Living together
“As the trend of ‘pet parenting’ continues to gather momentum, a growing number of cat owners share their living space with their cats. Odalia, a part of Diana Pet Food, develops unique, innovative scent and care solutions for pets and their owners to live in perfect harmony,” says Marc Henry Lussigny, Director of Odalia.
Cat owners are interested in litters that do not discourage their cats from using their litter box and which stay fresh-smelling for as long as possible. “Developed to improve the smell and attractiveness of cat litters, our new C’SCENT line helps create a more pleasant environment for cats and their owners.”
Unique research in odour management
To design ingredients that are perfectly adapted to today’s cat litter market, Odalia’s expert scientists have adopted a holistic approach to odour management research that integrates cat behaviour, owner expectations, and product characteristics. C’SCENT has been formulated using Diana Pet Food’s multifaceted expertise in pets and Symrise’s extensive knowhow of fragrances and consumer science.
Inspired by pets
Together with Odalia, Diana Pet Food’s expert ethologists and statisticians have carefully studied cats’ behaviour when using the litter box. They have used video observation and developed new methodologies to identify innovative criteria and behavioural patterns that can be used to assess litter attractiveness and effectiveness.
Listening to owners
Odalia and Symrise have also conducted consumer studies to investigate cat parents’ expectations of litter. These included an in-home survey of 90 cat-owning families in the US, and an additional online survey of 450 families in Europe conducted via the Yummypets social platform (a social network for pet owners with Diana Pet Food as a shareholder since 2016). The survey analysed owners’ cat litter preferences, their habits and practices, such as type of litter used, purchase criteria and preferred fragrances, as well as the behaviour observed by owners in their cats when they used the litter.
“The results of these studies have confirmed that odour control is a priority in litter choice for owners, and enabled our scientists to identify various consumer types with various needs,” said Kathy Lanza, Senior Manager Consumer & Marketing Insights at Symrise.
“The research revealed specifically which type of scents are favoured by cat owners, which has helped us develop new solutions.”
Mapping cat litters
Odalia also explored the properties of cat litter by analysing the odour profile and intensity of all US litters (which makes up more than 50% of the world litter market in value) as well as their odour control and clumping performance.
This preliminary step in investigating the options available to consumers was crucial in ensuring that Odalia could develop a diverse range of fragrances that match the selection of litters currently available on the market.
Advanced aromatic technologies
The high performance in controlling litter odour achievable with the C’SCENT line is due to advanced aromatic technologies developed by Symrise, such as NEOFRESH®, which is traditionally used to overcome specific environmental, basic or body-related malodours.
“NEOFRESH technology simultaneously prevents the formation of malodours, removes malodorous compounds from the air, and suppresses the perception of offensive odours. Using suitable fragrances, it also modulates our perception of a nasty smell,” explained Marco Singer, Manager Sensory Performance at Symrise.
Expanding the range
The C’SCENT line, manufactured in Brazil, Germany, Singapore and the US, is available worldwide. “The existing product range already includes a large variety of odours and is adapted to all litter types: crystal, clay, scoopable, non-scoopable, natural and regular,” says Marc Henry Lussigny, Odalia Director. “We can also develop customized solutions if requested.”
Odalia is also developing a new range for the pet oral care and shampoo markets. It anticipates introducing this in 2019.
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