Specialist laundry detergent formulation development from idea to commercial product

d-labs develops bespoke laundry detergent formulations for companies ranging from start-ups with an initial product idea through to established detergent businesses seeking to improve or extend an existing range.

Development can be built around defined performance, cost, sustainability, stability, ingredient and manufacturing requirements, with in-house laundry performance testing used to guide formulation optimisation.

Laundry detergent formulation development in the d-labs laboratory

Laundry detergent formulations built around the product you want to create

d-labs develops laundry detergent formulations across a range of formats and market positions, from conventional high-performance products through to concentrated, naturally derived and more specialised solutions.

Laundry Liquids

Development of conventional and concentrated liquid laundry detergents for different performance, cost and market requirements.

Laundry Powders

Powder detergent development balancing cleaning performance, ingredient compatibility, physical properties, cost and manufacturing requirements.

Concentrated Formats

Development of higher-concentration products designed to reduce dose size, packaging or transported water while maintaining required performance.

Naturally Derived Formulations

Formulation development where renewable, plant-derived or other defined ingredient requirements need to be balanced against cleaning performance and commercial practicality.

Specialist Laundry Products

Development of products for specific applications, performance needs or consumer propositions beyond conventional mainstream detergents.

Novel Product Formats

Support for new laundry concepts and delivery formats where the required product architecture does not already exist in the market.

Formulations developed around the objectives that matter

Every laundry detergent development project involves trade-offs. d-labs works with clients to balance cleaning performance with cost, stability, ingredient requirements, sustainability objectives and manufacturing practicality.

Cleaning performance

Develop and optimise formulations against relevant stains, soils, wash conditions and benchmark products.

Cost

Balance formulation cost against the required level of performance and intended market positioning.

Stability

Design formulations to remain physically and chemically stable throughout the required shelf life and expected storage conditions.

Sustainability

Work within defined sustainability objectives such as ingredient selection, concentration, packaging reduction or reduced transported water.

Ingredient requirements

Develop around specific raw-material restrictions, preferred ingredient lists, naturally derived targets or other formulation constraints.

Manufacturing practicality

Consider raw-material availability, processing requirements, batch manufacture and scale-up so the formulation can move beyond the laboratory.

Formulation decisions backed by laundry performance data

Laundry detergent development is most effective when formulation changes can be measured against real performance outcomes.

d-labs combines formulation development with in-house laundry performance testing, allowing prototype formulations to be compared against relevant benchmarks throughout the development process.

This makes it possible to identify which changes genuinely improve performance, where trade-offs are occurring and when a formulation has reached the required balance of performance, cost and commercial practicality.

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Laundry products developed around demanding commercial briefs

d-labs has supported clients with laundry detergent development challenges ranging from conventional formulation optimisation to entirely new product formats. These examples show how formulation expertise and performance testing are combined to solve real commercial problems.

High-Performance Naturally Derived Laundry Liquid Development

A global detergent company had spent more than two years trying to develop a naturally derived laundry liquid capable of matching the performance of an established market-leading product within a defined cost target.

d-labs developed an enzymatic laundry liquid that achieved the required benchmark performance and commercial cost objectives within approximately eight to nine months.

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Low-Water Laundry Liquid Format Development

A start-up approached d-labs with the concept of significantly reducing the amount of water transported in a conventional laundry liquid while maintaining market-competitive performance.

d-labs developed a novel two-component system that could be blended into a liquid detergent by the consumer at home, while achieving the required performance and supporting the intended environmental proposition.

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Have a laundry detergent idea or formulation challenge?