Wipes make cleaning easier. Consumers have known that for years, and now, as more businesses remain focused on cleanliness, they’re turning to wipes to clean a variety of surfaces. At the same time, wipe dispensers can be found in just about every office, retail store and education setting.

“What we have seen is that even though there were closures, everyone was using wipes,” explains Laura Mahecha, director of I&I cleaning, Kline. “Whether to clean hard surfaces or to wipe their hands, people are cleaning more frequently.”

Sales of industrial and institutional (I&I) cleaning wipes reached $2.2 billion at the end-user level in 2021, according to a new study by Kline. That’s a 21% increase from pre-Covid 2019 levels. Kline surveyed more than 600 end-users including building service contractors, foodservice, healthcare, education, lodging and industrial facilities. And while Covid-19 may have been pushed off the front pages of national newspapers, it remains top-of-mind for cleaning professionals.

“More than half of those we surveyed said increased cleaning is the new standard at their facilities,” says Mahecha. “It bodes well for the future of wipes.”

Specifically, when Kline asked respondents about cleaning at their facilities: 56% agreed that a higher level of cleaning is the new standard; 24% said they would maintain this level of cleaning until the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new guidance; and 20% admitted to cleaning fatigue.

A higher level of cleaning is the new normal. But Kline also discovered that interest in sustainability remains firmly in place. Respondents reported greater interest in bamboo-based substrates and less microfibers. There was also interest in cotton substrates.

When asked about ingredients of interest, bleach was the most common response. But Mahecha said natural solutions, such as lavender, citric acid and botanicals scored higher than common cleaning solutions such as hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid.

Counterintuitive? Not really, according Mahecha.  “Everyone is cleaning so much that they are worried about asking custodial staffs to inhale bleach several times a day,” she explains. “As a result, users are switching to more environmentally-friendly cleaning products.”

The third edition of Kline’s Industrial & Institutional Cleaning Wipes: US Market Analysis and Opportunities is available now, and forecasts the U.S. market to 2026.  (To learn more, visit www.klinegroup.com.)



Hospitality & Employment
Wipes are certainly user friendly. That’s a key benefit as many industrial and institutional establishments still struggle to find workers post-pandemic. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of December 2021 there were more than one million vacant roles in the hospitality industry—but employment has improved dramatically in the first couple of months of 2022 in some I&I sectors.

According to the National Restaurant Association, eating and drinking places added a net 123,700 jobs in February on a seasonally-adjusted basis. February represented the fourth consecutive month with job growth in the 125,000 range – and 14th straight month of employment gains overall. Through February, eating and drinking places added a net 1.8 million jobs. Despite the steady gains in recent months, eating and drinking places remained 824,000 jobs – or 6.7% – below their February 2020 pre-pandemic employment peak, according to NRA.

The full-service segment suffered the most job losses during the initial months of the pandemic—and still has the longest path to recovery. As of January 2022, full-service restaurant staffing levels were over 650,000 jobs (or 12%) below pre-coronavirus readings in February 2020. Job losses in the limited-service segments were somewhat less severe during the initial months of the pandemic, as these operations were more likely to retain staff to support their existing off-premises business. As of January 2022, staffing levels at snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars—including coffee, donut and ice cream shops—were 68,000 jobs (or 8%) above February 2020 readings. Meanwhile, the quick service and fast casual segments remained 81,000 jobs (or 2%) below pre-pandemic levels.

Other segments also have a much longer road to reach pre-pandemic staffing levels. Employment counts in the cafeterias/grill buffets/buffets segment (-35%), foodservice contractor segment (-21%), catering and mobile foodservice segment (-20%) and bars and taverns segment (-14%) are still significantly below their February 2020 levels.



Wipes To Go
Consumers spent much of 2020 and 2021 hunkered down at home due to travel restrictions, home schooling and work-from-home mandates. Now, they’re ready to travel.

“Experts are predicting a resurgence of global tourism this summer as Covid-19 cases decrease and governments relax mask mandates,” says GBAC executive director Patricia Olinger. “As they welcome an influx of guests from around the world, hospitality organizations that achieve GBAC STAR accreditation are prepared with effective health and safety protocols in place.” 

The Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) is a division of ISSA, the leading association in the global industrial and institutional market.

To achieve GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation, facilities must meet 20 program elements related to cleaning and infection prevention, including standard operating procedures, cleaning and disinfecting chemicals, sustainability, and training and worker health programs. Facilities pursue reaccreditation annually to ensure continuous improvement. The program elements include:

• Facility leadership, commitment and planning;
• Goals and strategies;
• Supplies and inventory management;
• Training, preparation and prevention; and
• Constant vigilance.

