Air Care - UK - September 2019

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Products covered in this Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The market
Air care market weakens
Figure 1: Best- and worst-case forecast of UK retail value sales of air care products, 2014-24
Companies and brands
Private label continues to dominate non-electric air fresheners
Figure 2: Brand shares in value sales of continuous non-electric air fresheners, year ending March 2019
Continuous electric air fresheners struggle to register presence
Figure 3: Brand shares in value sales of continuous electric air fresheners, year ending March 2019
Manual air fresheners witness slump
Figure 4: Brand shares in value sales of manual air fresheners, year ending March 2019
Air care NPD witnesses decline
Figure 5: New product development in the air care products category, by sub-category, January 2016-July 2019
The consumer
Decline in consumer usage across all air care
Figure 6: Usage of air care products in the last 12 months, May 2018 and July 2019
Consumers show clear desire for natural products
Figure 7: Behaviours around buying air care products, July 2019
Category perception shifts from functional requirements to emotional needs
Figure 8: Reasons for using air care products, July 2019
Potential for brands to tap desire for personalisation
Figure 9: Interest in innovative air care products, July 2019
Cleaning products act as source of fragrance
Figure 10: Air care behaviours in the last 12 months, July 2019
Transparency concerns acting as a barrier
Figure 11: Attitudes towards air care products, July 2019
What we think
ISSUES AND INSIGHTS
Be transparent about the ingredients
The facts
The implications
Category shifts from functional to wellbeing
The facts
The implications
THE MARKET – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Air care market weakens
Non-electrical air fresheners continue to rule
Discounters gain significant momentum
Desire for personalisation could intensify further
Dire need for greater transparency on ingredients
MARKET SIZE AND FORECAST
Air care market weakens
Own-label exerts more influence
Opportunity for wellbeing-based growth
Figure 12: UK retail value sales and forecast of air care products, at current and constant prices, 2014-24
Stagnation expected in air care market
Figure 13: Best- and worst-case forecast of UK retail value sales of air care products, 2014-24
Forecast methodology
MARKET SEGMENTATION
Non-electrical air fresheners continue to rule
Figure 14: UK retail value sales of air care products, by segment, 2017-19 (est)
Manual and continuous air fresheners continue to decline
CHANNELS TO MARKET
Discounters gain significant momentum
Figure 15: UK retail value sales of air care products, by outlet type, 2017-19 (est)
Own-label provides a way back for grocery multiples
MARKET DRIVERS
Consumer desire for personalisation will enable category growth
Decline in population of younger age groups
Figure 16: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, 2013-23
The Brexit influence on the air care market
Figure 17: Trends in consumer sentiment for the coming year, January 2009-July 2019
Impact of health concerns households with children
Figure 18: How respondents described their financial situation, by any children in household, July 2019
Household cleaning products extend the functional benefit of fragrance
Need for greater transparency on product ingredients
Clean air for healthy living
COMPANIES AND BRANDS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Own-label stands out across categories
Air care NPD witnesses decline
Rise in NPD of floral fragrances
Intensified adspend by air care brands in 2018
Air care could move from being seasonal to year-round consumer need
Yankee Candles focuses on wellbeing
MARKET SHARE
Own-label continues to dominate non-electric air fresheners
Figure 19: Brand shares in value sales of continuous non-electric air fresheners, years ending March 2018 and 2019
Continuous electric air fresheners struggle to register presence
Figure 20: Brand shares in value sales of continuous electric air fresheners, years ending March 2018 and 2019
Manual air fresheners witness slump
Figure 21: Brand shares in value sales of manual air fresheners, years ending March 2018 and 2019
LAUNCH ACTIVITY AND INNOVATION
Category NPD declines for the first time since 2013
Figure 22: New product development in the air care products category, by sub-category, January 2016-July 2019
Rise in launch of new varieties and extensions in air care
Figure 23: New product development in the air care products category, by launch type, January 2016-July 2019
Figure 24: Examples of new variety/extensions with seasonal/limited edition claim, 2018
Yankee Candles wins the NPD battle
Figure 25: New product development in the air care products category, by top ultimate companies and other, 2018
Figure 26: Examples of NPD from Yankee Candle innovations, 2018
Figure 27: Examples of new product launches by Sainsbury’s, July 2018-July 2019
The upsurge of own-label within a declining category
Figure 28: New product development in the air care products category, own-label vs branded, January 2016-July 2019
Figure 29: Examples of own-label candle launches with seasonal claims, 2018
