Humanity Begins At Home

COVID-19 has encouraged engagement with homecare products, which means that brands are uniquely positioned. Homecare brands have been crucial consumer allies throughout the pandemic. They have kept people safe and helped create a more comfortable and relaxing atmosphere while people have been spending more time at home.

At its core, wellness is a lifestyle and even a culture. Achieving true mental and physical wellness results from many small changes. Diet, exercise, meditation, reducing exposure to toxins, and even cleaning are now all components of the wellness routine.

The UK has seen a 22% uplift in sales of ethical cleaning products since 2019.

WHAT DOES ‘ECO-FRIENDLY’ MEAN TO YOU?

We are all thinking more and more about making sustainable choices at home. We separate our waste, use less plastic, and look for ways to make our household more sustainable.’

Sustainability remains a key consideration for consumers in 2021, with 32% of consumers highly engaged with adopting a more sustainable lifestyle.

One-third said they planned to spend more on eco-friendly products in FMCG this year than the previous year. Environmental issues are front of mind for consumers, with 67% reporting actively reducing their plastic consumption. However, affordability is critical if consumers are to make a permanent switch.

Cleaning products have been extremely important during the pandemic because they are now part of consumers’ safety strategy. People want assurance that they are killing the virus and preventing its spread, and they especially want to know that they’re using the right products at the right time and in the right way to reduce their risk of getting sick.

When Marcel began thinking about how to create all his products, he thought long and hard about exactly what ‘eco-friendly’ meant. For himself personally, in his everyday life and the wider society. Specifically, those small, positive changes that can be made as a community and the larger impact they can have…

•Leave as little trace as possible

•Reuse, recycle & reduce material goods and consumption as much as we are able

•Be kind to all creatures, big and small. We stand against all animal testing!

•Respect our environment and nature, which means never using any harmful or toxic chemicals which will go back into the eco-system

Due to the global pandemic, we are still seeing sales of household cleaning products rise. (value +9.2%, volume +7.7%)!

ETHICAL SHOPPERS The pandemic marked a turning point for some consumers regarding ethical food and drink. By the end of 2020, around a third of consumers (29%) said sustainability or ethical ingredients mattered more to them due to the pandemic, and 18% said supply chain ethics were ‘essential’ when deciding which products to buy.

Germ-killing and efficacy were high on consumer demands from hygiene products during the pandemic, taking priority over eco-ethical claims.

Even music-streaming tools like Spotify have teamed up with cleaning brands for ‘cleaning playlists’ that help transform a chore into a wellness routine. This points to growth potential during the pandemic and beyond. This suggests a host of partnership opportunities for household care brands to forge stronger links between homecare and wellness.

While recent years have seen an increase in consumer preference for all-purpose cleaners, the lockdown lifestyle presents a unique opportunity for brands to develop more emotional marketing around healthful activities and the specialized cleaners they require.

For example, 64% of US adults exercise at home, suggesting growth potential for exercise-specific cleaners.