Challenge

In India and cluster countries, using detergent bars is a common practice for cleaning dishes and laundry. While these bars are economical, they can become mushy and lose their usefulness if they remain wet for too long, leading to inconsistent cleaning and significant waste.

Solution

Lubrizol’s solution came from the collaborative efforts of our global and regional marketing, sales, and technical development teams from our Personal and Home Care businesses, with input from Performance Coatings. We conducted numerous interviews to understand what attributes end users value and, working with key regional customers, developed a blueprint of a product that would meet performance and production requirements. Unique in the marketplace, our polymer interacts with existing ingredients in the bar to create a structure that slows the breakdown of the bar when it is left in water. Customers can easily incorporate the technology into their existing manufacturing processes.

Results

Our detergent bar has a product lifetime up to two times that of a typical detergent bar, at minimal added cost and with similar performance. The solution provides a reliable cleaning aid that gives end users more value for their money and improves health and hygiene, while diminishing waste, throughout urban and rural communities in India and surrounding countries.

Health and hygiene in India get boost from long-lasting detergent bars