COVER STORY

Innospec sustainable and innovative “Blue Ocean” formulations to meet today’s consumers’ needs in Home Care, I&I

Natural astaxanthin for a healthy, glowing skin

Have you ever seen a puddle of water that seemed to be turning red? Or a dark red stain in a bird bath or fountain? You might have been looking at algae making astaxanthin. They make it when times are hard – when their puddle is drying out, nutrients are low, or the sunlight is too intense. It helps them survive harsh conditions, and as it turns out, we can learn from them.

Introduction

Sustainability is still one of the topics closer to people's hearts. At Innospec, we are attentive to the needs and priorities of consumers and are committed to offering solutions that perform sustainably. Nowadays, "sustainable cleaning" is at the heart of the purchasing choices of consumers, who are fully informed and attentive with respect to the impact that the products they buy can cause to the ecosystem.


Room cleaning - especially household cleaning and with particular focus in this historical period - has seen a dramatic increase. Consumers' needs and attentions to the environment have presented an opportunity for us to market ourselves with increasingly innovative and environmentally friendly solutions and technologies, without undermining their effectiveness and performance.


Through the Home Care, I&I Center of Excellence team, based in Castiglione delle Stiviere, Italy, we think, design and formulate new sustainable solutions to meet consumer needs, based on market trends and requirements. Our research and development team creates new formulations based on our broad portfolio of dry surfactants, which are ideal for creating solid formulas that reduce the use of single-use plastics and limit water transport. Solid formats also allow us to rethink packaging and explore waste-free solutions.

We designed and created new exciting formulations, all linked by three key concepts: sustainability, innovation, and customer/consumer positioning. Keep reading to find out more about Innospec “Blue Ocean” formulations!

LAS-FREE Laundry liquid tabs

This formulation cares about the environment because of its low water content and is suitable with unit dose and sustainable packaging, such as glass, aluminum and paper. We have chosen a glass jar with wooden top, a nice pack that stands out from the crowd and can be reused, bringing a significant impact on the final carbon footprint of the packaging.

The formulation main feature is – as its name suggests – its LAS (Linear Alkylbenzene Sulfonates) free content, keeping its performance constant and long-lasting effectiveness.


Car shampoo tablets

The key feature of this formulation is its innovative method of use. It is a free-flowing Alkalyne (must have in the Car Care market) powder with great soil removal properties, ideal to be shaped in tabs. It has good wetting and good foaming properties as well: with little product and good, stable foam, it is possible to cover more surface with excellent washing properties.

A reusable paper envelope is the packaging we’ve suggested for this innovative car care formula.

Manual Dishwash Paste

This paste formulation stands out given that, being super concentrate, only a small quantity is needed to wash properly applying it directly to the sponge from the dispenser. Given its gelly consistency, it can be customized and stored into a broad range of packaging/design. Our innovative packaging suggestion is a toothpaste-shaped packaging, quite surprising for the application, but so easy and fun to use!

Powder Toilet Bomb

Powder toilet bomb is our effervescent delivery system. It’s the perfect solution to clean the toilet environmentally friendly! So easy to use: drop the paper pouch into the toilet bowl; the water-soluble packaging immediately dissolves and the product fizzes and foams while helping remove the limescale. Only few minutes, flush away and get a sparkling result.


It has good foaming properties and is easy and funny to use. Its key properties are represented by its sustainability and versatility, given that it can be stored in eco-friendly packaging and can be customizable according to customers’ wishes.

More ‘Blue Ocean’ formulations are available here

References and notes

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  3. Labrecque LavdE, Jonas and Mathwick, Charla and Novak, Thomas and Hofacker, Charles. Consumer Power: Evolution in the Digital Age. Journal of Interactive Marketing 2013;27.
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  5. Galaz GA. Chapter 20 - An Overview on the History of Sports Nutrition Beverages. In: Bagchi D, Nair S, Sen CK, editors. Nutrition and Enhanced Sports Performance. San Diego: Academic Press; 2013. p. 205-10.
  6. Bird SP. Creatine supplementation and exercise performance: a brief review. J Sports Sci Med. 2003;2(4):123-32.
  7. Schofield L. Vitamin Retailer The Dietary Supplement Industry Leading Magazine 2022 (Available from: https://vitaminretailer.com/activating-your-fitness-nutrition-department/.
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  9. Tartar JL, Kalman D, Hewlings S. A Prospective Study Evaluating the Effects of a Nutritional Supplement Intervention on Cognition, Mood States, and Mental Performance in Video Gamers. Nutrients. 2019;11(10).