Suppliers Meet Demands

Business gets done at the American Cleaning Institute Annual Meeting & Industry Convention. Onsite meetings are held to discuss issues surrounding the multibillion-dollar cleaning industry. Orders are written and problems resolved. In between meetings, suppliers take timeout to discuss the latest trends impacting the global cleaning market and how their new product developments meet consumer needs. 

DSM-Firmenich’s offsite Sensorium took visitors out of the conference room and into the consumer’s psyche. The 2025 Sensorium, dubbed Connect, gave customers an opportunity to explore how fragrance, innovation and technology align with the evolving desires and priorities of tomorrow’s consumer. Global Creative Director Bobby Chow took reporters through DSM-Firmenich’s proprietary, NewNextNow Barometer Study. The most recent wave, Wave 6, conducted in 2024 across 20 countries and involving 12,000 participants, highlights consumer groups such as Social Seekers, Healthy Heroes, Grounded Realists and Brave Explorers, and how fragrance can uniquely connect and inspire each market.

“We’re looking at consumers of the future and figuring out what they need,” explained Chow.

For example, Brave Explorers want newness; 61% of them experiment with new products. For this group, fragrance transforms an ordinary routine into an extraordinary one. In contrast, Grounded Realists are pragmatic and budget conscious. Ninety-one percent of them make a clean, healthy home a priority. 

“We’re able to specific scents that impact the consumer and discuss these with clients,” explained Patty Amarose, senior director of global home care marketing. “Our Sensorium brings our creativity to life!”

The science comes to life as well. Through its Barometer Study, DSM-Firmenich learned that 82% of global consumers seek long-lasting freshness. Introduced more than two decades ago, Popscent capsules break with friction, releasing the scent. More recently, DSM-Firmenich launched Popscent Eco, a REACH-compliant, natural-origin fragrance capsule and Popscent Eco Max, a natural-origin fragrance capsule made with 100% biodegradable ingredients. Similarly, DSM-Firmenich’s Haloscent profragrance technology continuously releases perfumery raw materials over time. The Haloscent palette includes seven varieties, from fruity (Berry Boost) to floral (Iris Violet). Haloscents are activated by air, enzymes or biome to continuously release raw materials over time to amplify sensorial experiences.

Sustainability at BASF

BASF is committed to enabling the transformation of green, sustainable chemistry for its customers, explained Mary Kurian, president, Care Chemicals, BASF.

“Nobody is debating this transformation, but the speed of the transformation varies,” she said. “At BASF, we stand by our targets. We will achieve net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. We will continue to pursue green energy.”

Green chemistry, too. Last year, BASF introduced Lavergy M Ace 100 L, a mannanase liquid enzyme that is said to provide exceptional cleaning in cold water. Of course, the company offers a large selection of alkyl polyglucosides (APGs). These nonionic surfactants are made from sugar derived from corn and fatty alcohols obtained from palm kernel oil or coconut oil.

An Expansion at Lygos

At the 2024 ACI Convention, Lygos had recently rolled out Soltellus, a line of multifunctional, water-soluble polymers for home care. Since then, Soltellus has become commercially available and has been formulated into a couple of brands on store shelves, according to Eric Steen, president, Lygos. 

“Our mission is to move the industry toward sustainable solutions,” said Steen. 

Basic laundry detergent and automatic dishwash detergent chassis include surfactants, enzymes, chelates and non-biodegradable polymers. Soltellus is an alternative to polyacrylate and improves performance with less material, according to Lygos.

“We bring a customizable polymer to the market that enables formulators to create an entirely biodegradable product that still performs,” insisted Steen.

According to Lygos, in laundry detergents, Soltellus prevents stain redeposition and enhances the soil- and stain-fighting power. In dish detergents, it reduces spotting and filming of glassware. In homecare, it improves the soap and limescale removal in cleaners.  To meet demand for Soltellus, Lygos teamed with CJ Bio America to build a biorefinery in Webster County, Iowa. The refinery will be near the Crossroads of Global Innovation industrial park outside Fort Dodge. 

When completed, the site will initially produce up to 40,000 metric tons of Soltellus a year. Construction is expected to be completed within 18-24 months.

Innovation Showcase

For the 10th year in a row, ACI offered an Innovation Showcase. Speakers had 10 minutes to detail the benefits of their products and processes. Attendees had the opportunity to discuss the products with the presenters, too.

In the biodegradable ingredients showcase, BASF’s Lillian Ma detailed the benefits of BVERDE GP 790 L. This modified polysaccharide provides the performance of acrylate chemistry, yet is readily biodegradable ingredient with 79% biobased content. According to BASF, compared to acrylic-based chemistry, BVERDE GP 790 L has better compatibility with standard detergent formulations, yielding a clear and homogenous product.

