The outside temperature during the winter in Beijing often falls below zero, while the water temperature is so low that it is painful to the touch. Nevertheless, a recent survey carried out by Novozymes found that around a third of households in China continue to wash by hand during the winter. And even those that do use a washing machine do so at temperatures below 20°C.
These consumers are now beginning to benefit from the introduction of Polarzyme into locally formulated detergents. Polarzyme was launched by Novozymes in March 2005. Although it works efficiently across a broad temperature range, it is particularly efficient at lower temperatures compared with traditional proteases. Specifically, it gives enhanced stain removal at lower temperatures.
Shannon Zhao, customer solutions leader for the detergent industry, Asia Pacific, says that laundry cleaning in China is a different proposition to that in Europe and the USA. "Not many consumers in China use washing machines to heat up water to do their laundry. Most of them just use tap water, which is extremely cold in winter. And many still carry out hand-washing. The figure increases from around a third in the winter to around 90% in the summer months," she says. "So you can see that many Chinese consumers have an urgent need for a detergent with significant improvements in cold water washing."
Consumer survey
In order to better understand the detergent market in China, Novozymes carried out a 'use-and -attitude survey' in both the north and south of the country in December 2004. More than 400 households were surveyed.
The results showed that consumers were not satisfied with the performance of current detergents in winter, particularly with regard to wash performance and solubility. And even among those consumers who do use a washing machine, many had to hand-scrub to achieve the desired level of cleaning.
Consumer test
In order to prove the benefits of Polarzyme in cold water washing, Novozymes China then carried out a consumer test in Beijing between March and April 2005. The experiment, a 'wash-and-wear test', involved 70 men, who were asked to wear a white cotton shirt for two days. The shirts were then collected and cut in half. One half was washed in a detergent containing Polarzyme 12 T (0.1%), while the other half was washed in a well-known non-biological brand. The average water temperature used by consumers during the period was 11°C.
The shirts were then sewn up and redistributed to the participants for another wearing and washing cycle. After each cycle, the person responsible for the family's laundry - who did not know the detergent that had been used - was asked to rate the washing result. The test lasted for one month and four wearing and washing cycles.
The results surprised even Shannon Zhao. "The results were very exciting, with the benefits of the Polarzyme-formulated detergent being very prominent . Even after the first wash, 57% of users preferred the Polarzyme-formulated detergent compared to 23% who preferred the well-known branded product. And after the fourth wash the figure had risen to 71% for the Polarzyme detergent while remaining steady for the other detergent," she says (see Figure 1).
Consumer preferences
The consumer testing also looked at the reasons given by the participants for why they preferred the Polarzyme-containing detergent to the non-biological detergent. It was demonstrated that performance attributes such as cleaning, stain removal and whiteness were the big drivers. "Collar cleaning was the biggest driver, with 80% of participants preferring the product containing 0.1% Polarzyme," says Shannon Zhao (see Figure 2).
| FIG 1: Overall consumer preference |
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| FIG 2: Consumer preference for each performance attribute |
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Novozymes' commitment
Although it is common for detergent producers to carry out such consumer tests, it is rare for ingredient suppliers to carry them out - mainly because it is expensive and time-consuming. However, Shannon Zhao believes that such consumer test data is a good measure of the market because it reflects real consumer opinion and product usage experience.
"This is the first time that Novozymes has undertaken such a comprehensive
test programme, with both the use-and-attitude survey and the wash-and-wear test. It shows that Novozymes wants to stand in its customers' shoes in order to help them identify their market needs and be able to offer a total package solution," she says.