The Asia-Pacific (APAC) household market is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.14% from US$62.2bn in 2018 to US$84.6bn in 2024. Out of this, the general purpose household cleaners’ category is projected to reach US$5.5bn in 2024 from US$4.3bn in 2018, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Enhanced sanitation standards, faster-paced lifestyles and rapid growth of the middle-class have led to constant changes in the purchasing behavior of APAC consumers for home-care products. Against this backdrop, brands are experimenting with their offerings and enhancing the scope of their household care products, right from fragrances inspired from different edible items to single-use packs for the consumers.

According to GlobalData 2018 Q4 consumer survey, 17% of consumers in the APAC region often like to experiment with new products in their household care and laundry products. GlobalData’s 2019 Q3 survey reveals that 11% of the APAC consumers buy household and laundry products several times a week.

Shagun Sachdeva, Consumer Insights Analyst at GlobalData says: “Continued focus on health and well-being entails a wider lifestyle shift in the APAC not only in terms of food consumption or personal care but also in home cleaning, which involves greater attention. In countries like India and China, rising disposable incomes have enabled the consumers to purchase better quality household care products.

“The APAC consumers are seeking more choices among different types of home-care and laundry products that can offer them safety, convenience, multi-functionality as well as sustainability. As a result, brands that are quick to evolve and adapt to changing consumers’ preferences and offer added value or differentiation at lower prices, will therefore prevail.”

Classic example to quote here is, Cuddly Concentrate fabric conditioner launched in Australia, offers unique combination of charcoal and lime for long-lasting freshness and to remove unwanted odours. Also, Japanese Joy Miracle Clean dishwashing foam spray is based on ‘Rakunology’ technology, which eliminates the need of scrubbing.

In the Indian household care market, consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the importance of hygiene and continue to seek familiar brands at affordable prices before looking at the health angle. Given that household care in India is price sensitive, manufacturers are focusing on lower-priced packaging to make their products more affordable and competitively priced.

At the same time, brands are addressing the unmet consumers’ needs through product innovations. Recently, Reckitt Benckiser has tried to venture into niche category where no other product exists by launching Lizol Cement Surface Cleaner.

Sachdeva concludes, “Scent-Sory appeal, green cleaning and targeting male consumers will, therefore, remain the key trends impacting innovation in household cleaning and laundry care. Brands need to move away from a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, recognizing the influence of social changes on male participation in household chores.

“In the future, we will witness retailers investing in private label lines and penetrating into different home care categories. With the growing presence of new brands and private labels in the market, APAC consumers will continue to push for lower prices and sustainability.”