Part 1: How Odor Impacts Absorbent Hygiene Product User Experience

Have you ever noticed a fragrant or even offensive odor that brought back a memory or invoked an emotional response? It's a well-documented phenomenon.

Of the five senses, smell has the best memory and can recall long-forgotten events, images, and feelings. Certain aromas can evoke a sense of home, family, or a favorite activity. Others can create a powerful, negative reaction.

Odor of an absorbent hygiene product while in use is, to some degree, to be expected. But an unpleasant smell from the product itself, when it is removed from its packaging before use, is generally unexpected … and unwelcome. As a result, some manufacturers are focusing on improving the odor of their products. In articles free of perfumes (popular among some consumers), this can mean working toward no odor at all.

Part 1 of this blog series explores the sources of odor, how humans perceive it, and its effect on consumers’ buying behavior and brand loyalty. Part 2 will delve more deeply into techniques for testing and pinpointing odor sources, and addressing them.

Just as a diaper is made up of many components, so is its overall aroma. Primary sources can arise from anywhere in the supply chain and include:

• Raw materials
• Superabsorbent polymer (SAP)
• Pulp
• Films
• Elastics
• Adhesives
• Nonwovens

Two other factors of odor must be considered:

• Article manufacturing. Machinery, oils, and chemicals can contribute odors to the air. Certain interactions can also occur on today’s high-speed processes. More compact production lines may concentrate the volatile compounds emitted, magnifying the smell.
• Faster distribution. High-speed fulfillment and even direct-to-consumer sales can shorten the time between manufacturing and reaching consumers’ hands. With less time for dissipation of volatiles, any lingering odors will be stronger.

Moreover, while individual materials and environmental factors may contribute, the various scents can also combine and offset each other to create the diaper or pad’s overall odor profile. This can make identifying any single source difficult, as the cause may instead be a particular combination of materials used.

The process by which we smell odor is complicated. It begins when an object emits volatile compounds into the air. If enough of these molecules reach the human olfactory system, a signal is sent to the brain, resulting in perception of the aroma.

Yet, humans have more than 300 genes dedicated to olfaction. This suggests that there is little probability that two people will ever perceive odor the exact same way. Personal associations with smells can further complicate matters.

There are also cultural and regional aspects. Certain scents can bring about either positive or negative feelings depending on an individual’s culture or the region of the world in which they live. Because of this, no observer’s categorization is universal.

Conversations about menstrual health and incontinence are becoming more open, commonplace, and less uncomfortable in many regions. Yet in others, the topics are still very taboo, and the chance of receiving feedback may be reduced. This puts the onus on manufacturers to take these cultural and regional aspects into consideration as they design, develop, and introduce their products to consumers in these geographies.

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