The smells inside home sweet home are quite different today than a year ago. That’s because for many US consumers, the home has become the de facto office, school, gym and around-the-clock restaurant, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, according to recent Whirlpool Corporation research, more than half of US adults (53%) surveyed are spending on average an extra 7.4 hours at home each day, equating to more than two extra days at home per week.

Since the pandemic began, sales of disinfectants, wipes and hand sanitizers have been on the rise as consumers continue to clean more to slow the spread of the virus—and with more daily activity relegated to inside the home, there has been an onslaught of dirty dishes and laundry, and increased wear and tear everywhere.

While the primary role of a home care product is to clean or disinfect, and generally speaking, 99.4%–99.7% of a cleaning product formulation is an ingredient other than fragrance, that scant amount of scent still wields great power and influence.

“Fragrance most often helps people fall in love with a product or conversely, out of preference for a product and it has a very important role,” Pamela Helms, executive director, RD & E, SC Johnson, said during the Good Housekeeping/American Cleaning Institute’s Discover Cleaning Summit. The online Summit, held in October 2020, included a session on fragrance that discussed its long-standing, positive use in home care product formulation and safety.

“Fragrance plays an essential role in home care products,” noted Morgan Brashear, Febreze senior scientist. “At a very basic level, it can be used to cover the scent of the raw materials in the product itself and promote proper use of the product by making use of the product a pleasant experience and providing a signal that the consumer has used it properly. We have found time and time again that if a product doesn’t smell good, it doesn’t matter how well it works, consumers still don’t want to use it.”

But there’s more to it. “On a higher level, though, fragrance in home care products can provide functional benefits, such as odor control and freshness; experiential benefits, like joy, happiness and relaxation; and overall consumer delight,” she said.

The benefits of scent date back to antiquity.

“Fragrance has been a vital part of society since ancient times, and today we’re still learning about all the benefits it brings to our lives,” said Fragrance Creators Association President and CEO Farah K. Ahmed. “We know that fragrance is more than an important attribute; it is a critical input into many home care products. It masks unpleasant odors inherent in the formulations of many cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting and laundry products that would otherwise render them unusable. In addition, fragrance reinforces that something has been cleaned–that freshly cleaned scent—which further promotes proper cleaning and hygiene, and can provide an added sense of peace of mind and confidence. Fragrance also fights malodors, like body or pet odors, that can leave clothing and carpets stinky and decrease quality of life.”


That Smells Well

Consumer interest in health and wellness is impacting many CPG categories, including home care. And that’s influencing scent, too.

“In recent times there has been an overriding theme of wellness and sustainability across many categories, they have become the focus of many consumers’ shopping habits, and we see this coming into the home care sector too,” said Holly Cardinali, business development manager US at CPL. “Products and fragrances that claim to be biodegradable, clean, natural are all finding more traction.”

According to Cardinali, last year the industry sought to position itself around softer claims, such as scent and gentleness, but COVID-19 forced a drastic change in focus for the majority of households.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has served to focus the home care market in two distinct areas: preserving home hygiene and, therefore, health, and the promise of efficacy, without compromise. Efficacy has been the driving force for product sales as consumers seek out functionality over 'naturalness’ but in the long-term consumers will seek out products that can deliver on both aspects,” she said.

“With everything going on this year, consumers need reassurance and we are seeing them being drawn back to trusted, traditional cleaning fragrances such as citrus, pine, marine and fresh cotton scents. This contrasts with the direction in which the industry had started to move over recent years, with a clearly defined trend towards ‘gentle’, eco-friendly ingredients. Eco-friendly product features are crucial for long-term success and the balance will be to bring sustainability and efficacy together in cleaning products,” said Cardinali.

How consumers see “green” isn’t static, say experts.

“The goal of ‘green’ cleaning is evolving as the household consumer’s motivation for buying products that are safe, clean and effective is becoming more complex. Product claims around health, sustainability and social justice will continue to become more widely adopted,” said Malini Amin, VP-business strategy at Custom Essence.

