Household - cleaning 2024: innovation boosts sales for laundry

Household heavyweights are aiming to make light work of laundry. This year, Persil, Surf, Comfort, Bold and Lenor all unveiled eye-catching – and sometimes premium – innovations designed to improve Brits’ clothing-care experience.

Arguably most significant was Persil’s six-strong Wonder Wash range designed for money-saving short cycles (see Top Launch, below). Added in April with ads starring Usain Bolt, its Speed Clean Non-Bio variant won a gold medal at The Grocer’s New Product & Packaging Awards in November.

Persil’s Unilever sister brands Surf and Comfort have been busy, too. In September, the former rolled out revamped liquid and capsule lines featuring “fragrances made with essential oils that are designed to be mood boosting, and sensorial pack design”. They were supported by a £7m campaign.

That was preceded in May by Comfort Botanicals, a 15-strong laundry range, backed by a £9m-plus marketing investment. The result of five years’ development, the lineup utilises patented technology that contains 40% fewer ingredients than the brand’s most popular conditioner.

Also making moves in a laundry detergent & fabric conditioner market up £119.7m were Bold and Lenor. They featured in wider P&G homecare ranges added in April and September – both in collaboration with social media influencer Sophie Hinchliffe.

That all these launches were backed by celebrities and/or large marketing investments is significant. Big campaigns are proving lucrative for these big brands. All five have grown value by as much as £19.4m, while either adding volumes or keeping losses to no more than 1.9%.

Persil has registered the strongest performance. It’s up £19.4m after managing to shift 4.6 million extra units. “This year, we prioritised our media spend on our key innovations, such as Persil Wonder Wash, which we knew would support category growth,” says Nathan Palmer, Unilever home care marketing director. “We’ve also created bespoke in-store plans for retailers to help them meet their household objectives, and maximised our partnerships such as the marketing activity between Persil and Arsenal FC.”

For P&G, splashing out on marketing is similarly vital for growing the business. “You’ll hear me talk a lot about how we are one of the very biggest spenders of media in the UK, and we obsess about making sure we generate trial for our business by driving awareness,” says VP of sales Ian Morley.

A combination of superior products and well-executed media will see P&G “win the value equation with both the consumer and our retail partners, where we’re able to grow the value of the categories in which we operate”, he adds.

Self-promotion across homecare

Other suppliers across household have also been self-promoting this past year. Take Scrub Daddy. The cleaning sponge brand has focused on “engaging directly with our customers and industry professionals”, says its offline marketing specialist, Lucy Williams.

“A major highlight was the Scrub Social Spectacular, our annual influencer event, which took place in London from 7-10 November. This gathering of influencers, brand ambassadors, and enthusiasts offers a fantastic platform to showcase our products and foster community engagement.”

For the fast-growing Astonish, it was the small screen that was front and centre in 2024. “Marketing efforts were headlined by a £1.3m national TV campaign, launched in January, strategically placed on prime ITV programming slots,” says CEO Howard Moss.

“The campaign featured the strapline ‘No magic, no spells, just Astonish’ and focused on building a narrative around the brand.”

The activity came at the start of what Moss calls “a record-breaking year for Astonish”. He points to “robust growth, innovative product launches, and key new retailer listings”.

That growth can be seen in the brand’s 27.3% value gain in household cleaners, on volumes up 24.2%. NPD has included Fabric Refresher Cotton Fresh, multipurpose White Vinegar spray in Gardenia & Vanilla and Zesty Citrus, and a four-strong range of Toilet Fresh gel – all added in February. Seven months later, Astonish made its Tesco debut with 10 lines. Most recently, the brand added limited-edition scents Pine Forest and Winter Spice across a variety of cleaning products.

Zoflora has also unveiled a seasonal scent. September saw the debut of Cosy Moments – “a homely mix of burnt orange, winter berries and hints of clove” – across three SKUs.

“Fragrance choice in cleaning products continues to be a growing trend,” says Francesca Turner, Zoflora home hygiene hub lead. “Long-lasting perfumer-developed fragrances have been at the heart of Zoflora’s brand promise for over 100 years – meaning we have led the way in fragrance cleaning, taking inspiration from wider macro trends and fine fragrance directions to deliver unique scents.”

That the brand’s up £2.2m in the household cleaners sector means it’s also delivering value to the homecare category.

Read more: Household - cleaning 2023: Consumers rein in spend on homecare