What Comes Next: Essential Features Driving Next-Gen Cleaning Products

Currently, market demand requires manufacturers to focus on cleaning products that blend green chemistry and health-focused formats. Multi-functional cleaning solutions (enzyme-powered and plant-based alternatives), bio-based surfactants, and refillable packaging for waste reduction are prominent trends shaping the business landscape. The global biosurfactants market in 2025 is valued at around USD 4.91 billion and is expected to reach approximately USD 6.71 billion by 2032, with a 4.5% CAGR, despite heavy cost competition from synthetic surfactants. Additionally, EPA’s Safer Choice program signals a mandatory shift toward hypoallergenic, non-toxic products.

Let us delve into the key features shaping next-generation cleaning products that align with customer preferences and market dynamics, enabling strategic product development.

Critical Features Fostering Competitive Advantage in the Cleaning Business Landscape

1. Smart Simplicity: Multi-Functional Innovations

There is a shift towards multifunctional solutions; hypoallergenic and multi-surface that do not compromise on effectiveness while simplifying routines. One such innovative solution is Polyesterase Lipolytic enzymes, which protect synthetic textiles by preserving them against graying and piling while breaking down stains. These enzymes function similarly across diverse laundering conditions and fabrics, thereby extending the lifespan of the textile.

Real-world Example: Novozymes’ products are other exemplary innovations, such as Evity enzymes, engineered for high performance in cold, eco-friendly, and short wash cycles, where enzymes are designed to provide impressive stain removal and proper fabric care at low temperatures, helping minimize water and energy consumption. For instance, Lipex Evity 200 L is particularly effective in targeting greasy, fatty, and oily stains in cold washes.

Strategic Implications: Market leaders should capture the cold-wash space amid rising demand for energy saving among environmentally aware customers. Invest in high-performing, multipurpose enzyme-enabled cleaners to ensure efficiency in cold-wash formats and meet sustainability demands. Also, investing in modular active systems provides adequate SKU flexibility and simplifies the product portfolio, thereby benefiting businesses. 

2. Sustainable by Design: Trustworthy Green Chemistry

In the home and laundry care segment, there is a rising demand for transparency, verifiable environmental impact, and traced ingredients, which supports the biosurfactants market. Therefore, incorporate sustainable designs by opting for green chemistry across the cleaning products value chain to gaining strategic advantage in the market. 

Regulatory readiness for cleaning products consists of promoting green chemistry, complying strictly with FIFRA and TSCA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act), and ensuring greater oversight while working closely with suppliers focused on sustainable materials.

Real-world Example: Surfactant innovation, such as the use of biotechnology-derived Rhamnolipids and Sucrose Esters, replaces LAS and SLES (petrochemical surfactants) without compromising cleaning effectiveness or performance. Croda developed a surfactant liquid blend utilizing highly ethoxylated ester-based polymer technology that provides thickening in surfactant-rich home care formulas, eliminating the need for pre-solubilization. Croda’s 97% bio-based blend enables high surfactant loads while promoting formula stability and minimizing dependence on fossil fuels.

Strategic Implications: It is time for firms to future-proof their cleaning formulations to meet regulatory requirements and alleviate potential risks related to transparency and customer trust. Sustainable designs are also beneficial for reducing waste disposal and mitigating logistical issues. This shift highlights a key move towards green chemistry principles with both ingredient and format-level innovations.

3. Fragrance as Differentiator and Brand Experience

Using fragrance, from avoiding unpleasant chemical smells to transforming laundry or home cleaning into a pleasant sensory experience, is a new trend. 

Real-world Example: Latin American customers often prefer citrus scents, while Northern European customers usually favor floral aromas. However, it’s important to consider the impact of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and phthalates to reduce negative health effects, such as allergies and respiratory issues, associated with different fragrances.

Advanced fragrance delivery through cellulose-based microcapsules embedded in guar-derived biopolymers releases scent, maintaining freshness and sensory appeal. Cif Infinite Clean probiotic spray by Unilever exemplifies effective sensory design as it continues delivering cleaning benefits with beneficial bacteria for days. Additionally, it is safe for children and pets, highlighting how product experience and brand differentiation are achieved through the blending of bioscience and fragrance.

Strategic Implication: Fragrance is a next-generation feature in cleaning products that companies can leverage to enhance brand experiences. Use fragrance build a brand asset. Also, market leaders can harness advanced delivery systems to differentiate while ensuring the removal of VOCs and phthalates, leading to premium positioning.  

4. Private Label: Value-Oriented and Responsive

There is a swift shift toward value-oriented labels and private-label lines in the cleaning products space. Gen Z and Millennials prefer modern home care products, such as detergents, to traditional floor cleaners and hand washes. 

Real-world Example: Beco, Koparo, Born Good, and Bare Necessities use clean, plant-based goods within home care products to attract new-age customers. Another example of a private label boasting clean-ingredient formulations is Everspring by Target, which features ultra-concentrated and refillable formats. 

Strategic Implication: To be precise, the cleaning product manufacturing process should be agile and offer modular solutions, enabling brands to quickly customize their offerings by creating variants and layering scents.

5. Format Innovation: Laundry Sheets 

Compact, waterless, plastic-free, and dissolvable laundry sheets gained popularity for their eco-friendly attributes. Format innovation is vital as biodegradable laundry sheets are improving through advancements in PVA alternatives and surfactant matrix design. 

Real-life Example: Tide Evo Tiles by P&G launched layered strips that eliminate the need for plastic bottles and completely dissolve in cold water. 

Strategic Implication: Industry players should leverage this format’s transformative power to reduce shipping weight and harness its great potential for embedding softener layers.

Final Words

Attributes ranging from sensory pleasure and efficiency to circularity and ecological integrity are shaping the future of cleaning products, grounded in innovation and customer preferences. Therefore, businesses striving to lead the marketplace should proactively adopt future-focused approaches and offer multi-purpose cleaners, utilizing sustainable packaging and natural ingredients. It is also recommended to evoke positive customer emotions through sensory-rich experiences and build agile systems, ensuring rapid differentiation to fortify future growth.

With tighter regulations on surfactant bans and microplastic restrictions, ecolabel requirements are becoming standard in the cleaning products industry. Therefore, businesses that invest proactively in biodegradable ingredients and microplastic-free binders strengthen their market position and sustain high risk tolerance, thereby meeting customers’ preferences for environmentally responsible practices.

Stellarix helps navigate regulatory risks, sustainability demands, and the innovation challenges that persist in the home and laundry care sector through its cutting-edge R&D and sustainability consulting services, helping companies stay ahead of the curve amid transient market trends and rapidly shifting consumer preferences.