Germans responsible for doing laundry rely more on their experience to estimate dosage of laundry detergents (39%) than advice from brands (36%), highlighting a trust gap. Concerns about overdosing, particularly during times of economic hardship, along with worries about residue, likely prevent Germans from fully trusting on-pack instructions.
Skin concerns, such as irritation (24%) and allergies (22%), are also prevalent among German consumers. Yet very few products are being launched with skin-friendly claims. This creates an opportunity for brands to bridge the gap with third-party certifications and higher transparency about the exact ingredients used and their effects.
Furthermore, convenience, especially for parents and full-time workers, is a pressing matter, especially as they tend to use short wash cycles more often than other groups. Innovating with optimised formulas, easier dosing mechanisms and a way to skip ironing will resonate with these target groups.
Lastly, product innovation needs to extend to evolving clothing needs, with very few brands addressing Germans owning functional clothing (54%) and cleaning their shoes in the washing machine (41%). Being one of the first to offer such products can foster loyalty among consumers.
This report looks at the following areas:
- The short-, medium- and long-term impacts of the economic situation and inflation on the fabric care market
- Germans’ laundry responsibilities and usage, purchase of laundry detergents and fabric care products, and laundry frequency
- Dosing habits and concerns around laundry and fabric care products
- Typical laundry routines and behaviours towards laundry activities and laundry products
- Launch activity and innovation opportunities for laundry and fabric care products
- Market size and shares for laundry and fabric care products
Brands can grow market share and build loyalty among German consumers by targeting specific needs such as skin-friendly products and functional wear detergents.
Yasemin Holtemayer, Household Care Research Analyst, Germany
Market Definitions
This Report examines the retail market for the following laundry detergent, fabric conditioner and fabric care products:
- main-wash laundry detergents offered to the consumer in a range of product formats, including powders, liquids, gels, tablets and capsules/liquid tablets; this includes standard and concentrated, biological, non-biological, 2-in-1 and ‘colour’ products
- special-wash detergents, which includes detergents for handwashing and delicate fabrics
- rinse conditioners used in addition to laundry detergents to soften, freshen and/or make drying and ironing easier, available as standard and concentrated liquids
- tumble-dry enhancers offered as fragrance-impregnated sheets that are designed for use in tumble dryers
- stain removers that take away stains and include both pre-wash and in-wash products in powder, liquid, gel, tablet and spray formats
- whiteners and colour care products used with laundry detergents for helping to maintain the brightness of colours and whiteness of whites without bleaching
- ironing aids, which includes products for ironing such as fragranced ironing waters and starch liquids or sprays
Excluded:
- clothes-washing detergents sold in launderettes are excluded from the market size of this Report
Collapse All
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Opportunities
- Market size and forecast
- Outlook
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OPPORTUNITIES
- Boost performance and convenience to meet the needs of busy households
- Short wash cycles are becoming more popular among busy Germans
- Convenience is particularly important for full-time workers and parents
- Enhance convenience for busy professionals with quick-cycle optimised laundry detergents
- Collaborate with washing machine manufacturers to optimise performance
- Persil launches its first 15-minute laundry detergent
- Adapt ancillary products to complement laundry detergents
- Offer speedy alternatives to ironing
- Amp up product innovation to extend the lifespan of clothing
- Collaborate with functional clothing brands for better products and education
- Offer trustworthy solutions for specialised textiles
- Be a pioneer of shoe cleaning
- Provide comprehensive guidance that goes beyond dosing recommendations
- Address skin concerns with ‘less is more’ formulas and trusted certifications
- The majority of Germans look for reassurance through certifications
- Prove skin compatibility with third-party certifications
- Offer better ingredient information
- Go back to basics to address ingredient concerns
- Highlight microplastic-free formulas
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THE CONSUMER
- Laundry tasks and responsibilities
- Most Germans assume sole responsibility in the laundry category
- Graph 1: responsibility for doing the laundry and buying laundry products, 2025
- Full-time workers rely on others for laundry tasks
- Frequency of doing laundry
- Frequency of doing laundry remains consistent
- Graph 2: frequency of doing laundry, 2024-25
- Professionals rely on quick, frequent laundry routines
- Use of laundry detergents and fabric care products
- Liquid laundry detergents continue to be at the top
