Online Exclusive — Air Care Packaging Offers Beautiful Convenience
The current market provides a large variety of choice in format and scent.
by Dr. Benjamin Punchard

The home air care market was worth $7.4 billion in 2011 with the majority of that value, 28%, coming from

Dr. Benjamin Punchard

the U.S. market. Globally the market is dominated by the metal aerosol can, 922 million units in 2011, with folding cartons also seeing high unit turnover due to their use across a range of formats, namely gels, candles and electric air fresheners.

There are some clear regional trends in air care format choice. In developing regions, including Latin America, Eastern Europe and Middle East and Africa, aerosol sprays lead the market by a large margin. However in the more developed regions of Western Europe and North America electric air fresheners outperform aerosols as these offer an easy and automated air care solution to time poor/cash rich consumers. Increasingly electric air fresheners are placing a higher importance on the esthetical appearance of the device so that the product can fit unobtrusively into the consumers’ home décor. With this greater focus there has been a shift away from folding cartons towards clear blister packs that enable the consumer to inspect the appearance of the device.

Liquid air care (including liquid wicks and diffusers) have performed very well recently as a more ‘natural’ air care solution to electric devices. These too sit clearly in the home and so have to look good. As such clear glass bottles with simple lines have become the pack type of choice for diffusers. Here the use of glass has created a link in the mind of consumers to personal care fragrances and so folding cartons is a popular secondary packaging type at the point of sale, conveying a sense of quality that blister packs lack.

Beyond format the next available choice for consumers is that of scent. While lavender remains the

Liquid air care (including liquid wicks and diffusers) have performed well recently as a more ‘natural’ air care solution to electric devices.

favorite global fragrance in air care, current trends at the forefront of scent innovations in developed markets can broadly be divided into two categories: Firstly, there are clean fragrances with a strong link with nature and the environment; and secondly, there are more exotic, luxury scents.

The popularity of clean, natural scents, such as Glade’s Spring Water and Fresh Mountain Morning fragrances, ties in closely with the wider movement towards more environmentally friendly and organic products that began as a trend in food products, before shifting over into personal care and cosmetics and toiletries, and then home care. Consumers are increasingly aware and wary of the chemicals used in home care products. To capitalize on this, manufacturers have positioned fresh scents in a way that evokes notions of being at one with nature – this is despite the likelihood that almost the same chemicals are required in the manufacture of a ‘natural’ scent and a scent that might be deemed artificial.

While some exotic scents, such as Air Wick’s Wild Jasmine & Pearl, are simply a luxury twist on more traditional scents, other products’ scents are difficult to work out from the product’s name alone. SC Johnson’s Moonlit Walk & Wandering Stream, available as a 2-in-1 candle, and Brazilian Carnival from the Febreze Destinations range are prime examples.

The common factor that link both current scent trends is that manufacturers are striving to make a connection with consumers by stirring emotional responses. Although there will always be a place for popular traditional scents, such as lavender, manufacturers are no longer limiting themselves to specific well-established and recognised fragrances. While a product’s scent must of course be pleasing to ensure repeat purchases, fragrances vary greatly as the product itself is sold primarily through its connection with experiences and sensations rather than any specific smell. Scents have broken free of former boundaries, and now almost anything is possible as a concept; Glade, for example, has a Relaxing Zen fragrance as part of its range.