How do we develop our products?

Eefje worked at various cosmetics companies and manufacturers for over twenty years before Marcel crossed her path. He asked her to work at Marcel's Green Soap as a product developer. She has now been working there for more than 3.5 years. “An honorable job,” as she calls it. Eefje has an innate curiosity about raw materials and product compositions, but is especially fond of scents. Through her work experience in various perfumery stores, she knows which scents are popular. And that knowledge comes in handy in her job at Marcel's Green Soap, because our first promise to the consumer is that our products smell wonderful.

Dishwashing liquid, hand soap, all-purpose cleaner and all-purpose cleaner spray. Marcel made his debut on the cleaning shelves five years ago with these four products. He started with four somewhat unusual but delicious scent combinations: orange & jasmine, lavender & rosemary, radish & bergamot and basil & vetiver. This tasted – or rather: smelled – like more. The cleaning range was expanded to include dishwasher tablets, toilet cleaner and palm oil-free detergent. And a personal care line was launched with shampoo, shower gel and more. All this in twelve different scents. He enlisted the help of product developer Eefje to develop these products. We asked her: how do you come up with the idea of ​​a new product?

“We are always looking for opportunities on the shelf for sustainable products. Sometimes there is a concrete demand for a particular product from the consumer, sometimes it is just a gut feeling.” At Marcel's Green Soap we focus on the light green consumer. This consumer group makes up sixty percent of our population, the majority. The light green consumer is willing to buy sustainable products, provided that no or few concessions have to be made on the quality, price and - very importantly - the experience of the product. When we develop a new product, we look at trends but above all we listen to what the consumer wants. Because the sustainable market is changing rapidly. While five years ago the light green consumer was not ready for shampoo in solid form, the shampoo bar, the demand is now greater than ever.

“We produce most of our products in the Netherlands, so I can, so to speak, go to the factory by bike.”

Eefje: “Because we have short lines with the manufacturers, we can switch quickly. We produce most of our products in the Netherlands, so I can, so to speak, go to the factory by bike. This way we can convert an idea into a new product in a short time. This allows us to quickly respond to trends and always be a few steps ahead of other brands.”

Marcel makes three promises to the consumer: Marcel's Green Soap smells fantastic, works well and is eco-friendly. Every new product we develop must deliver on these promises. We are therefore constantly looking for sustainable alternatives to existing recipes without the consumer having to make concessions on the quality, price and experience of the product. Eefje: “Every new product we develop must be 100% vegan, at least 97% biodegradable, plastic-free packaged or packaged in 100% recycled plastic and palm oil-free where possible.”

When Eefje has an idea for a new product, she starts working with the factory. “I indicate which ingredients I want in it and which requirements the product must meet, the factory then helps with the formulation, taking the legislation and regulations into account.” The formulation is the composition of a product. And that is quite precise. Some ingredients have a bad effect on each other, causing the product to fall apart or - even worse - to smell. And that is why we mix and match until the right composition is achieved. After the product has been fully developed, it is extensively tested before it is placed on the shelf. A safety assessor looks at the substances used, the interaction with the packaging and whether the product does not fall apart. Such a test phase lasts three months.

“In total, we spend about nine months developing a new product, including the three-month test phase.”

Once the formulation has been determined, the cost price can also be calculated. Eefje: “The price is very important to us. We want the product to be affordable for as many people as possible. It sometimes happens that we want to develop a product that ultimately turns out to be too expensive, so we don't do it.” For example, last year Eefje was developing Marcel's Green Soap scented candles. This requires petroleum, a non-renewable raw material for which no environmentally friendly and affordable alternative has yet been found. And that is why we choose not to market this product for the time being.

Before a new product hits the shelves, there are still a number of steps to be taken. First of all, the packaging. Eefje: “We have developed our own molds for our products. This means that our products have a unique shape and we do not have to develop new packaging for each product. Only the label needs to be designed.” 'Nice anecdote: for some of our cleaning products we use 'old' molds that were still on the manufacturer's shelf. This is why the packaging of Marcel's Green Soap detergent is in the shape of an oil bottle and our dishwashing liquid is packaged in an old Pokon bottle. Of course, all made from 100% recycled plastic.

