Among the hundreds of fabric care fragrances available on the market, very few rise to the top and hold their position as king of the hill. Everybody’s preferences are different, and each brand has products that serve various fragrance categories, but we believe a few scents will take a strong lead in the fabric care industry here in 2023. Let’s dig into 2023 Fabric Care Trends.
Our White Space AI Tool helped the team at Simporter analyze 109 fabric care fragrances to determine which scents are in for 2023 and which ones are out. If you haven’t been paying attention to our trend analysis yet, now’s a great time to start.
Citrus
Citrus is the expected leader among the 109 analyzed fragrances, with a massive expected growth rate of 172.37 percent in 2023 — over 140 percent more than the second highest-ranked fragrance on our list today. While Citrus doesn’t currently have too much of a share of voice (only 0.21 percent), the category’s popularity is going to explode next year, and Citrus will become a leading fragrance in fabric care.
We believe that Citrus is set up for success because it touches on several key attributes that consumers in 2023 are seeking. It’s appealing to younger buyers, fresh, multi-purpose, and doesn’t smell artificial in most instances. If you want your products to fly off the shelves, go with Citrus this year. You’ll thank us later.
Fresh (Clean)
Even though Original scented products aren’t going to perform exceptionally well next year, we do anticipate a strong year for products marketed as Fresh (Clean). Currently, Fresh (Clean) products hold a 0.84 percent share of voice and are the second largest growing fragrance on our list with a 30.71 percent expected growth rate.
Fresh (Clean) products should thrive in 2023 and continue to eat up more market share because consumers are looking for relatively simple scents for their fabric care needs. This fragrance is approachable and usable for any consumer compared to very niche scents that may alienate some buyers.
Unscented
Like Fresh (Clean), Unscented products should see an uptick in popularity next year because they’re universally acceptable for any fabric care need. Whether you’re cleaning carpets, doing laundry, or freshening up your car seats and headliner, Unscented products are great for people who are scent-averse, want to avoid headaches, or have various uses for the products which don’t call for strong, pungent aromas.
We anticipate a strong year for Unscented fabric care (1.09 percent share of voice) with an expected 19.66 percent growth rate.
Vanilla
Our first specific category on this list, Vanilla, one of the 2023 Fabric care trends, and comes in as the scent we expect to grow the fourth-fastest — 15.08 percent next year — among all the fragrance categories. Vanilla should see its 0.06 percent share of voice expand a bit throughout the year, as it’s a more neutral and universally recognizable scent compared to some of the more unique or niche options out there.
Ironically, products like these laundry beads from Downy combine two fragrances — Vanilla (one of our winners) with Lavender(one of our predicted losers) — into a single offering. We would advise splitting these products into two separate options to avoid a split in consumer preferences.
Floral
The final Fragrance on our predicted winners list is Floral, which holds the same share of voice as Vanilla at 0.06 percent. While the growth rate for this fragrance will be relatively low at 8.08 percent, it’s still going to gain market share in a very crowded and competitive market. We recommend sticking with Floral scents that use very few artificial ingredients and can be found in numerous forms for various use-cases — like this bundle from Frey.
Front-Running Fragrances You Can’t Forget
These five predicted winners are sure bets for your brand for the rest of next year. So, focus some of your R&D efforts on Citrus, Fresh, Unscented, Vanilla, and Floral-scented fabric care products, and you’re set for a killer 2023.
For more insights on luxury cosmetics trends, check out our recent webinar here. If you’re ready to see Simporter AI in action and learn what it can do for you, request a demo on our website.