“As consumers spend more time at home, they continue to seek ways to turn everyday chores like home cleaning, into more uplifting and desirable experiences, which means increased sophistication in fragrance choices and odor complexity. A true staple of household cleaning, citrus directions will be elevated with tones of aromatic herbs, fresh spices, coastal florals and tea notes. Green and herbal scents connect consumers with nature by featuring green, watery tones of lush leaves and zesty citrus for a clean impression. Clean and transportive, marine fragrance concepts evoke coastal freshness by including seaside elements, aquatic florals and coastal woods,” said Amin.

Scent needs to communicate the product benefit and make an emotional connection, too.

“There needs to be consistency and alignment on all concepts. This is so critical. If a product delivers antibacterial benefits, the fragrance should reinforce that message,” Seth Pasternack, senior director, new business development and marketing, Robertet US, told Happi.

For 1908 Brands, for example, its new Boulder Clean Disinfectant Cleaner has a citrus scent. Made with essential oils, the cleaner is sold in 28oz ready-to-use spray bottles, 100oz refill bottles for home cleaning as well as industrial size (1-gallon) bottles for business use. With no rinsing required, the multi-surface disinfectant is streak-free, residue-free and leaves a fresh lemon scent.

Scent plays a huge part in what has made original Pine-Sol Multi-Surface Cleaner popular for generations. And, this venerable cleaner continues to deliver when it comes to modern concerns; it recently earned an EPA-registered kill claim against SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

“If you were raised with Pine-Sol, there is a certain nostalgia that goes a long with that classic pine scent, sparking memories of home, family and a clean house, said Cassandra Lewis, brand manager of Pine-Sol.

That popularity led to the launch of the Pine-Store, which Lewis said gives “our fans who grew up with Pine-Sol new ways to celebrate and embrace that love for the brand plus a little bit of that classic Pine-Sol attitude to go with it.”

Consumers can purchase items such as the “Saturday Morning” candle which emits the familiar scent of Pine-Sol that fans recognize from weekend cleaning routines. Experts agree that scent sends a signal.

“For the majority of consumers, ‘clean’ is not the absence of smell, but rather cleaning isn’t done until their home also smells clean,” noted Brashear, who pointed to evidence that comes not only from consumer research but “through consumer preference in the marketplace, where the unscented versions of our products are consistently purchased with far less frequency than are fragranced versions.”

According to Brashear, with cleaning frequency on the rise, there is more importance now for the home to smell clean. “For many, that is the signal that they’ve used the products properly and have achieved the desired outcome of cleaning their home.”

In fact, the current state of affairs has ushered in a greater need for fragrances that last, according to P&G.

“With more time stuck inside, our home is no longer simply the place we come back to at the end of the day. It’s become our office, our daycare, our home gym, and our 24/7 diner. Not to mention that pet adoption has skyrocketed during the shutdown. With all of that comes more odors and more need to not just mask them, but actually eliminate them,” said Brasher, “And with odors occurring 24/7 in the home, there’s a need to keep up with the odor elimination around the clock as well.”

To meet the consumer need for 24/7 freshness, P&G has developed a new Febreze Fade Defy Plug that provides “first-day freshness for 50 days” through a device upgrade that addresses what Brashear called the number one consumer complaint: that plug-ins come on too strong and lose their scent too quickly. The new unit is the first mass plug-in with built-in microchip technology, according to P&G. It will be available at major retailers this month in Gain original, Linen & Sky and Bamboo scents.

Donna LaNeve, marketing manager at Robertet US, pointed to the increasing premiumization and sophistication of scents across the entire home care category. For example, many brands are elevating mainstay notes, such as citruses, which are now more effervescent, she said.

The Bare Home, for example, offers eco-friendly cleaning products in scents like Blood Orange, Bergamot + Sandalwood and Bergamot + Lime, while new Arm & Hammer Essentials Disinfecting Wipes are out in Lemon Orchard and Renewing Rain variants. And there’s Cleancult, a new cleaning products company that launched in 2019. While it is focused on sustainability, it has also paid close attention to the scent story, too. Cleancult offers all-purpose cleaner, liquid dish and hand soaps, dishwasher tablets, hand sanitizer, soap bars, and, most recently, liquid laundry detergent in six scents—Blue Sage, Juniper & Sandalwood, Bamboo Lily, Sweet Honeysuckle, Grapefruit Basil and Sea Spray & Aloe.


