Laundry Detergent Development Case Study
Low-Water Laundry Liquid Format Development
A start-up approached d-labs with an unconventional product concept: significantly reduce the amount of water transported in a conventional laundry liquid while still delivering performance comparable with established market products.
d-labs developed a novel two-component system that could be supplied in small packets and blended by the consumer at home to create the finished laundry liquid.
Client
Consumer product start-up
Challenge
Reduce transported water without sacrificing performance
Product Concept
Consumer-prepared laundry liquid
Outcome
Novel two-component format achieving benchmark-level performance
The Challenge
Create a low-water laundry format without sacrificing cleaning performance
The client wanted to reduce the amount of water transported in a conventional laundry liquid by developing a product that could be supplied in a highly concentrated format and prepared by the consumer at home.
The concept also needed to support the client’s environmental positioning, including the use of plant-derived surfactants and compostable packaging, while still delivering cleaning performance comparable with established market products.
Because the proposed format did not already exist as a conventional market solution, the challenge extended beyond simply reformulating an existing laundry liquid. d-labs needed to develop a practical product architecture that would remain technically workable, easy for the consumer to prepare and capable of meeting the required performance target.
The challenge was to reduce transported water and packaging without asking the consumer to accept lower cleaning performance.
What d-labs Did
Turned an unconventional product concept into a workable formulation system
d-labs worked with the client to translate the low-water concept into a practical product architecture, then developed and tested the formulation components against the required environmental and performance objectives.
1. Defined the product architecture
Established how the finished laundry liquid could be created from compact components while remaining practical for the consumer to prepare at home.
2. Developed the two-component system
Formulated complementary components that could be supplied in small packets and combined with water by the consumer to create the finished detergent.
3. Optimised against the benchmark
Used comparative laundry performance testing to assess prototype systems against the selected market benchmark and progressively improve cleaning performance.
4. Balanced performance and environmental objectives
Refined the system around the required plant-derived surfactant approach, packaging concept and product proposition while maintaining the targeted cleaning performance.
The development challenge was not just formulation chemistry — it was creating a new product system that could work technically, commercially and in the hands of the consumer.
The Outcome
A novel low-water laundry format with benchmark-level performance
d-labs developed a two-component laundry system that allowed the consumer to prepare the finished liquid detergent at home using only a small amount of packaged product.
The final concept significantly reduced the amount of water that needed to be transported as part of the product while maintaining the required cleaning performance against the selected benchmark.
The project demonstrated that an unconventional format could be made technically workable without abandoning the client’s environmental objectives or asking the consumer to accept inferior cleaning performance.
Low-water format
Reduced the amount of water transported compared with a conventional pre-diluted laundry liquid.
Two-component system
Created a practical format that could be blended by the consumer at home.
Benchmark performance
Achieved cleaning performance equivalent to the selected market benchmark.
Environmental proposition
Supported the intended plant-derived ingredient and reduced-packaging/product-transport concept.
The result was not simply a reformulated detergent, but a new way of delivering a laundry liquid while retaining the performance expected from a premium product.
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