A fragrant project of creativity and engineering: The design of custom car air fresheners

Year of Production: from 2023

The Client’s Request for the Development of Custom Car Air Fresheners

A leading French automotive brand contacted us with a clear and ambitious request: the complete development of a new line of car air fresheners, from the aesthetic concept to the product engineering, including the selection of fragrances.

The client was looking for a partner capable of guaranteeing:

• An original design, aligned with their brand positioning;
• A safe product for the end user;
• Fragrances free of hazard pictograms;
• Excellent performance in terms of fragrance longevity.

Thanks to the know-how and specialization of our departments, PowerPlast proved to be the ideal partner for this project and was selected for its development.

The Solution Developed by PowerPlast for the Production of Plastic Car Air Fresheners

PowerPlast, through its PowerAroma division specialized in the scenting of plastic materials, oversaw every stage of the development process:

1. Creative ideation: we proposed a range of original concepts, inspired by the language of gestures – a universal, positive, and immediate form of communication.
2. Design and industrialization: we handled both the aesthetic and technical development of the product line, starting from an initial selection of concepts to the final definition of the four subjects chosen for production:
   a. Thumb Up;
   b. I Love You (sign language);
   c. Middle Finger;
   d. Victory Sign (peace/victory gesture).
   These iconic, visually impactful shapes were designed to convey an immediate and emotional message, aligned with the brand’s positioning. We engineered the volumes and weights of each item to ensure effective and consistent fragrance diffusion for at least 30 days, striking the right balance between aesthetics, ergonomics, and performance.
3. Engineering and Mold Creation: Once the final design was approved, PowerPlast took care of the product engineering, including the design and construction of the mold for the industrial production of the plastic car air fresheners. This allowed us to ensure high quality standards, fast production startup, and complete control over the manufacturing cycle.
4. Prototyping and Optimization: We carefully studied the balance between design and functionality, ensuring compatibility with industrial molding processes and optimizing production costs.
5. Fragrance Research: As requested, we involved a French supplier to develop fragrance formulations without hazard pictograms. This enabled the client to communicate safety and care, even at the marketing level.

Challenges Faced in the Design of Custom Car Air Fresheners

One of the main challenges was to ensure long-lasting fragrance diffusion with a limited product volume, while avoiding the use of substances subject to hazard pictograms.
Thanks to our expertise in polymer materials and close collaboration with the fragrance supplier, we achieved a balanced, effective, and safe solution.

The Final Outcome of the Production of Scented Plastic Products

The project resulted in a line of four car air fresheners, produced by PowerPlast starting in 2023, and now available on the French market.

The key strengths of the project are:

• Original and recognizable design
• Safe materials
• Delicate and long-lasting fragrances without hazard symbols
• Flexible and reliable production capacity

Sustainability and Advantages

In the design of the custom car air fresheners, we also focused on sustainability.

The products were conceived with a resource optimization logic through specific actions:

• Reduction of material usage thanks to lightweight geometries
• Elimination of unnecessary packaging
• Selection of non-hazardous and more sustainable components in terms of post-use management

Do you have an idea and need support in developing scented plastic items? PowerPlast and PowerAroma are here to help you with tailor-made, innovative solutions.
Get in touch and share your project with us.