Fabric softeners with exotic fragrances and attractive packaging

The market of fabric softeners is expanding dynamically in Hungary. There has been a shift in consumption towards concentrates and manufacturers are reducing the assortments of normal softeners. – Expansion is driven by special fragrances and the growth of the premium category – says Zsolt Karancsi from Procter & Gamble. Flasks are still the most popular from of packaging, while medium sizes account for an increasing part of sales. Bigger than 1 litre sizes accounted for one third of total sales in 2007. The 1,5-2 litre category expanded from 15 to 19 per cent in 2007. Hyper markets are the largest sales channel. Traditional colours like blue, white and pink still dominate the market. Blue still holds a market share of 24 per cent. Consumers are increasingly open to special colours like red. Fragrance is also an important consideration for consumers. Aroma therapy products are becoming increasingly popular. Bip Emotion and Bip Hawaii Sunset are the new fabric softeners launched by EVM Zrt in compliance with this trend, while Bip Soft&Relax concentrates have also been modernised. As Two Creme versions of Coccolino have been launched successfully by Unilever. The large floor space of hyper markets allows special fragrance versions to be sold. The effectiveness of TV advertising is declining, while more money is being allocated to POS promotion than before. Channel specific packaging and placement is also becoming increasingly important. Red and deep black packaging has appeared on shelves and new shapes have also been introduced for flasks. Manufacturers often use chain-specific promotions, multi-packs and overfills. Internet communication also plays a growing role in promoting softeners. The Coccolino web site allows potential customers to become familiar with the wide product range and can also get advice regarding the fragrance which would fit her personality best. Customers of fabric softeners are generally open to innovation. Private labels account for only 6 per cent of the market in terms of value and their market share is falling. Demand for hypoallergenic products is growing dynamically. All major manufacturers have such products which are often sold with hypoallergenic washing powders. Henkel will soon launch Silan Sensitive, while Bip and EVM already have hypoallergenic products on the shelves.