The History of Febreeze

Febreeze was developed by Procter & Gamble (P&G) in the mid-1990s as a spray to neutralize bad smells. At first, the company marketed the new product as a way for consumers to remove odors like cigarette smoke and cat litter from their homes and clothing. However, intial sales were very poor, so P&G employees began talking to consumers to understand why. They learned that people were often desensitized to bad smells in their daily lives — essentially, the people that P&G was marketing Febreeze to didn’t notice any bad smells, didn’t think they needed to neutralize any odors, and therefore weren’t buying the product. However, research also revealed that some customers with existing cleaning routines were enjoying the product as a “reward” at the end of cleaning a room. In response, P&G relaunched Febreeze, adding perfume to the formula and releasing ads that positioned the fledgling product as the rewarding final step in a cleaning routine ­— many featured footage of women spraying Febreeze on freshly made beds or recently washed clothing. This time, Febreeze caught on and in summer 1998, sales doubled. Since then, Febreeze has remained popular. Today, Febreeze offers a wide range of scented sprays as well as a number of spin-off products.