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How clean is your house? If sales of cleaning products are anything to go by, it should be sparkling. Despite their potential for commoditisation, manufacturers of these products continue to innovate and the sector is sustaining growth. Sales have jumped 13% over the past five years due to a spate of product launches to meet consumers' desire for convenience. But changing media patterns require creativity in promotion as well. Marketers will have to work hard if their brands are to shine.

Despite operating in a mature market, manufacturers of household cleaning products have managed to increase sales in recent years as a result of aggressive product development supported by heavy promotional spend.

According to Mintel, UK sales have risen by 13% over the past five years to £564m. More than 90% of adults now buy cleaning products, and penetration peaked last year at 98.3%.

Mintel identifies convenience as a key driver of the market. With the number of working women gradually increasing, tasks that used to be performed daily are now done when time permits.

Cash-rich, time-poor consumers are willing to pay a premium for labour-saving products. These include multi-purpose cleaners, products that do not require rinsing and easy-to-use delivery systems such as trigger sprays, aerosols, in-cistern toilet cleaners and wipes.

While rising levels of personal income mean consumers are more willing to pay for products with perceived added value, Mintel suggests the increase in one-person households could restrict demand, since use rises with household size.

There is an added threat in the stranglehold of the big supermarkets.

These will account for 92% of household cleaner and 83% of polish sales this year, and will continue to exert downward price pressure on the sector.

The supermarkets have captured share through continuous promotion, particularly everyday low pricing and discounts on multiple purchases. They have also been quick to emulate the innovation of branded products in their own-label offerings, which now account for 26% of the sector's total sales.

Market composition

Household cleaners make up 88% of the market's value, with polishes accounting for the remainder. Within the household cleaners segment, all-purpose and kitchen cleaners, toilet-care products and liquid bleach and disinfectants are the three biggest product areas, representing 79% of sales value.

Polish sales, meanwhile, are growing slowly, with the floor-polish segment performing best.

Five manufacturers dominate the UK market, accounting for an estimated 67% of cleaner and polish sales this year. Lever Faberge leads the market with a 22% share, reflecting the strength of its key brands Cif and Domestos.

Reckitt Benckiser, whose main brands are Harpic, Dettol, Windolene and Mr Sheen, and SC Johnson (Mr Muscle, Toilet Duck and Pledge) have 13% each, while Procter & Gamble (Flash and Viakal) has 12%. British company Jeyes, whose brands include Jeyes Fluid, Sanilav and Ibcol, lags behind the multinationals with a 7% share, but has seen considerable success in the toilet-care sector with Bloo and Parozone.

According to Nielsen Media Research, advertising expenditure in the sector equated to about 4% of retail sales value between 1999 and 2002, but a 54% hike in adspend last year - largely to support product launches - took this proportion to 6%. The big manufacturers all raised their spend in 2003, but the biggest increase came from Reckitt Benckiser, which ploughed £3.6m into the relaunch of its Dettox brand as Dettol. P&G raised investment significantly to support the Flash range, particularly the Express Extra and Orange variants, while Lever Faberge spent £2.4m promoting Cif Oxy-Gel.

To cut through the clutter, Lever Faberge has diversified its promotional spending by sponsoring the current series of How Clean is Your House? on Channel 4, with credits featuring Cif products. 'Forty per cent of housewives watch the programme, so it gives us a great opportunity to push home our brand message of tough cleaning made easy,' says Anamari Bishopp, household care category manager at Lever Faberge.

Ratings success

How Clean is Your House? has achieved ratings 150% above Channel 4's primetime average, and Mintel research shows both that cleaning is growing in popularity and that the penetration of cleaning products is higher in the UK than anywhere else in Europe.

According to Irina Barbalova, account manager for the household care industry at Euromonitor, UK consumers are far more receptive to new products than they are in Europe. But she warns that too much choice may be dangerous.

'We could get to the stage where there are too many products on the market,' she says. 'Consumers will react by returning to the tried and trusted detergents they have used for years.'

