The market for home fragrance products in the United States has shifted over the last several years with mass-market air freshener diffusers growing at the expense of other product forms, such as candles, according to The U.S. Market for Home Fragrance Products, a new report from Packaged Facts.

Overall home fragrance sales reached approximately $5.1 billion in 2007 and Packaged Facts forecasts a 3% annual increase over the next 5 years, reaching $6 billion by 2012.

Growth in this market is directly related to home air fresheners, which accounted for 45% of sales in 2007, up from 36% in 2003. The increase, in part, is due to the successful promotion of Proctor & Gamble's Febreze line. The line's higher-priced Air Effects room sprays helped revive and drive sales of the entire room spay segment. New products, such as diffusers, have contributed significantly to sales gains in the market as well.

"On the mass-market level, this market is equal in size to that for household cleaning products. To eliminate and control odors remains a primary need among consumers, and over the last five years, they have demanded more from home fragrance products. Clearly, innovation has propelled the growth of the overall market," comments Tatjana Meerman, Publisher of Packaged Facts. "Consumers have fallen in love with technological gadget diffuser devices as well as the more passive reed diffusers. As a whole, the Air Fresheners segment has seen the most innovation unlike candles, which has seen the least and that is reflected in its sales."