Help from P&G
With restaurants short-staffed, they’re looking for effective and fast cleaning options. To meet their needs, Procter & Gamble relaunched its portfolio of Dawn Professional products. The relaunch includes Dawn Disinfecting Wipes. According to P&G, users get the grease-fighting power of Dawn in a daily disinfecting wipe. With hydrogen peroxide as a main active ingredient, these wipes kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses.

“When Dawn Disinfecting Wipes are used on high-touch surfaces around restaurants and commercial kitchens, customers and staff alike can trust that this easy-to-use solution is cleaning both the messes they see and killing the bacteria and viruses they can’t,” says Paul Edmondson, vice president, North America, P&G Professional.
 
Dawn Disinfecting Wipes provide a multitude of benefits in a commercial setting. Recommended for use on hard, washable, non-porous, non-food surfaces where they can kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, the wipes go beyond just disinfecting and do a great job of cleaning.

With nearly one million job openings in the hospitality industry, workers are more time pressed than ever before.

“Restaurants are often the heartbeat of their communities,” says Edmondson. “We see them as small business superheroes, so developing innovations that support their needs is at the center of what we do. By improving existing products that customers know and trust with new Dawn Professional offerings, we are empowering these restaurant owners by reducing concerns and stress associated with cleaning so they can do more of what they love—sharing their food with the world.” 


“We’re committed to providing the right tools for hospitality workers to make their jobs easier,” he adds. “The Dawn Disinfecting Wipes are increasingly popular because they boast the grease-fighting power trusted from Dawn in an easy-touse-wipe that also kills 99.9% of bacteria and viruses.”

Other products in the Dawn professional line include Manual Pot & Pan, multi-surface heavy duty degreaser, heavy duty floor cleaner, power dissolver and dish spray.

“We deeply understand the importance of continuously advancing and improving our line of products for our valued customers,” says Ugochi C. Nwachukwu, Research & Development director with P&G. “This updated portfolio showcases innovations to the Dawn Professional line and features a new product that will have a significant impact on cleaning efficiencies for small businesses. P&G’s products are trusted every day to keep homes clean, and at P&G Professional, we strive to develop products that share the same reliability, but with industrial strength for commercial kitchen cleaning.”
 
 
Ecolab’s Activities
Ecolab is the No. 1 player in the global I&I market. Last year, the company expanded its wipes manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of National Wiper Alliance, a wipes manufacturer in Swannanoa, NC. The 500,000-square-foot plant recently added five new manufacturing lines and under Ecolab’s leadership will continue its contract manufacturing business, producing several disinfecting wipes products. Financial details of the purchase were not disclosed.

At the time of the acquisition, company executives noted that Ecolab continues to innovate and expand its capabilities to meet customers’ evolving needs and the global demand for key cleaning and disinfecting solutions.

“As we continue to invest in Ecolab’s new facility and build the local team, we’re elevating our capabilities and capacity in wipes manufacturing—a critical solution that enables customers around the world to effectively and efficiently clean and disinfect a variety of surfaces,” says Ryan Rensvold, vice president and general manager of Ecolab’s global wipes business.

On the Road…Again
After the washout of 2020, the hotel and lodging industry began to rebound in 2021. Now, the industry faces an uneven, potentially volatile recovery, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA). In 2019, the nation’s nearly 60,000 hotels experienced an average annual hotel occupancy of 66%, selling 1.3 billion rooms. The pandemic brought U.S. hotel occupancy to a historic low of 24.5% in April 2020, and annual occupancy fell to 44% for the year. Hotel occupancy for 2021 was estimated at nearly 58%—higher than had been projected this time last year, but still down more than 8% lower than pre-pandemic levels.

Earlier this year, AHLA teamed with Accenture to issue its State of the Hotel Industry Report. Driven, in part, by “leisure travel— a blending of business and leisure travel—lodging is beginning to recover, but full recovery is several years away. According to an analysis for AHLA by Oxford Economics, hotel room night demand and room revenue are projected to nearly return to 2019 levels in 2022. Room revenues are projected to reach $168 billion, within 1% of 2019 figures and an increase of 19% compared to 2021. Occupancy is projected to hit 63.4%, nearing the 66% rate achieved in 2019 and far above the 44% and 57.6% reached in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

According to AHLA and Accenture, there remain strong headwinds and potential disruptors for a full recovery. While leisure travel will likely return fully in 2022, business travel is projected to remain significantly below pre-pandemic levels. The severity of the short-term effects of Omicron on the hotel industry are still unclear. Moreover, future variants will create volatility in both the return of leisure and business travel, and tens of billions of dollars connected to meetings and events spending. According to Cvent’s November 2021 Group Business Insights Report, one quarter of meetings being sourced are hybrid, and 72% of surveyed meeting planners are sourcing events with an in-person component. Hotels will continue to struggle with staffing shortages, reducing their ability to maximize revenue from potential travelers. Inflationary pressure means that though a nominal recovery may occur earlier, true adjusted recovery for the industry will take until 2025, according to STR and Tourism Economics.

