It’s no surprise that the multibillion dollar US household cleaning category is dominated by billion-dollar multinationals like Clorox, SC Johnson and Reckitt Benckiser, but some of the most successful players in the category are much more parochial—focusing on single products or single product lines that get specific cleaning jobs done and done right and, whenever possible, provide a greener clean as well.

“Household cleaning is a steady market with (slight) growth or decline,” explained Bill Frazier, national sales director, Clean Control, who said any gains can often be attributed to products with a green or environmentally-friendly profile. “There’s been a slow shift in that direction. It’s the right way to go.”

According to Information Resources, Inc., sales of household cleaners fell less than 1% to $3.1 billion for the 52 weeks ended Sept. 7, 2014 (see chart next page). Some categories are doing better than others. For example, sales of spray disinfectants rose nearly 4% during the period, helped along by big gains from Clean Control Corporation, Warner Robins, GA. The company’s OdoBan Odor Eliminator has proved to be a big hit with retailers and consumers with sales in food, drug and mass merchandisers soaring nearly 90% during the past year, according to IRI.

The tremendous growth of the brand is even more impressive when one finds out that OdoBan has succeeded with very little
advertising support and practically no sales efforts for much of its 33-year history, said Frazier.

“There is no other odor eliminator, disinfectant and cleaner on the market,” explained Frazier. “The first batch was made about 33 years ago and the product grew from that. Consumers are very loyal to OdoBan and the brand’s success spread by word-of-mouth.”

One reason for the brand’s and the company’s success is its commitment to sustainability which is a part of its corporate philosophy, according to Frazier.

“It’s not just about passing a Green Seal certification,” he explained. “We make products that are safer and are environmentally-friendly. We have our own solar field too. We walk the walk and do what’s right.”

Along those lines, one of the most recent launches at Clean Control is a bag-in-valve spray cleaner that is propellant free. The company offers OdoBan Odor Eliminator in concentrate and ready-to-use variants in original eucalyptus as well as citrus, cucumber melon and lavender scents. OdoBan solid is recommended for auto and home use. Clean Control also manufactures a 3-in-1 carpet cleaner to pretreat, remove spots and extract stains, as well as a pH neutral floor cleaner and OdoBan Pet.

Belly Up to the Tub
You don’t have to be a barfly to appreciate Bar Keepers Friend. While sales within the abrasive tub and tile cleaner category slipped 3.4% during the past year according to IRI, sales of Bar Keepers Friend abrasive tub and tile cleaner rose more than 12%. In contrast, sales of SoftScrub declined 12% during the period and Comet sales fell more than 8%.

Bar Keepers Friend is available at retail for consumer use as well as through distributors for industrial and institutional cleaning customers. Either way, users appreciate the difference between Bar Keepers Friend and market-leading brands, explained Samrat Amin, VP-R&D, Servaas Laboratories, Indianapolis, IN. Micro-abrasives enable users to clean surfaces with less scrubbing.

“We’re working on some greener formulas, too, but I’d say over 85% of the formula is natural,” explained Amin, who noted Burlington Coat Factory recently started carrying Bar Keepers Friend. The line includes spray and foam formulas that were introduced two years ago but are still expanding distribution.

Whip-It Good
“The consumer is shifting into greener products and we love it,” asserted John Alessi, president, Whip-It Inventions, Inc., Milton, FL. His company manufactures Whip-It, a plant-based multipurpose cleaner that is free of chlorine, bleach, ammonia, phosphates, petrochemicals, acids and dyes. What it does contain is natural eucalyptus and other non-toxic ingredients.

“There is a void for a quality product and we have the competitive edge to fill that void,” Alessi insisted.

Whip-It got its start in 1989 as a boat cleaner, when the company founder was looking for a non-toxic formula to clean a variety of surfaces such as plastic, canvas, carpet and even teak. When Whip-It moved from ship to shore, and sales reps started knocking on doors in the area, Alessi bought a case and was impressed with the product’s efficacy.