In the final phase of product development we start working on marketing, or: how do we market the product? Eefje: “In total, we spend about nine months developing a new product, including the three-month test phase.”

Eefje: “Scent is emotion. People buy Marcel's Green Soap not only because it is eco-friendly, but also because it smells nice.” Eefje prefers to develop a new fragrance line every month, but this is a lot more complicated than developing a new product. “Scent has a great influence on the formulation of a product. For example, we tested all kinds of scents for our detergent before we found something that did not fall apart and stuck well to clothes.”

“Smell is emotion. People buy Marcel's Green Soap because it is eco-friendly, but also because it smells nice.”

Developing a new scent takes a lot of time, but Eefje is always looking for surprising scent combinations. Eefje: “You have a number of fragrance families and if you cover all these fragrance families, there is something for everyone. When I came to work at Marcel's Green Soap I missed a floral scent. Together with the perfume house I then started looking for a floral scent combination. I indicate which natural scents I want in it and they then make the samples. We will then have these extensively tested.” The vanilla cherry blossom scent came out best in the test and we now have several personal care products in this spring-like floral scent.

Developing a product that smells good, feels nice, works well, is eco-friendly and affordable. That sounds like a challenge. Eefje: “We are constantly looking for the balance between affordability, sustainability and quality.” And that is not always easy, because although more and more sustainable alternatives are being found for environmentally harmful raw materials, they are often a lot more expensive. Moreover, 'green' raw materials sometimes have their disadvantages.

Eefje: “There is a big difference between sustainable and natural. Natural is not always sustainable and vice versa.” For example, at Marcel's Green Soap we mainly use synthetic instead of natural perfumes. Eefje: “For natural perfumes you have to extract a relatively large number of raw materials from the earth. This is not necessary for our synthetic perfumes. Moreover, with synthetic perfumes you have more control over biodegradability, allergens and quality. Natural perfumes can be contaminated, causing a product to suddenly smell different – ​​less pleasant. We don't want that. With synthetic perfumes, the experience and quality are always the same. I would rather make a shampoo bar with synthetic components that is environmentally friendly and pleasant to use, than a natural one that does not work well or smells less good and is therefore poorly sold. Then we still miss our target.”

“There is a big difference between sustainable and natural. Natural is not always sustainable and vice versa.”

All our products are 100% vegan, which means that we do not use animal ingredients. So we don't include beef fat, which is often used in fabric softeners. And for our solid soap products – shampoo and conditioner bars – we use cetearyl alcohol (a fatty alcohol from vegetable oils) instead of pork fat.

Replacing palm oil is a new challenge. The demand for palm oil is high worldwide. Logical, because you can use it for everything, you need relatively little and it is also fairly cheap. But to extract palm oil, rainforests must be cut down. And that is why we have a growing desire to look for alternatives. A number of products in our range are made with palm oil from RSPO-certified suppliers or are even palm oil-free. For example, we recently developed the first liquid palm oil-free detergent in the Netherlands. That was a challenge because palm oil makes a product feel soft and dissolves dirt. Still, we succeeded and we are proud of that. Read more here about our palm oil-free detergent and why it is a challenge to find a good replacement for palm oil.

Another challenge is replacing sulphates. Eefje: “Sulfate ensures that a product foams and cleans well. But this raw material has a negative association, not because of the environment, but because it would dry out your hair and skin. Our shampoo bars are already sulphate-free and also foam wonderfully. We also want to make our other products sulphate-free in the future.”

In the meantime, Eefje is already busy developing new products such as Marcel's Green Soap deodorant roller, fragrance sticks and shampoo bars for different hair types. And behind the scenes she sits with her nose in all kinds of fragrance samples, looking for a new fragrance line. She already has a favorite, but whether it will be... We'll have to wait a little longer.