One trend that seems strangely missing, both from Mintel's research and a forthcoming Euromonitor report, is any rise in demand for environmentally friendly cleaning products. 'Consumers seem to rely on manufacturers to comply with environmental legislation, rather than seeking out green products themselves,' explains Mike Godliman, director of consultancy Pragma.

Cleaning services

One trend that is emerging - using paid cleaners in the home - might have more of an impact. Maria Elustando, consumer goods analyst at Mintel, suggests that within five to 10 years, the leading manufacturers might have wholesale departments selling direct to cleaning agencies, which would affect retail sales and could boost the market as a whole.

Steve Gotham, senior retail analyst at Verdict, believes there could be considerable potential for extending household cleaning brands into a service context, as Unilever attempted to do with its Myhome cleaning trial in 2000. 'The whole area of service will grow over the next five to 10 years,' he predicts. 'The Myhome concept is maybe an idea whose time is yet to come.'

HOUSEHOLD CLEANER SALES BY MANUFACTURER (UK)

2004 % of total 2001 % of total % point

(est) sales pounds m sales change

pounds m

Lever Faberge 119 25 109 24 1

Procter & Gamble 64 13 60 13 0

SC Johnson 44 9 41 9 0

Reckitt Benckiser 41 9 38 8 1

Jeyes 41 9 31 7 2

Other 38 8 40 9 -1

Own-label 134 28 128 29 -1

Total 482 100 447 100 0

Source: Mintel Note: Data may not equal totals due to rounding

HOUSEHOLD CLEANER SALES BY PRODUCT TYPE (UK)

% of % of

2004 total 2002 total %

(est) sales pounds sales change

pounds m m

All-purpose/kitchen cleaners 143 30 136 30 5.2

Toilet-care products 119 25 106 23 12.3

Liquid bleach/disinfectants 118 24 120 26 -1.7

Bathroom cleaners 50 10 49 11 2.0

Window cleaners 17 4 15 3 13.3

Carpet cleaners 15 3 16 3 -6.3

Limescale removers 13 3 12 3 8.3

Oven cleaners 7 1 7 2 0.0

Total 482 100 461 100 4.6

Source: Mintel Note: Data may not equal totals due to rounding

ADSPEND BY MANUFACTURER (UK)

2003 2002 2001 2000 % chnge

pounds m % pounds m % pounds m % pounds m % 2000-03

Reckitt Benckiser 9 28 4 19 5 28 4 19 125.0

Lever Faberge 9 28 7 33 4 22 5 24 80.0

Procter & Gamble 6 19 3 14 1 6 3 14 100.0

SC Johnson 5 16 6 29 5 28 7 33 -28.6

Jeyes 2 6 3 14 2 11 n/a n/a n/a

Others 1 3 n/a n/a 1 6 2 8 -50.0

Total 32 100 21 100 18 100 21 100 52.4

Source: Nielsen Media Research/Mintel Note: Data may not equal totals

due to rounding

ANALYST COMMENT

Maria Elustando Consumer goods analyst, Mintel

Product development has played a significant role in maintaining consumer interest in what is, from the consumer's point of view, a largely uninteresting sector.

Four or five years ago product development focused on new formats, such as mousses, gels and wipes. Then the manufacturers started to introduce 'natural' active ingredients such as oxygen.

More recently, they have turned their attention to appearance - both of the product and its packaging - and smell, introducing more natural and sophisticated fragrances. This year Lever Faberge launched Domestos Pink Power, a bleach with a spicy fragrance and pink packaging.

But the most significant development in terms of product format has been the impregnated disposable wipe, which has met the overriding demand for convenience in this sector. Variants are now available for all household cleaning sectors, from floors, work surfaces and carpets to toilets.

Window wipes have been particularly successful and have driven growth in a lacklustre sector. Lever Faberge claims its Cif Glass and Window Wipes, launched in 2001, have brought more than 2m new customers to the sector. Floor wipes have also seen strong growth, driven by the current popularity of laminate flooring.

But manufacturers must be careful that convenience doesn't compromise performance in the mind of the consumer. In November 2003 Lever Faberge announced it was to reformulate and relaunch the Cif range, since its easy-rinse formula may have been leading consumers to think that the brand was less effective and perhaps even 'soft' on cleaning.