“I saw the opportunity to create a larger plan and bring it to retail,” explained Alessi, who had built his career in the cosmeceutical space.

“We knew we weren’t Church & Dwight or Procter & Gamble,” admitted Alessi. “To be successful we had to get the product into the hands of consumers by demonstrating the product for three years on national road shows.”

Whip-It became a regular on the Home Shopping Network too and recently reached a distribution agreement with Bed, Bath and Beyond—its first brick and mortar retail partner.

“Bed, Bath and Beyond believed in us and in our brand,” said Alessi. “Too often, when a small brand goes to retail for the first time, the retailers don’t get behind it. But Bed, Bath and Beyond is on the same page with us and we have some exciting things planned.”

Those plans include expanding the Whip-It brand into the laundry category next year, proving that while Whip-It may not have the deep pockets of Church & Dwight or P&G, company executives have the confidence to compete in the very same sectors as the big brands.

Of course, competition in the green space works both ways. So while startups may have created the green category, multinationals have brought the concept to the masses and are even taking the lead in some corners of the green movement. SC Johnson announced last month that it will expand its ingredient disclosure efforts by providing product-specific fragrance ingredient information. According to SCJ, the announcement marks a transformational initiative by a major US consumer packaged goods company to provide fragrance ingredient information at the product level.

“Consumers don’t trust companies that use chemicals and they have a real fear of chemicals,” said SC Johnson CEO Fisk Johnson during a keynote address at the World Detergent Conference in Montreux, Switzerland last month. “We face a chemophobic public.”

Johnson suggested four ways to win consumers over and rebuild their trust:

1. Elevate the standard of safety for chemicals in products;
2. Be transparent with the ingredients used in products;
3. No greenwashing! Be clear and fact-based on environmental claims; and
4. Advocate for better regulations.

Along those lines, beginning in the spring of 2015, consumers will have access to the main ingredients used to create the fragrances in SC Johnson products. Expanding on its voluntary ingredient disclosure program, SC Johnson will begin disclosing air care fragrance ingredients present at the highest concentrations down to .09% of the product formula. The number of fragrance ingredients disclosed will vary by product but, on average, consumers should expect to find a range of 10 to 50 fragrance ingredients. Consumers can access this information on WhatsInsideSCJohnson.com or by calling the SCJ helpline.  

Transparency is becoming critical to a product’s long-term health. Johnson recalled how the efforts of a single blogger, Vani Hari, forced Subway to remove azodicarbonamide from its bread. Such reformulations can have a major impact on a company and its product offerings.

To stay ahead of bloggers, NGOs and other groups, SC Johnson will begin to disclose product-specific fragrance ingredients in its air care products, including sprays, candles, oils and gels, initially in the US and Canada, followed by Europe. The program will expand to other SC Johnson product categories, including home cleaning. For those product categories outside of air care, where fewer fragrance ingredients are used, SC Johnson will list fragrance ingredients present at a concentration of more than .09% in the final product or the top 10 fragrance ingredients, whichever provides the most information for consumers. Additional fragrance ingredients found in SC Johnson products that are not disclosed are present at extremely low concentrations and will continue to be available via the company’s online palette of fragrance ingredients.

A Single Voice
SC Johnson has been an industry leader in ingredient disclosure. In 2009, SC Johnson launched the site WhatsInsideSCJohnson.com to voluntarily disclose ingredients for the company’s lineup of air care and home cleaning products, each with a consumer-friendly list of ingredients. In 2012, SC Johnson released its Exclusive Fragrance Palette to provide consumers with a comprehensive list of the fragrance ingredients found in the company’s products. In 2013, the company began adding pest control and other registered products to the site.

“Let’s speak as one voice to shape (discussion),” Johnson added. “Partnerships through associations are incredibly important.”
He acknowledged that when regulations go to far, they could hamper innovation; but when regulations are simple and hazard-based, innovation can still thrive.

“That’s why industry has to get together to make sure it doesn’t stifle innovation,” he warned.