JAMIE ROSENBERG
Mintel International, Chicago, USA

Abstract

Consumers have come to expect ingredient transparency in food and personal care products. Increasingly they expect household brands to follow the same trajectory, where ingredients are disclosed, controversial ingredients are phased out and R&D is centered on chemical-free alternatives. In support of this, home care brands on the leading edge of natural cleaning innovation are developing breakthroughs that will make these alternatives cheaper, more effective and more sustainable, potentially disrupting the market.

For generations, consumers have accepted exposure to home care chemicals as a necessary cost of having a clean home. Today, however, people want to purge their homes of perceived toxins. While consumers’ fear of chemicals is not always grounded in science, home care products are evolving to make the (petro) chemical-free home a reality.

FROM CLEAN EATING TO ‘CLEAN CLEANING’

Consumers recognize that what they put in their bodies and on their skin have a direct impact upon their health and wellbeing. The drive to purge food, drink and personal care products of controversial ingredients is well underway.

This resolve towards health and safety is slowly migrating to home care, but consumers have far fewer product options. For example, Mintel research shows that 64% of American surface cleaner users believe natural products are safer, but less than 2% of US surface cleaner launches since January 2015 carry all-natural claims according to Mintel’s Global New Product Database (GNPD). However, we’re seeing the emergence of bio-based active ingredients ranging from microorganisms to fermented ingredients that deliver equivalent and someti ...