When it comes to the scent of fresh laundry, people’s fragrance preferences are as individual as ever. This is why the fragrance spectrum has been expanded immensely. While a generation or two ago, there was only a handful of fragrances to choose from, today the infinitely broad portfolio that is available is constantly reinventing itself.
Laundry care and cosmetic technology are developing just as rapidly. There is a clear trend towards convenience on the one hand, while on the other hand, many consumers are turning to special products or those designed for customised use. All of these developments focus on quality and functionality – something that manufacturers have to work into their product design.
At Bell Flavors & Fragrances, I work as an engineer in the development of fragrance delivery systems that offer added value both in production and for consumers. One of these is the fragrance booster Bell MikroBurst, which, thanks to its versatility, is suitable for both laundry care and personal care products.
Laundry care from an olfactory point of view
Traditionally, laundry care consists of many different steps that vary from household to household: From pouring detergent into the washing machine to removing damp or even dry laundry to drying on a clothesline or in a dryer, there are numerous details and variations. Everything from liquid detergent or powder, to stain remover, fabric softener or even laundry scent booster is used.
In particular, the latter highlights the importance of fragrance to consumers: from start to finish, scent plays a central role in how the product is perceived. It is not only the washing process that has to be taken into account when developing modern fragrance delivery systems, but also what comes next: the storage and physical feel of the clothing.
Putting scent in the limelight
If the advertised magnolia and silk scent is no longer perceptible after laundry has dried, the rate of repurchase drops towards zero. As a fragrance house, our company’s mission is to create the best conditions for our fragrance compositions so that manufacturers can meet the demands of consumers.
Due to this and because we wanted to revolutionise the fragrance industry with particularly high-performance products, we have been researching fragrance delivery systems for years that make fragrances even more intense, longer-lasting and also more targeted. Apart from liquid perfume oils, we have also concentrated on developing our solid fragrances further and came up with encapsulation systems for various application areas.
Not all capsules are alike
The Bell MikroBurst system promises a qualitative boost in fragrances for both laundry and personal care. The special particle structure allows an above-average dosage of perfume oil. It also protects the perfume oil within and ensures a constant fragrance effect. These properties provide advantages both for the production and distribution process, as well as for consumer use: the fragrance composition stays in its protected form until activated. It is activated with warmth or pressure. Before this, the perfume remains safely inside the particle.
This avoids evaporation processes during production and storage, but also undesirable interactions with other ingredients so that the shelf life of the product is extended.
In addition to this, the simple processing of the product and the precise adjustment options provide an added value for manufacturers.
The encapsulation technology allows manufacturers to control how perfume oil is released, depending on the desired effect. Depending on the type of the encapsulation desired, the consumer experiences the scent either constantly or all at once and then very intensely. The latter variant is more familiar as it provides consumers with a fragrance kick when getting dressed as the micro-capsules that break under pressure guarantee a memorable, refreshing moment.
Plastic-free alternative for cosmetics and laundry care
Our company also offers a fragrance delivery system which releases the fragrance gradually for a long time. The special structure of the patented particles produces a particularly long-lasting effect. Another advantage is that this format is both completely plastic- and formaldehyde-free. This makes it not only ideal for laundry care but also for personal care. It can be used for example in deodorants. Our long-lasting capsules release perfume oil continuously onto the skin in this application. Other products, in which these capsules can be used include hair fragrances, which are currently back in style and require a long lasting fragrance.
What is interesting regardless of whether cosmetics or laundry care products are involved is the flexibility and creativity that technology brings to product design. If manufacturers combine perfume oil with our non-breakable particles in a fabric softener, the consumer benefits twice from the fragrance, first as the perfume oil’s top note already unfolds in the store when the fragrance is first sniffed. Then the heart and base notes emerge both during the washing process and when the laundry is lifted out of the machine. The encapsulated perfume oil further unfolds while the laundry dries. The scent can still be smelled when the clothes are worn, just like with classic fragile capsules, but the difference is that the fragrance is long-lasting and more discrete.
In hair perfumes, interesting combinations might also create something unique, which might motivate consumers to start experimenting. Another major plus of course is that the composition is free of plastic and formaldehyde.
Creativity in fragrance design
The various release mechanisms create manifold opportunities for creative product design. For instance, free perfume oil and capsules can transport the same fragrance and reinforce each other. But on the other hand, different and even contrasting scents can be combined. Thus, the current fragrance layering trend, which combines different fragrances in order to create a completely new one, can be transferred from the realm of perfumery into laundry care.
Laundry perfume is another example for personalising laundry care. We have recently expanded our range with Bell Laundry Pearls, a novel laundry scent booster in the form of pinhead-sized pearls. The water-soluble chips are placed directly in the drum. They are designed to dissolve just before the end of the wash cycle and release their scent into the laundry. When the consumer opens the machine, a strong scent is immediately perceived. These pearls are available as an end product in every desired fragrance and colour. Thus, we provide product manufacturers with an attractive opportunity to supplement an existing laundry product series with additional products.
The great flexibility of fragrance delivery systems broadens the creative horizon in both laundry and personal care. We constantly explore new options in cooperation with our customers. The trend towards high-performance and specialised products is clearing the way for additional future exploration.
Bell Flavors & Fragrances to Offer Encapsulation Benefits free of Plastics
Laundry care technology is developing rapidly: As the growing trend towards convenience meets the rising demand for specialised products, quality and functionality are key to modern product design. Bell Flavors & Fragrances developed a plastic-free fragrance delivery system that offers added value both in production and for consumers. The Bell MikroBurst system promises a qualitative boost in fragrances for laundry care in terms of intensity, substantivity and means of targeted release.
Putting Scent in the Limelight
During the whole process of doing laundry, it is scent that plays the crucial role in how the product is perceived. It is not only the washing that has to be taken into account when developing modern fragrance delivery systems, but also the storage, wearing, and physical feel of the clothing.
The special particle structure of Bell MikroBurst does not only allow an above-average dosage of perfume oil. It also protects the valuable ingredient within and thus ensures a constant fragrance release. These properties provide advantages both for the production and distribution process of laundry care products, as well as for consumer use: the fragrance composition stays in its protected form until being activated. This happens either when warmth is applied during washing or wearing, or when pressure is applied while dressing. In this way, manufacturers avoid not only evaporation processes during production and storage, but undesirable interactions with other ingredients are also circumvented and the product’s shelf life can be extended.
The plastic-free Alternative
Besides the known frangible capsules that release the fragrance upon pressure – and which usually contain certain amounts of plastics, Bell Flavors & Fragrances offers another delivery system which releases the fragrance gradually for a long time and is completely free from plastics and formaldehyds.
If manufacturers combine these patented „non-breakable“ particles with classic perfume oil for instance in a fabric softener, the consumer benefits twice from the fragrance: the perfume oil’s top-note already unfolds in the store when the fragrance is first sniffed. Then the heart and base notes emerge both during the washing process and when the laundry is lifted out of the machine. The encapsulated perfume oil further unfolds during the laundry drying phase. Just like with the classic fragile capsules, the scent can still be smelled when the clothes are worn – but the fragrance is long-lasting and more discreet.
These release mechanisms create valuable opportunities for creative product design. For instance, free perfume oil and scented particles can transport the same fragrance and reinforce each other. But there is also the possibility to combine different fragrances with each other and to play, for example, with contrasting scents and thus broadening the creative horizon for laundry care products.
Additional information
Peter Rabke
Chief Application Technician
Bell Flavors & Fragrances GmbH,
Leipzig Germany,
www.bell-europe.com