Wage War On Germs
Today's consumers are declaring war on disease-causing bacteria and viruses. Are you taking full advantage of store brand opportunities within the personal-care sanitizer and household disinfectant space?
During her controversial reign as the Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson famously stated that a woman "never can be too rich or too thin." Although some North Americans undoubtedly would agree with Simpson's sentiments, many more of them likely would put forth instead that a person or household "never can be too clean." Today's consumers are declaring war on disease-causing bacteria and viruses, arming themselves with weapons of mass-germ destruction: personal-care sanitizers and household disinfectants.
Concerns related to the H1N1 virus, in particular, have spurred significant growth on the hand sanitizer side. In fact, in its Nielsenwire blog, The Nielsen Co. of New York notes that dollar sales of hand sanitizers in the states jumped 70.5 percent in the 24 weeks ending Oct. 3, 2009 — at the height of the H1N1 flu scare — over the year-ago period to reach $118.4 million. Sales of hand sanitizers in Canada saw a similar spike, Nielsen reports.
And sales are not expected to slow down anytime soon. In fact, a June 2010 report from Global Industry Analysts Inc. of San Jose, Calif., projects sales in the U.S. hand sanitizer market will exceed $402 million by the year 2015.
Concerns over the H1N1 virus have driven up demand for household cleaning wipes with disinfecting properties as well, according to Mintel International, a global market research firm. In its "Household Cleaning: The Market — US," a June 2010 report, the company notes that cleaning wipes realized 24.7 percent sales growth from 2004 to 2009 in the United States, making them the fastest-growing segment during the five-year review period.
Awareness spells opportunity
Tom Hernquist, president of the Consumer Division of Orangeburg, N.Y.-based Nice-Pak Products Inc., notes that recent flu outbreaks and fears related to pandemics have increased consumer awareness in both categories.
"The consumer today is much more aware of disinfection issues," he says. "We are seeing behavior change as hand hygiene and surface disinfection become a larger part of everyday life."
Although the germ-killing formulations of such products might seem to go against the current "green" push, Hernquist says manufacturers have been able to offer many eco-friendly benefits without compromising performance or raising prices.
"This has been done by reducing packaging waste, using recyclable materials and using less-harsh ingredients," he notes. "This has had the effect of attracting new consumers into these categories and helping to drive growth."
Despite innovations on the supplier side, Greg Rubin, CEO of Calabasas, Calif.-based Garcoa Labs, still believes many retailers are missing a significant store brand opportunity on the hand sanitizer side.
"They buy a few items, put them under their label, and that is the end of the program," he says, noting that they should be thinking in terms of how to move "serious tonnage" instead of how to save money. (He also strongly encourages retailers to eschew cheap Chinese or Turkish goods and support the economy at home.)
Rubin contends that a retailer could increase sales in this segment "five-fold" by sitting down with its supplier and allowing that supplier to help design a "volume-moving" program.
In recent years, the brands really have not introduced anything innovative on the antibacterial personal-care wipes end in either segment in terms of substrates, formulations or packaging, contends Rody Mehdizadeh, chief operating officer for U.S. Nonwovens Corp., Brentwood, N.Y. But today's germ-averse consumers are looking for new formats that fit their on-the-go lifestyles.
"There is a real opportunity for retailers to capitalize on this void in the market by introducing premium single-use packets and smaller-size pouches that fit this need," he says.
Mehdizadeh notes that U.S. Nonwovens regularly conducts focus groups to learn what consumers really want. Some of the company's product advances that have come out of the focus groups include better wipe dispensing, improved scents and unique substrates that offer a better cleaning performance.
Garcoa also put an innovative new spin on the traditional hand sanitizer pump, Rubin notes, developing a dual-chambered product. One side contains the hand sanitizer, while the other contains an "intense but luxurious" hand lotion that helps to mitigate the sanitizer's drying effects.
"Packaging is a silent salesperson," Rubin notes, "so ask how packaging can improve your sales by upgrading [the product] and personalizing it to your store/chain."
