Majority of Consumers Want Products With Built-In Protection Against Bacteria, Survey Says

Carried out by independent market research specialists Toluna Greenfield for antibacterial technology company Microban, the survey shows that 54.2 percent of consumers strongly agree that they would prefer to buy a product with built-in antibaterial protection while a further 18.0 percent agree a total of 72.2 percent.

Furthermore, when asked whether they believed that antibacterial products brought important benefits to consumers, 64.5 percent strongly agreed and 17.6 percent agreed.

Paul McDonnell, managing director of Microban Europe, which is based in Cannock, Staffordshire, says, "This survey shows that there is a definite appetite among consumers for products of all kinds that have antibacterial protection, probably far in excess of the number of products currently available in most sectors of the market.

"Consumers are aware that highly effective antibacterial treatments are available and, to some extent, we believe that manufacturers are behind the curve when it comes to using this technology to provide genuine consumer benefits."

Antibacterial treatments such as Microban can be built into almost any product at the point of manufacture and the company licences its technology for use in everything from plastic pet products to bathroom tiles and from fridges to stationery items. They help to inhibit growth of bacteria, reducing risk of infection and occurrence of odours.

More results from the research show that there is a particularly strong desire among consumers for antibacterial protection in certain products -- 71.9 percent would like to see antibacterial protection built into clothes, shoes and towels to help prevent odours while 69.5 percent would like to use chopping boards, kitchen tools and kitchen surfaces with antibacterial properties to prevent potential bacterial cross contamination.

McDonnell adds, "There are areas of the market where we are very much aware that consumers have a keen interest in, and desire for, antibacterial products that is not being fully satisfied by manufacturers. These include clothing and kitchenware."

The new research also shows that Microban is the antibacterial brand with by far the strongest UK consumer awareness, recognized by 32.6 percent of those surveyed.

"Microban definitely has a higher profile in the U.S. but its presence in Europe has been growing for some years and the research confirms that it is the market leading brand in the UK when it comes to antibacterial protection," McDonnell says.

Microbans antibacterial technology can be incorporated into a wide range of consumer and B2B products at the point of production, providing durable antibacterial and antifungal protection that is designed to last the useful life of the product.

Its antibacterial protection is based on a wide range of technologies to suit each specific application but predominantly makes use of third-generation silver. On untreated products, bacteria can potentially double in number in 20 minutes but Microban disrupts their functioning, usually causing them to die within 24 hours.