Lidl enters the luxury candle segment
Figure 30: Lidl’s new luxury candle range, February 2019
AromaWorks enters exclusive agreement with Sainsbury’s
Figure 31: AromaWorks Balance Natural Home Fragrance Candle, August 2018
Category shifting from functional benefits to emotional wellbeing
Figure 32: Leading claims in the air care products category, based on top claims for 2017 and 2018
Figure 33: New product launches with botanical/herbal claims, July 2018-July 2019
Brands have factored in environmental concerns, but not all
Figure 34: New product launches with ethical – environmentally friendly package and ethical – recycling claims, July 2018-July 2019
Floral fragrances increase in popularity
Figure 35: Leading fragrances in the air care products category, based on top fragrance component groups, January 2017-July 2019
Figure 36: New product launches with rose and lavender fragrances, July 2018-July 2019
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING ACTIVITY
Rise in adspend in 2018 against declining NPD
Figure 37: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on air care products, January 2015-July 2019
Yankee Candle reduces above-the-line spend
Figure 38: Yankee Candle Charming Scents TV advert, 2018
Figure 39: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on air care products, by leading advertisers, January 2017-July 2019
Ambi Pur and Febreze went for cinema ads
Figure 40: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on air care products, by media type, January 2015-July 2019
Air care could move from being seasonal to year-round consumer need
Figure 41: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on air care products, by month, 2015-18
Figure 42: Yankee Candle Garden Hideaway Collection to launch in January 2020 as publicised on the Yankee Candle website
Yankee Candle brings Christmas to July
Figure 43: Yankee Candle “Christmas in July” Tweet, July 2019
Air Wick Pure extends into the botanical/herbal category
Figure 44: Air Wick Pure essential oils collection, March 2018
Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
BRAND RESEARCH
Brand map
Figure 45: Attitudes towards and usage of selected brands, July 2019
Key brand metrics
Figure 46: Key metrics for selected brands, July 2019
Wax Lyrical’s botanical and natural products resonates with customers’ health and wellbeing concerns
Figure 47: Attitudes, by brand, July 2019
Yankee Candle perceived as a fun brand
Figure 48: Brand personality – Macro image, July 2019
Febreze seen as effective and reliable
Figure 49: Brand personality – Micro image, July 2019
Brand analysis
Yankee Candle plays on consumers’ emotional wellbeing
Figure 50: User profile of Yankee Candle, July 2019
Febreze fulfils functional needs of air care consumers
Figure 51: User profile of Febreze, July 2019
Glade favoured by high income group Millennials
Figure 52: User profile of Glade, July 2019
Perceived as a family brand, Air Wick favoured by all income groups
Figure 53: User profile of Air Wick, July 2019
Wax Lyrical’s natural perception appeals equally to men and women
Figure 54: User profile of Wax Lyrical, July 2019
THE CONSUMER – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Decline in consumer usage across all air care
Category perception shifts from functional requirements to emotional needs
Consumers show clear desire for natural products
Potential for brands to tap into desire for personalisation
Cleaning products act as source of fragrance
Transparency concerns acting as a barrier
USAGE OF AIR CARE PRODUCTS
Decline in scented candles and scented oils
Figure 55: Usage of air care products in the last 12 months, May 2018 and July 2019
Consumer interest in car air fresheners lowers
Air care repertoire narrows
Figure 56: Repertoire of air care products used in the last 12 months, May 2018 and July 2019
REASONS FOR USING AIR CARE PRODUCTS
From functional requirements to emotional needs
Consumers underline the need for a pleasant atmosphere
Figure 57: Reasons for using air care products, July 2019
AIR CARE BUYING BEHAVIOURS
Consumers stick to preferred formats …
… but are spending more on them
Figure 58: Behaviours around buying air care products, July 2019
Consumers show a clear desire for natural products
Transparency about ingredients is a vital consumer need
CONSUMER INTEREST IN INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS
Potential for brands to tap into desire for personalisation
Figure 59: Interest in innovative air care products, July 2019
Technology enablement in air care has a long way to go
Convince consumers about benefits to fetch premium
AIR CARE BEHAVIOURS IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS
Cleaning products act as source of fragrance
Figure 60: Air care behaviours in the last 12 months, July 2019
Millennials driving experimentation in category
Air quality becomes of greater concern
ATTITUDES TOWARDS AIR CARE PRODUCTS
Transparency concerns acting as a barrier
Figure 61: Attitudes towards air care products, July 2019
Understanding of naturality and healthiness
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES, ABBREVIATIONS AND SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Abbreviations
Consumer research methodology
Forecast methodology