Retailers truly have an opportunity to become a "solutions" provider across the antibacterial personal-care wipes segment, Mehdizadeh adds.
"To achieve this, one must be willing to offer unique fragrances, premium fabrics and various packaging formats for consumers," he stresses. "For instance, canisters have served this category well over the years, but users are being drawn to higher-quality single-use packets. The industry has not yet responded to this consumer trend and user needs," he adds, noting that U.S. Nonwovens does offer such items.
On the household disinfecting side, Hernquist advises retailers to get much more aggressive with their store brands in terms of assortment — by introducing, for example, products with differentiated packaging or new disinfecting claims. An expansion beyond the basic offerings will help differentiate a retailer and its brand in "a way that is most meaningful" to shoppers, he says.
"Both of these categories have the potential for significantly expanded consumption," he adds. "One way to unlock [that potential] is to design an assortment with different pack types that meet all the usage occasions for the consumer.
Draw them in
In addition to investing in consumer-minded product and packaging innovations in the personal-care sanitizer and household disinfectant segments, retailers probably need to rethink how they are merchandising and promoting such products. Personal-care sanitizers present a particular challenge in terms of merchandising, Hernquist notes.
"There is a need for deep understanding of the shopping habits of different consumer segments to determine the right locations for each product," he maintains. "In addition, in collaboration with manufacturers, retailers need to find every way possible to help educate consumers about the health benefits of hand hygiene. This, along with other facets of the execution plan, helps to drive awareness and trial for the products."
Hernquist recommends that retailers merchandise both the personal-care sanitizer and household disinfectant categories near the cough and cold section, in the pharmacy and in other areas of the store in which health and wellness is "clearly top of mind." And because both categories spike during a contagious outbreak or scare, he notes that any promotion plan must be able to deal with the significant increase in demand during those times.
Multi-canister formats do well promotionally and everyday for the personal-care sanitizing wipes and disinfecting cleaning wipes, Mehdizadeh says.
"There are opportunities for back-to-school promotions that feature both antibacterial and disinfecting in a multi-pack format," he adds. "Cross-merchandising also works well in these product categories."
Do consider sitting down with your supplier and allowing that supplier to help design a "volume-moving" program.
Don't discount differentiating innovations such as dual-chamber hand sanitizer/lotion dispensers or better-cleaning substrates.
Consider the Main Ingredient
Today’s hand sanitizers run the gamut from alcohol-based gels and wipes to triclosan- or benzalkonium chloride-based options. Although effective, alcohol-based formulations can dry hands out. Benzalkonium chloride is an organic compound with antiseptic properties, while triclosan is a chlorophenol ingredient currently mired in controversy.
Greg Rubin, CEO of Calabasas, Calif.-based Garcoa Labs, believes many retail buyers and consumers are confused by the bits and pieces they hear about triclosan.
For example, in an abstract posted online last November, the Environmental Health Perspectives journal noted that endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as triclosan might negatively impact human immune system function. The authors used data from the U.S. Government’s 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys to compare urinary triclosan (as well as bisphenol A, or BPA) with serum cytomegalovirus antibody levels and the diagnoses of allergies or hay fever in U.S. adults and children age ≥ 6 years. They found that higher levels of triclosan were associated with an allergy and/or hay fever diagnosis in the under-18 age group.
In a Nov. 30 press release, Richard Sedlak, senior vice president of technical and international affairs for the Washington, D.C.-based American Cleaning Institute, called the authors’ conclusions "speculation at its worst.” He claimed the researchers did not provide data to show a “problematic cause-and-effect from usage of such products as antibacterial soap containing triclosan.”
Still, FDA announced last April its intentions to review triclosan, as animal studies have shown that it alters hormone regulation. But the agency did also say that “triclosan is not currently known to be hazardous to humans."
It’s worth noting that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommend the use of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol — if soap and water are not available. CDC notes that alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs on the hands in some situations, but do not eliminate all types of germs.
Do help educate consumers about the health benefits of hand hygiene.
Don't miss out on opportunities to cross-merchandise personal-care sanitizers with household disinfectants during cold and flu and back-to-school seasons.