After laundry detergents, detergent pods, and fragrance-infused care products, what’s still missing in the laundry and fabric care industry?

In the past, clothes were considered clean enough if they had no odor after washing. Today, many consumers expect garments to exude a 'luxury scent,' 'sunshine freshness,' or a general 'clean feeling.' The rise of scented laundry care has transformed liquid detergents into products that—like perfumes—emphasize top/middle/base notes, longevity of fragrance, and emotional value. As noted in the attachment, Liby’s Master Fragrance line once elevated laundry to 'perfume you wear on your skin,' spurring leading brands to prioritize fragrance development and long-lasting scent technologies. This phase essentially shifts the focus from merely cleaning clothes to making them *smell* wonderful. 🚴 Thirdly, scenario-based segmentation is exploding. The era of 'one detergent for the whole family' is fading. Specialized solutions are now emerging for lingerie, sportswear, baby clothing, premium fabrics, and pet-owning households—each tailored to distinct garment types, user groups, and lifestyle contexts. Take lingerie care as an example: heightened health awareness and demand for refined care have driven innovations such as pH-balanced (mildly acidic) formulas, blood-stain enzymes, gentle hand-wash compatibility, and antibacterial/antifungal properties. This phase essentially shifts the focus from generic care to precise problem-solving. So here’s the question: formats have been optimized, fragrances have been refined, and segmentation has grown increasingly granular—what’s next for the laundry and fabric care industry? The answer may lie deep within formulation fundamentals—where cleaning power originates, how skin-friendly gentleness is engineered, and whether low residue and high cleaning efficacy can coexist. That brings us to a pivotal player: surfactants. Simply put, they’re the 'cleaning workhorses' in detergents—enabling water to better wet surfaces, emulsify oils, and lift away grime. Traditional surfactant systems are already highly mature. Yet when consumers simultaneously demand powerful cleaning, skin-friendly mildness, minimal residue, and suitability for specialized applications—such as intimate apparel or performance fabrics—brands need new formulation tools. That’s why 🍃 biosurfactants are drawing growing attention. Typically produced via microbial fermentation, common types include rhamnolipids and sophorolipids. Market reports also highlight rhamnolipids and sophorolipids as key subsegments, with applications spanning household & industrial cleaning, personal care, and other daily chemical categories. What makes them intriguing isn’t just their 'natural-sounding' origin—but their potential to deliver novel formulation pathways in terms of mildness, cleaning performance, and adaptability to niche scenarios. For instance, rhamnolipids—a type of biosurfactant—have already been applied in household cleaners, personal care products, and laundry detergents, and are gaining recognition for their foaming capacity, cleaning efficacy, and skin compatibility. Of course, whether a new raw material truly reaches the shelf depends not only on its conceptual appeal but also on its ability to be manufactured stably, supplied reliably, and applied consistently.

Behind Evonik’s suspension of M&A activities: the strategic transformation logic of global chemical giants

■ #Industrial and Environmental Materials Sector PeroxyChem (2020): A U.S.-based company producing eco-friendly oxidizers—including hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid—for water treatment and food safety applications—bolstering Evonik’s position in the sustainable chemicals market; Air Products’ Specialty Additives Business (2017): A U.S. company offering diverse specialty additives widely used in coatings, adhesives, and construction materials—enhancing Evonik’s competitiveness in the high-performance materials market; ... These strategic acquisitions significantly strengthened Evonik’s technological and product capabilities in biotechnology, sustainability, and high-performance materials—and accelerated its evolution toward becoming a system solutions provider. However, amid current market uncertainties and economic headwinds, Evonik has decided to pause new M&A activities, shifting focus instead to internal resource integration and optimization. Concurrently with this pause, Evonik has accelerated the divestiture of non-core businesses—e.g., in August 2024, it sold its superabsorbent polymers (SAP) business to ICIG Group. Additionally, the company announced restructuring plans for its #Pharma & Health and #Specialty Polymers business lines, concentrating resources on higher-growth areas. Under Evonik’s 'Evonik Tailor Made' initiative launched in 2023, the company is undertaking comprehensive organizational realignment—implementing a three-pronged strategy of cost reduction, business reorganization, and growth acceleration. This includes flattening management layers and speeding up decision-making to achieve leaner operations. Up to 2,000 positions globally are expected to be cut—approximately 1,500 of them in Germany—with annual cost savings projected to reach nearly €400 million by 2026. 02 Strategic Transformation & Growth Drivers: Three Core Pillars Evonik’s new strategy explicitly identifies bio-based solutions, energy transition, and circular economy as its three core growth pillars. Evonik’s 2024 Resource Allocation and Value Contribution The company aims to generate an additional €1.5 billion in sales by 2032 through products and solutions in these domains: ■ #Bio-based Solutions Evonik has commissioned the world’s first large-scale rhamnolipid production facility in Slovakia, expanding its footprint in natural surfactants; ■ Energy Transition Solutions Evonik has expanded its gas separation membrane manufacturing facility in Austria to support low-carbon technologies such as CO₂ capture and green hydrogen production; the company has signed wind-power procurement agreements, targeting over 50% renewable electricity in external purchases starting in 2026—and aiming for 100% green electricity by 2030; ■ Circular Economy Solutions Through catalyst recovery and other technologies, Evonik optimizes the reuse of polyurethane and rubber, advancing closed-loop material cycles. Moreover, Evonik invested in building North America’s first ultra-high-purity colloidal silica plant in Michigan—supporting the semiconductor industry. 03 The Deeper Logic Behind Evonik’s Strategic Shift Evonik’s decision to suspend M&A and pivot toward internal restructuring and sustainable growth reflects a broader trend across today’s global specialty chemicals industry. ■ Industry Perspective: Entering a Phase of Deep Adjustment The specialty chemicals sector is transitioning—from a high-growth, high-M&A-frequency era—into a 'rebalancing phase' marked by slower growth and intensified resource integration.

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