Zen at the Kitchen Sink

In October 2020, US-based The Laundress and UK-based Aromatherapy Associates joined forces to, in their words, expand the traditional boundaries of wellness by combining therapeutic essential oil blends with premium fabric care and home cleaning formulas. The result: the Laundress x Aromatherapy Associates collection, which features two laundry detergents and two home cleaning solutions infused with three of Aromatherapy Associates’ signature 100% natural and vegan essential oil blends. Each product within the collection is designed to insure longevity of wardrobe items, linens and household surfaces, while creating wellness zones throughout the home through powerful aromas conducive to concepts like rest and tranquility (Deep Relax blend), grounding and restoring (Forest Therapy), and refreshing and inspiring (Support Breathe).

Deep Relax—blended to address insomnia—has vetiver, chamomile and sandalwood and is ideal for laundering linens, bedding, and loungewear to help create a tranquil space. Forest Therapy is a blend of evergreen essential oils inspired by the Japanese practice of forest bathing. Designed to help reconnect with nature, it features pink pepper, juniper berry, Mediterranean cypress and Sicilian lemon. Support Breathe has high concentrations of eucalyptus, peppermint and tea tree essential oils that pair well with high-contact dish and household surface cleaning to help renew and improve clarity.

“You are already doing laundry, already doing dishes and cleaning—it is a nice way to elevate your everyday chore into something that can be a wellness moment for you,” said Hannah Yokoji, brand director, The Laundress.

The brands began their collaboration in January 2020, but COVID-19 didn’t alter their plans. In fact, executives at The Laundress and Aromatherapy Associates said developing and testing the blends throughout the pandemic only validated the strong need for wellness-infused cleaning routines.

“To me, your wardrobe and home are a natural extension to your personal life; you live in it and wear it, and to me that’s just as important as food you are consuming and the products you are using,” Gwen Whiting, co-founder of The Laundress, told editors during a Zoom launch event. “I have always thought of cleaning as a wellness space.”


What’s Next

Leaders across the fragrance components category continue to track trends that influence the way consumers may want their products to smell and develop technologies to assist their customers to create formulations that deliver and delight.

Lebermuth has released its fragrance trend forecast for Spring/Summer 2022. There are four key trend concepts—Sea Queen, Authentic Earth, Global Gala and Wild Child—and perfumers offer their unique interpretations. For Sea Queen, senior perfumer Jim Fuchs created Pure White Sands (a conventional fragrance with top notes of cool sea breeze, cyclamen, bergamot and pine needle; white lily, jasmine, hyacinth and lavender buds at the heart; and base notes of white musk and amber) and Desires of the Deep (an all-natural option with top notes of ripe melon, lemon peel, green mandarin and lime zest; bergamot, fir needle, rosemary and ginger root at the heart; and a base comprised of sweet amber, cedarwood, sandalwood and sage).

To help navigate the increasingly complex market, Robertet US recently expanded its staff, hiring Laura D’Achino as VP-regulatory affairs to lead the regulatory team.

CPL Aromas introduced Trend Sets which contain all CPL fragrances that support its customers’ requirements across various trending movements. At press time, the latest edition was EcoBoost for Solid bases. EcoBoost is a unique fragrance concentration technology, that uses just 10% of the normal fragrance dosage with no compromise in strength or quality, according to CPL.

Technology is also playing a role in development, too. Firmenich late last year introduced laundry care fragrances that fuse artificial intelligence with human creativity.

Whether a fragrance is developed by AI, the best noses in the business, or both, its role in home care will never fade.

Of the five senses, only smell is uniquely linked to memory and emotion, noted Brashear of Febreze.

“Fragrance is positively associated with emotional benefits, such as nostalgia and memory, and is tied to improvements in psychological health,” she said. “In addition, pleasing scents can have a huge impact on our daily lives, making a positive effect on mood, memory recollection, stress reduction, sleep enhancement, and physical and cognitive performance.”

Said Ahmed of Fragrance Creators, “Fragrance is such a special chemistry—it’s the chemistry of emotion.”