An experience beyond scent

Yvette Krubl
corporate communications 
manager, CEE
Procter&Gamble

Procter & Gamble’s experience is that Lenor customers are highly brand loyal. More compact formulas and the expansion of the Lenor Fresh Air super-compact product range serve to increase the value of the product offering. The iconic Spring Awakening continues to be a key product from Lenor.

“We are working on a number of new products that will offer Lenor fans new formulas, even longer-lasting freshness and fragrances that appeal to the senses”,

says Yvette Krubl, Procter & Gamble’s corporate communications manager in Central Europe.

Channel restructuring

Discount stores, drugstores and hypermarkets have remained the three most important channels, together accounting for 69% of value sales. The margin freeze regulation had a big influence on competition between channels. As a result, drugstores improved their position in price competition, which led to a considerable increase in the channel’s share: it moved up to second place with a 24% share.

The position of manufacturer brands (with a share of 94.2 per cent) has remained dominant

Zsuzsa Petrikovics
laundry brand manager
Unilever Magyarország

Unilever Magyarország Kft. achieved good results in the fabric softener category in 2025 – Coccolino sales grew by 15% in value, making it the leading brand. Coccolino also entered the laundry fragrance segment in 2025: the liquid scent booster acquired a market share of nearly 10% in the first months after its launch.

“In 2026 Coccolino will get comprehensive media support with high-reach online and offline tools, focusing primarily on innovations”,

says laundry brand manager Zsuzsa Petrikovics.

Emotional connection

In 2025 scent became the most important factor in consumer decisions. An intense, long-lasting scent is now a basic expectation, which must remain noticeable on clothes even after washing. There continues to be strong demand for sensitive product variants. The demand for natural ingredients is less dominant in the fabric softener category at the moment, but it shows growth potential in the longer term. Herbow and Souldrops performed well above the market average in 2025, with both brands achieving double-digit growth. Within the company’s portfolio laundry perfumes have become dominant.

Ottó Németh
CEO
Herbow

“It was an important milestone that we launched the Herbow 3in1 Laundry Perfume-Fabric Softener Concentrate in the last quarter of 2025”,

underlines Ottó Németh, the CEO of Herbow.

Anita Csikai
marketing manager
Herbow

“The communication and positioning of the two brands are different from each other. Herbow is based on natural, gentle and reliable solutions, while Souldrops appeals to its audience with its youthful, dynamic character”,

explains marketing manager Anita Csikai.

New categories

Dávid Papp
CEO
PlanetLine

Shoppers continue to make conscious decisions based on the price-value ratio. As a result, it has become common to buy larger products and duopacks. The role of alternative fragrance solutions continued to strengthen in 2025. Scent beads and laundry perfumes already account for around 7% of the entire category and have recorded double-digit growth. PlanetLine reports that Violeta fabric softeners produced major growth in 2025, not only in value but also in volume.

“In 2025 one of the big steps forward was the launch of the 1.55-litre Violeta Mystic fabric softener, which was inspired by a niche, premium perfume fragrance”,

says CEO Dávid Papp.

Dávid Fedor
marketing manager
Planet Line Hungary

“In 2026 we will further strengthen messages based on the fragrance experience, digital presence and targeted influencer appearances in Violeta’s communication”,

informs marketing manager Dávid Fedor.