Unwanted odours, though a natural part of everyday life, leads to discomfort, embarrassment and strongly affects feelings of wellbeing. Removal of odours and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is of global interest. The proliferation of odour-eliminating products across application areas in the consumer products sector demonstrates the enormous demand for such an effect.
However, most of these products do not actually remove odours from the environment. Rather, the most common strategy is to mask odours with overwhelming fragrances. This can be counterproductive since high levels of perfume can be unpleasant and lead to allergic response. There is a growing and unmet consumer need and market trend towards non-fragranced deodorising products, but due to a lack of effective solutions, consumers continue to pay for products that mask, rather than remove, odours.
Aqdot has developed a disruptive innovation called AqFresh in removing malodours and VOCs from the atmosphere with wide commercial potential across market sectors. AqFresh offers a uniquely innovative solution and step-change advancement to the current market challenges that no other technology can fully address: (1) fragrance-free malodour counteracting efficacy: it outperforms deodorising technologies currently on the market in terms of efficacy with long-lasting effect, eliminating malodours from the atmosphere; (2) broad-spectrum capability: it is capable of capturing a wide range of malodours, particularly the low-molecular-weight VOCs that cause health concerns; (3) ease of application: AqFresh can be incorporated into different product formats and media for which Aqdot retains the IP and know-how.
Aqdot's goals is to establish its first commercial product by using its proprietary malodour counteraction technology. Successful commercialisation of this technology will lead to home care and personal care products with improved properties, creating a new form of market differentiation. Product end-users will benefit from access to products with improved properties, while reducing the levels of fragrances and additives that are washed into watercourses.
The project objectives are:
1. Demonstrate the technical feasibility of Aqdot's technology in a wide variety of formulations
2. Develop a claim substantiation portfolio for the technology
3. Translate the experimental finding into commercial products
The technology proved to be feasible for commercial exploitation and a commercial product was developed. A fragrance-free bathroom malodours removal spray, Oderase.
