Shielding against stains
Every so often great innovations are discovered more by chance than by design.
The development of Cif Shield Technology started with just such an accidental observation: one that unlocked the secret to superior cleaning.
Tea before your main course?
Many of our factories produce several different Unilever food brands under one roof. The manufacturing process uses multifunctional stainless steel vessels which require thorough cleaning every time production switches from one product to another.
Factory workers found that, after making a batch of sauce, it was significantly easier to clean these vessels if, prior to the sauce being made, the vessels had been used to process tea. We decided to investigate and discovered it was the tannins in tea that were responsible.
The antioxidant effect
When a consumer spills some pasta sauce, for instance, onto their kitchen worktop, the oils and fats in the sauce will slowly change from an easy-to-clean liquid state to a tougher-to-clean semi-solid state. This change is the result of oxidation, which takes place in the form of chain reactions spreading throughout the spillage.
In our factory vessels, we found that the tannins in tea work as an antioxidant, inhibiting these reactions and keeping the leftover sauce in a liquid state for longer.
Watch the video to hear more about the innovation behind Shield Technology.
From principle to product
The principle is straightforward, but to develop a stable, pleasant product was still a complex challenge. Cif Active Shield Technology contains two key ingredients. The first is a special polymer which forms a tiny transparent film on the surface to prevent the spillage from sticking (the film is only a few hundred nanometres in width – about a million times thinner than a credit card). The second is citric acid which, like tannins in tea, helps keep the spill in a liquid state for longer.
Active Shield was launched in October 2009 and is now on the market in 29 countries. The fragrance of the Bathroom variant of Velvet was designed by one of the most important perfume designers in the world at a company called Firmenich.
Did you know?
Burnt on food and limescale are the two most regular types of cleaning challenges in the house, according to a consumer study in the UK and Italy conducted on behalf of Unilever. 64% of respondents said it was their biggest challenge.
The first spray for household cleaning was launched by Cif almost 20 years ago. Since then, the popularity of sprays has steadily increased. In fact, today you’ll find a spray product in 80% of homes in Italy and 75% in the UK.
