to Kelly.
“Very clever and talented perfumers have introduced new notes into household cleaning scents while still maintaining the underlying clean freshness we all look for,” she said. “Even though there have been many new fragrance introductions, the characteristic notes of a cleaner are still there.”
Fresh remains a key component of every cleaner, but what exactly that means varies.
“The idea of fresh is different for different people,” noted Powderly. “For example, some people think of bleach when they think of fresh; others hate it.”
For other consumers, citrus notes signal clean, but even modern lemon is far different than your mother’s lemon, according to Powderly.
“Today’s citrus notes have a juiciness to them with a sparkling quality that is true to nature,” Powderly explained. “The lemons of 20 years ago didn’t have this level of sophistication.”
So sophisticated in fact, that fragrance recently got its own showplace. SC Johnson paid homage to the power of scent with an interactive exhibition called The Museum of Feelings, which it set up in New York City. The experience was built to showcase the connection between scent and emotion. Visitors were taken on a sensory journey through the museum, where Glade fragrances act as the muse to inspire visitors to explore their emotions.
That connection between scent and emotion is ever-present, but, until recently, few fast-moving, consumer goods companies took advantage of the power of fragrance. Or, as Gilbert put it, multisensory qualities have always been part of consumer products, but marketers only focused on two of them “back in the Mad Men days.”
“Every product is five dimensional,” insisted Gilbert.
And that’s where having the right fragrance can make all the difference in whether a shopper sniffs and buys or keeps moving down the cleaning aisle. No wonder why so much time and effort is going into product perfumery these days.
As P&G’s Haward noted, “we’re always looking to broaden the appeal of our scents and provide a collection of fragrances that can become ‘a scent I love’ for as many people as possible.”