Enzymes for hand dishwashing liquids

Consumers expect tableware and cookware to be spotless after washing, but they don’t like to scrub. Turn this challenge into a brilliant business opportunity with enzymes.

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How to wash with less effort

Dishwashing is a zero-tolerance process

31% of consumers feel disgusted by tableware that’s not completely clean

Consumers expect dishes, cutlery, pots and pans to be clean after washing and have zero tolerance for food residues. In a recent Conjoint.ly survey of more than 1,000 consumers, 31% said they felt disgusted by washed tableware that wasn’t completely clean. Nearly half said it made them feel dissatisfied.

Soaking heavily soiled cookware is standard

83% of consumers soak dishware and cookware

A range of studies suggest that consumers do actually soak, allowing longer contact times to boost the benefits of enzymes. This is especially relevant to cookware with heavier, tougher soils – lasagna baked into an oven dish for example. In the Userneeds study mentioned above, only 17% of consumers said they don’t soak.

This supports the findings of the DishGo Study by weseethrough, which used video analytics to understand consumers’ actual behaviour when doing the dishes. It revealed that soaking is standard, even among consumers who say they don’t soak.

Consumers choose mild

Another key insight from the DishGo Study is that many consumers want eco-friendly hand wash detergents that are also gentler on their skin. Some are concerned about chemical residues on their dishes. One participant from the UK said he uses more water to make sure he can ‘wash off all the bubbles…especially (from) my daughters’ stuff’. Others want their hand dishwashing liquid to be gentle on skin. Few consumers were willing to sacrifice washing performance for sustainability however.

"Since you eat from the stuff you wash, the ideal detergent…should be as ecological as possible, but still doing its job"

Consumers want less scrubbing

In many families, doing the dishes is a point of conflict. This was recently confirmed by a report from the Council of Contemporary Families (CCF) in the US. The report found that dishwashing causes more relationship distress than any other household task. And scrubbing may have a lot to do with this. In our 2017 study of more than 1000 US consumers, 51% of them said they found scrubbing annoying.

A Userneeds study of more than 1,500 European consumers found that less scrubbing was the number one thing they wanted from a washing up liquid.

Contact time is part of hand dishwashing process

Enzymes need to be in contact with soils to work, and the longer contact times associated with soaking usually mean better results. A common and mistaken belief is that consumers don’t soak when washing the dishes by hand. But the process of washing up results in contact times of up to two minutes. This is long enough for enzymes to work on lighter dishware and glassware soils.

How to wash up with less effort

Green and clean

Biodegradable, renewable enzymes improve performance on stubborn stains by more than 35%.

Cut soaking time

A 15-minute soak with an enzymatic dish liquid is more than three times as effective as the same soak with a non-enzymatic one.

Cut scrubbing effort

24 scrubs with an enzymatic hand dishwash detergent are four times as effective as 32 with a non-enzymatic one.

Rethink hand dishwash

New consumer insights and innovative formulations present a strong business opportunity for changing the hand dishwash market

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Psst! Want a more powerful, profitable product?

Spray detergents with lipase remove up to 367% more greasy soil and command up to a 186% higher price than traditional hand dishwash liquids.

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Ideate with us

Through an ideation workshop, we can help you do more with less and find sustainable solutions to meet your customers’ needs.

Our regional specialists will bring the latest market research to guide the development of customer-relevant innovations and services.

Ideation workshops can help you:

Discover market trends, and how to match products to them
Develop product claims based on consumer research
Increase products’ speed to market

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Which solution is right for you?

Find the right solution for you in our global portfolio, shown below. To find out more about products available in your region, get in touch with your local Novozymes representative.