US Aircare (Home Fragrance) Market Report 2026
The US aircare market is valued at $8.6 billion in 2026, with growth of 2% year-over-year and forecast to reach $9.28 billion by 2031.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Outlook for aircare
- Opportunities
- Justify aircare’s role to prevent trade-out
- Graph 1: agree that aircare products do more harm than good, by generation, 2026
- Evolve odor removal into more precise solutions
- Focus on practical use cases to drive usage
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THE MARKET
- Snapshot – market size and forecast
- Consumers and the economic outlook
- US economic snapshot
- Aircare is increasingly seen as part of the problem, not the solution
- Research links smell loss to physical decline
- Market size and forecast of aircare
- Graph 2: total retail sales and forecast of aircare (home fragrance), at current prices, 2021-31
- Market size and forecast of aircare
- Retail sales and forecast of aircare, at inflation-adjusted prices
- Private label gains traction as value narrows brand gap
- Advent acquires majority stake in Air Wick
- Sales of aircare, by company
- Sales of candles, by company
- Sales of air fresheners, by company
- Sales of vehicle air fresheners, by company
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THE CONSUMER
- Aircare usage is largely flat across formats
- Graph 3: aircare usage – trended, 2019-26
- Aerosols and sprays squeezed as aircare shifts toward wellness and experience
- Elevate sprays with design and ingredient clarity
- Prioritize midlife and Millennial women for repertoire growth
- Graph 4: repertoire of aircare products, by generation and gender, 2026
- Position aircare as extending fresh air, not replacing it
- Rebuild aircare growth by justifying the category, not just safer ingredients
- Graph 5: attitudes toward aircare safety and air quality, by generation, 2026
- Reframe fragrance safety around how scent moves and lingers to better align with rising hormonal health concerns
- Graph 6: free from hormone-disrupting chemicals as a reason for aircare product selection, by age and gender, 2026
- Position car aircare as a functional wellness tool that supports mood and daily routines
- Graph 7: interest in wellness-focused car interior innovations, by generation and parental status, 2025
- Highlight the specific ingredients or systems driving odor removal capabilities
- Make scent experimentation easier with formats designed for quick switching and rotation
- Enable scent creation, not just selection
- Use whimsy to enable quick, mood-led space refreshes
- Integrate functional benefits that make aircare feel essential
- Aircare expands into overlooked spaces to tackle specific odor and functional challenges
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PRODUCT, INNOVATION AND MARKETING
- Febreze makes functional improvements easy to understand
- Austelle extends candle relevance through design, not just fragrance
- Givaudan turns live feedback into faster scent iteration, unlocking more targeted innovation
- Bath & Body Works expands scent into household routines
- Scent can bring stories to life
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APPENDIX
- Market definition
- The market
- Forecast methodology
- Forecast methodology – fan chart
- Market size and forecast of aircare
- Market size of aircare by segment
- The consumer
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology
- Repertoire analysis methodology
- US generation groups
- Consumer data
- Removing odors and trying new scents are the top reason for using more aircare compared to last year
- Graph 8: reasons for using aircare more often, 2026
- Usage occasion associations with aircare format
- Graph 9: usage occasions associated with aircare formats, 2026
- Reasons to pick one aircare option over other options
- Graph 10: decision drivers between aircare options, 2026
"Aircare is being reshaped as consumers question its role, pushing brands beyond scent alone to prove air quality, safety, and everyday relevance."
Lindsay Davenport, Analyst - Household Care
US Aircare Industry – Trends and Insights
- The US aircare market is valued at $8.6 billion in 2026, with growth of 2% year-over-year and forecast to reach $9.28 billion by 2031. Despite this steady outlook, growth remains modest, reflecting the category’s discretionary nature and limited expansion in baseline usage.
- Aircare is entering a period of re-evaluation, as shifting consumer expectations challenge the category’s long-standing role in the home. While scent remains central, it is no longer sufficient on its own, with growing scrutiny around indoor air quality and ingredient safety.
- Consumers are questioning whether aircare products are enhancing or detracting from their environments. At the same time, rising interest in products that offer greater control, flexibility and everyday relevance is creating new opportunities for brands to reposition aircare beyond passive fragrance and toward a more functional, integrated role within the home.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
- Aircare format usage
- Reasons for changes in aircare usage
- Aircare usage occasions by format
- Important factors in aircare products
- Attitudes toward aircare safety, role in the home and scent
Market Definitions
For the purposes of this report, Mintel defines the US aircare market as consisting of the following product categories.
- Candles – a body of wax formed around a wick that provides a flame and, in many cases, fragrance, when lit. Includes tea lights, votives, pillars, tapers (dinner candles) and birthday candles. Candles can stand alone or be designed for use in a holder or metal container. Both scented and unscented candles are included.
- Home air fresheners – including aerosol/spray, slow-release (solid, gel, liquid, reed diffusers) and plug-in and electric/battery-operated devices.
- Vehicle air fresheners.
Excluded from the Market Size but discussed in the Consumer Section are wax melts, which consist of a burner device that melts wax pieces as a means of releasing fragrance; potpourri and flameless candles, which use LED lights or light bulbs to create the appearance of a candle flame; and incense, an aromatic material that releases fragrant smoke when burned.
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