- Graph 3: usage of laundry detergents in the last 12 months, 2024-25
- Full-time workers rely on powder tablets for their convenience
- Ancillary product usage remains stable
- Graph 4: usage of fabric care products in the last 12 months, 2024-25
- Full-time workers are more inclined to purchase fabric care
- Dosage habits
- Dosing recommendations on pack fall behind ones’ own judgement
- A lack of trust and insufficient nuance likely reduce adherence to instructions
- Parents are more likely to rely on their network and technology for guidance
- Attitudes and behaviours
- Ironing is a nuisance for German consumers
- Graph 5: behaviours towards ironing and creases in clothing, 2025
- Full-time workers don’t consider ironing essential, despite experiencing more creases in clothing
- Using fragrance-free and skin-friendly products is not uncommon
- Graph 6: behaviours around laundry detergents, fabric conditioner and fabric care, by usage of laundry detergents without fragrances or with skin-friendly claims, 2025
- Parents avoid fragrances and embrace skin-friendly formulas more than others
- Most Germans agree there are too many ingredients in laundry products
- Graph 7: agreement with ‘I think there are too many unnecessary ingredients in laundry detergents/fabric care products’, by household type, 2025
- Environmental concerns are the most prevalent
- Graph 8: concerns around laundry and fabric care products, 2025
- Microplastics remain a top concern
- Unpleasant scents diminish marketability
- Purchase of skin-friendly products directly relates to concerns around laundry detergents and fabric care
- Skin concerns lead to using more skin-friendly products
-
INNOVATION
- Launch activity increases again after a dip in 2023
- Graph 9: NPD in laundry detergents, fabric conditioners and fabric care, 2021-25
- Graph 10: NPD in laundry detergents, fabric conditioners and fabric care*, by sub-category, 2022-25
- Ancillary products boost innovation
- Laundry detergents
- Powder laundry detergent NPD falls behind to maintain price
- Graph 11: NPD in automatic laundry detergents, by format, 2022-25
- Brands focus on bulk packs to ease economic challenges
- Graph 12: NPD in laundry detergents*, by launch type, 2022-25
- Many popular claims experienced a slight dip in 2024
- Graph 13: laundry detergent NPD*, by top 10 claims, 2022-25
- Dermatologically tested claims remain niche in a saturated market
- The potential of skin-friendly claims is yet to be explored
- Graph 14: laundry detergent NPD, by allergy tested, hypoallergenic and fragrance-free claims, 2022-25
- Sustainable brands highlight their skin-friendly claims
- Fabric care
- Ancillary product NPD became more varied in 2024
- Graph 15: fabric care NPD, by sub-category, 2022-25
- Fabric fresheners boost NPD launches
- Emerging brands are mixing up the market
- Graph 16: fabric conditioner and fabric care NPD, by launch type, 2022-25
- Interest in scent pushes new product development
- Ethical claims are not as popular in fabric care compared to laundry detergents
- Graph 17: fabric conditioner and fabric care NPD, by leading claims, 2022-25
- Regulation and new players dampen ethical and environmental claim growth
- Dermatologically tested claims experienced a decline in 2024
- Skin-friendly claims remain underexplored
- Graph 18: fabric care NPD, by allergy tested, hypoallergenic and fragrance-free claims, 2022-25
- Launch activity fell in 2024 among most brands
- Graph 19: laundry detergent NPD, by the top 10 ultimate companies, 2022-25
- Graph 20: fabric conditioner and fabric care NPD, by the top 10 ultimate companies, 2022-25
- Some brands seize opportunities while others hold back
-
MARKET
- Market drivers
- Special detergents experienced a CPI jump in 2024
- Graph 21: consumer price index, 2023-25
- Changes in fashion demand new formulations
- Certifications and definitions of hypoallergenic and dermatologically tested
- Microplastics remain a top priority for Germans
- Market size
- Category growth surges after a period of single-digit increases
- Innovation and a shift towards brands benefit the market
- Market segmentation
- Conditioners and softeners experienced unprecedented growth
- Higher prices helped grow all segments
- Almost equal growth among all segments
- Machine liquid experiences strong growth after stagnation
- Market share
- Fit manages to increase shares while others fall behind
- A strong market position and conditioner brand drive Fit’s growth
- Market forecast
- Modest growth expected over the next five years
- Graph 22: retail value sales of laundry detergents and fabric care, 2019-30
- Short-term growth
- Mid-term growth
- Long-term growth
- Forecast – a note on US trade disruption
- The impact of US trade disruption for the laundry detergent and fabric care market
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APPENDIX
- Report scope and definitions
- Market definition
- Abbreviations
- Methodology – consumer research
- Consumer research methodology
- A note on language
- Methodology – market size and forecast
- Forecast methodology
- Forecast methodology – fan chart
- Market size and forecast – value
- Market forecast and prediction intervals – value
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