Natural Insect Repellents Affect Fine Mist Sprayers

03.05.2019

 

It’s March 5. Much of the country is still covered in snow and cold. So why are we writing about insect repellents?

The first day of Spring is March 20. Bug season will be here before you know it.

And a bug trend that continues unabated is the move toward consumers demanding insect repellents with natural ingredients.

Last year this was a big topic in the consumer media. Publications like Travel + Leisure, Men’s Health, Prevention and Woman’s Day all wrote articles about natural repellents that work.

So what does all of that have to do with you? Those natural products can affect how a fine mist sprayer works. That can have an impact on your customers.

And with the continued rise of mosquito-borne diseases such as Zika and West Nile Virus, users of insect repellents are counting on consistent, thorough sprays more than ever.

According to the "Insect Repellent Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2018 – 2026" report by Transparency Market Research, “there has been a change in consumer demographics shifting toward use of natural insect repellent products such as essential oils that have low toxicity and do not harm the environment.”
 

Product Impact
“For a long time, fluid products were made entirely from synthetics, and it was easy to predict how those manufactured chemicals would behave [in a plastic dispenser],” said Stephan Ballot, vice president at FLOCON, INC., to Chris Linden, editor-in-chief at Northwest Business Magazine.

“But now with the rise of all-natural products and more water-based ingredients, consistency is a difficult target. A natural product can vary from batch to batch and year to year, based on a number of factors,” Ballot said.

In an interview with Global Cosmetic Industry magazine, Andrea Mitarotonda, , Ph.D., skincare technical manager at Oriflame Research and Development said, “One must also remember that the more "hard core” a formula is, the more likely that hidden pitfalls [will emerge]. For instance, when vegetable ingredients are used extensively, one should consider that environmental conditions, such as weather variability, have a significant effect on both performance and availability.”

The natural ingredients have a short duration time, making consumers spray more often. This article on Smithsonian.com says that most only last 1-2 hours.

Consumer Impact
That can affect the user experience, which led FLOCON to redesign the traditional fine mist pump.

“The unit we delivered [FLOMIST™] was made to a standard that can accept a wider variance in fluid composition and consistency, so that it delivers a very consistent mist of product,” Ballot said.

How do you know which sprayer works with your formulation? Test it.

“You want to make sure that the materials used in the pump don’t react badly with the product itself where it creates swelling and makes the pump fail after a while,” said Fred Ekstrom, senior engineering director at FLOCON, INC. in an interview with Brand Packaging magazine.

Ekstrom says that brands often send their fluids to him so they can be tested for swelling in the company’s laboratories.

Brands should also request samples from potential suppliers so they can do their own testing to ensure that all parts of the fine mist sprayer are compatible with their fluids.

Pump failure due to component swelling is not an option when brands are working to capture or maintain share of this growing market.

Let us help you choose a new fine mist sprayer for your insect repellent. Reach out to us at info@floconinc.com or call us at 815.444.1500.