Clariant’s Fabrizio Mazzeo extolled the virtues of GlucoPure Sense, a co-surfactant in hand dishwashing liquid and laundry detergents. According to Mazzeo, it provides excellent fabric care benefits to laundry products combined with good cleaning performance. It can also be used as a foam stabilizer in manual dishwashing liquids and improves the skin feel of dishwash liquids. Finally, when used as a rinse surfactants in ADDs, it reduces spotting and filming on dishes. 

Corbion’s Esther Lansdaal explained how lactic acid can help solve green disinfection and preservation challenges. In surface care, it acts as a descaling agent and soap scum remover. It also has disinfecting and preserving properties. In dishwash formulas, it has preservation and antimicrobial properties, and even hydrates skin. Finally, in laundry care, it aids preservation, helps clean the washer, reduces malodor and helps maintain fabric colors.

Priti Pharkya, Future Origins, detailed the benefits of Nalo, a palm oil alternative. She called it the world’s first, non-palm, drop-in C12-C14 fatty alcohol made by fermenting plant-based feedstocks. Nalo has a significantly lower carbon footprint. It gives formulators a consistent alternative supply source.

Indorama’s Surfonic H-1000 is an anionic hydrotrope that is 100% natural derived and biodegradable, according to Thom Stephens. It enables formulators to use less material, while improving cleaning performance due to its synergistic detergency.

Pilot Chemical’s biobased internal olefin sulfonate (Bio-IOS) is a primary surfactant that delivers competitive performance to traditional surfactants, according to Christina May. In manual dish detergent formulas, it removes grease better than traditional surfactants. Bio-IOS was developed by Kao, which partnered with Pilot to bring the technology to North America.

The session’s final presenter, Charlie Silver of Ruby Bio, explained the benefits of the company’s Ruby GL portfolio. These biosurfactants are natural glycolipids produced by naturally-occuring yeast. They can replace SLS/SLES as solubilizers, foaming agents and detergents. 

The second showcase started off with a bang when Kyle Erikson detailed how Clorox used digital tools to bring Clorox Toilet Bomb to market. 

“The toilet is still the top pain point for consumers,” said Erikson.

By understanding consumer tension, making leap of faith assumptions and placing big bets, Clorox was able to cut six months out of product development. Once Toilet Bomb reached store shelves, Clorox continued to capture consumer learnings.

Solutions from Croda, Dow, IFF, Univar and More

Microplastics continue to be in the news and in our water. Croda’s Scott Jaynes explained how Coltide Radiance biopolymer fabric softener additive provides garment and fiber protection, improves softness and helps colors last. It is an alternative to silicone additives. After one wash, it improved fiber loss by 50% and after four washes, Coltide Radiance improved fiber loss by 40%.

Serge Creutz explained how Dow’s Acusol Prime 2 polymer offers formulators a biodegradable and biobased dispersant alternative, while ensuring shine performance. In fact, it demonstrated improved performance compared to biodegradable dispersant alternatives already on the market.

IFF’s Arjen Hoekstra told attendees that 54% of US adults who do laundry would be interested in a product that extends the life of the clothing. And 44% of US adults who do laundry consider color preservation an important factor when buying laundry detergent. The company’s new Polyesterase removes fuzz and pills on PET fibers. It is engineered to be compatible with liquid laundry detergents.

Ethan Solomon of Lanxess detailed the benefits of Oxone oxidizing agent. A potassium monopersulfate, it is odorless, chlorine-free, fast-reacting and demonstrates excellent performance against hard-to-treat stains, according to Solomon. It is also compatible with stainless steel and fabrics and has a good safety profile.

Shell Chemical’s Anindya Ghosal presented Neodol AE. She called it safer alternatives to Nonyl Phenol Ethoxylates with better performance. Neodol AE is readily biodegradable and has been shown to be effectively removed through wastewater treatment.

Jim Griffin, Southern Chemical and Textiles, asked attendees to reimagine cleansing with SCT’s Zero fully formulated surfactant system in granule and flake form. The Zero solid surfactant technology significantly reduces plastic waste in personal care and home care products. It enables chemists to create innovative formulas without the need for water and plastic packaging. Zero offers flexibility to create unique product forms, providing versatile and convenient solutions, he concluded.

Finally, Brandon Beyer, Univar Solutions, explained how surface modification leads to next level cleaning. On hard surfaces, polymers adsorb to surfaces during initial washing, creating a protective barrier. The barrier resists soil, reduces dry time and makes the next time. In fabric care, Care cellulases specifically target and cut cellulose fibrils (pills). Using a combination of Care and Cleaning cellulases modifies a cotton surface to reduce particulate redeposition, restore color and brightness, and improve fabric softness. •