Earlier this year, in February, Reckitt, parent company of Reckitt Professional, donated four million packs of Lysol Disinfecting Wipes to 16 community organizations in Los Angeles.

The USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health (IIGH) distributed the wipes to the underserved, homeless, educators and youth in Los Angeles. The donation is part of a partnership between Reckitt and IIGH which also includes a public art project to encourage residents to learn more about Covid-19 vaccines.

“Lysol’s mission is rooted in helping families keep their loved ones illness-free,” says E. Yuri Hermida, executive vice president of North America hygiene for Reckitt. “That’s why, at the onset of the pandemic, we knew we had to step up to help combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Through this new partnership with USC’s IIGH, we look forward to continuing our efforts to provide resources to those hardest-hit by the pandemic.”
It’s not the first time that Reckitt and Lysol have focused on wipes and schools. Last fall, Lysol donated 16 million packs of Lysol Disinfecting Wipes to Title I schools throughout the U.S. through its “Here for Healthy Schools” initiative.

Homeowners Want to Keep It Clean
Post-Covid, restaurants and healthcare facilities are determined to maintain their levels of cleanliness. Consumers are determined, too. That’s good news for wipes producers and their suppliers. A survey by the American Cleaning Institute (ACI) found 83% of American households use cleaning, disinfectant, or antibacterial wipes at least once a week.

The online survey of more than 1,000 adults, conducted by international market research firm Ipsos on behalf of ACI in February, sought to determine if consumer cleaning and disinfecting practices established during the Covid-19 pandemic would continue.

According to ACI, 62% of survey respondents stated they would maintain their pandemic-related cleaning behaviors, with 50% saying they would continue to frequently disinfect high-touch surfaces. Regarding wipes, 64% of participants said effectiveness is the main factor when making purchasing decisions, and more than half (52%) reported keeping wipes in multiple locations throughout their home.

“Cleaning is caring,” says Brian Sansoni, ACI senior vice president of communications, outreach, and membership. “Proper use of cleaning and disinfecting wipes is a part of that process. Millions of Americans will continue to rely on these products as a part of their daily and weekly routines to help keep their households clean and safe.”

Cleaning industry executives said wipes have been the preferred format of disinfection selected by consumers during the pandemic. In fact, 71% of U.S. consumers use wipes at least once a week. No wonder that wipes expenditures per household grew from $6.65 in 2016 to $15.53 in 2021, according to Mintel.


How Am I Doing?
Prior to the pandemic, cleaning standards were mostly set through visual inspection. Elevated scrutiny on cleaning and general hygiene from the pandemic, however, has shifted expectations to a higher standard. This silver lining of the past two years can lead to fewer instances of illness among occupants, but cleaning departments themselves have to commit to a higher standard of general effort and touchpoint disinfection. 

To help in-house cleaning departments and building service contractors (BSCs) better evaluate themselves, Stephen Ashkin, CEO and president of the Ashkin Group, crafted four questions every department should ask regarding the gauge of their cleaning services and whether improvements are needed. 
1. Are we cleaning the right spaces in the facility?
When it comes to spreading pathogens, some parts of a facility pose a far greater risk. By identifying different parts of the facility and assigning a degree of importance to cleaning and disinfecting, you can create benchmarks and performance data. 

2. Are we cleaning the right surfaces in those spaces?
Once areas of a facility are highlighted as higher risk for transmitting pathogens, departments should then specifically outline the greatest spots of concern. For example, cleaning frequencies for walls or ceilings are far less of a priority than door handles, dispensers, and stall locks in a restroom. Making those particular spots a priority can be pivotal in keeping facilities safe. 

3. Is the current frequency of cleaning sufficient or excessive?
Just because a contract indicates that a space needs to be cleaned once daily doesn’t mean that’s the optimal frequency. A break room, which Ashkin uses as an example, will likely need multiple frequencies compared to a personal workspace.

4. Are we cleaning effectively?
An example of the aforementioned technology includes adenosine triphosphate (ATP) meters, which measure residue levels on surfaces. These meters not only test the quality of work being done but are used in a larger-scale data collection to determine which tasks are most important to ensuring occupant health. 

Where They’re Buying
The pandemic had every industrial and institutional cleaning service and their vendors rethinking purchasing decisions—and how they purchased them. According to Kline, the most significant growth was observed for e-commerce platforms. Also noteworthy, the dramatic increase in sales direct from chemical manufacturers. As a result, sales through distributors fell dramatically.

Specifically, according to Kline: sales through distributors fell 21%; direct sales increased 115%; sales at retailers declined 37%; and sales via e-commerce increased 190%.

But wherever I&I product sales are taking place, one thing is for sure—the pandemic put an emphasis on cleaning and that’s great news for the wipes industry.