Frosch

Frosch is a German household-cleaning and personal-care brand owned by the Mainz-based family company Werner & Mertz GmbH. The brand was introduced in 1986 with a neutral-soap cleaner that the company describes as Germany’s first phosphate-free household cleaning product. Its name and green frog identity have become closely associated with environmentally oriented cleaning in the German market. The original proposition combined ecological positioning with ordinary cleaning performance rather than presenting environmental responsibility as a specialist niche. During the late 1980s and 1990s, Frosch expanded from its initial cleaner into a broad range of household products. Its portfolio includes all-purpose cleaners, scouring products, glass cleaners, specialist cleaners, toilet cleaners, dishwashing liquids, and laundry detergents. Later extensions added hand soaps, shower gels, and air fresheners, including the Frosch Oasis line. Frosch became a major growth engine for Werner & Mertz. The brand reached German market leadership in household cleaners during the 1990s, lost that position in 1999 after competitors adopted stronger environmental messaging and Frosch advertising was paused for several years, and regained primacy in 2000 and 2001 after a substantial advertising investment. In 2001, the brand was reported to hold 19.5% of the German household-cleaner market, ahead of Der General and Mr. Clean. By 2006, Frosch represented about 80% of Werner & Mertz’s revenue according to the cited reference material. Sustainability is expressed through both formulation and packaging. Frosch has used plant-based surfactants and has progressively increased the use of ingredients sourced from European agriculture, including oils from rapeseed, sunflower, flax, olives, and other crops. Orange-peel oil has also been used in selected products. The company has acknowledged continuing use of surfactants derived from palm-kernel oil in some products while working on alternatives such as non-food rapeseed oil and citrus-derived ingredients. Packaging has been a central part of the brand’s ecological identity. Werner & Mertz began working with the German environmental organization NABU on the use of post-consumer plastics and launched the Recyclate Initiative in 2010. Frosch bottles have progressively incorporated recycled material, and the company has reported that its cleaning-agent bottles are made entirely from recycled plastics. In 2019, Frosch, Green Dot, and Erema presented retail packaging made from 100% recycled plastic, including material collected through Germany’s Yellow Bag household-recycling system. By 2022, the reported share of Yellow Bag waste in the bottles had reached 50%. The brand has received recognition for consumer trust, sustainability, packaging, and product innovation. Reader’s Digest surveys repeatedly placed Frosch first in the household-cleaner category, while German sustainability and packaging awards recognized its sustainability strategy and recyclable formats. Frosch remains an active brand with a broad presence in Germany and other European markets, although the supplied reference material does not identify a single current chief executive or provide a current corporate revenue figure.

Werner & Mertz introduced Frosch in 1986 as an ecological extension to an existing household-care portfolio that included the Erdal brand. The first registered product was a neutral-soap cleaner positioned as phosphate-free and based on natural ingredients. Frosch was designed to combine environmental considerations with effective everyday cleaning, helping the company address consumers who wanted alternatives to conventional household chemicals without abandoning mainstream performance. The brand expanded during the late 1980s and 1990s from a small ecological proposition into a broad household-cleaning range. It entered categories including dishwashing, glass cleaning, toilet care, specialty cleaning, scouring, and laundry. Frosch achieved German market leadership in household cleaners during the 1990s. Its position weakened in 1999 when competing manufacturers adopted environmental themes in their own marketing while Frosch’s advertising activity was discontinued for six years. Werner & Mertz subsequently invested €6.1 million in an advertising campaign, and Frosch regained market leadership in 2000 and 2001. The cited material gives the brand a 19.5% household-cleaner share in 2001. Frosch became increasingly important to Werner & Mertz’s overall business. The brand reportedly contributed approximately 80% of company revenue in 2006. Portfolio extensions later included hand soaps, shower gels, and air fresheners. The Frosch Oasis air-freshener range was recognized as a successful brand extension, while the broader brand continued to be associated with environmentally conscious consumption. Sustainability initiatives developed in parallel with product expansion. Frosch products were manufactured at Werner & Mertz facilities in Mainz and Hallein, both of which obtained EMAS environmental-management certification according to the supplied material. Werner & Mertz also collaborated with NABU on increasing the use of recycled plastics. The Recyclate Initiative, launched in 2010, helped move Frosch packaging toward post-consumer recycled material. The company later stated that its cleaning-agent bottles were made from recycled plastics, with material sourced both from used bottles and the Yellow Bag domestic-recycling system. In 2019, Frosch partnered with Green Dot and Erema on a retail package made from 100% recycled plastic. Packaging developments continued to attract industry attention, including awards for a recyclable polyethylene stand-up pouch and for increased use of Yellow Bag waste. By 2022, the cited material reported that half of the recycled content in Frosch bottles came from Yellow Bag waste and the other half from recycled bottles. Ingredient policy has remained an area of both innovation and scrutiny. Frosch has used plant-derived surfactants from sources including rapeseed, sunflower, flax, olives, and citrus peels, and the company reported that between 10% and 100% of surfactants in its products came from European cultivation from 2013 onward, depending on the product. Palm-kernel-derived surfactants have also attracted criticism because of links between plantation expansion and rainforest loss. Werner & Mertz has pursued alternatives, including non-food rapeseed oil grown on depleted soils and orange-peel oil. Consumer and industry recognition has reinforced the brand’s market position. Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands research repeatedly ranked Frosch first in the household-cleaner category, beginning in 2002 according to the cited material. Frosch also received German sustainability, packaging, design, and marketing awards. An Öko-Test review in 2019 criticized a washing-powder formulation for containing a synthetic polymer; the company announced a reformulation, and a subsequent check reportedly did not detect the cited polymer. A 2020 review of Frosch liquid laundry detergent rated it satisfactory and continued to question another polymer ingredient for which the company said no fully natural substitute was then available.

• 2022

  Higher Yellow Bag content reported

  [1]Frosch (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  The reported share of Yellow Bag recycling waste in Frosch bottle material reached 50%.

• 2019

  100% recycled retail packaging demonstrated

  [1]Frosch (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Frosch, Green Dot, and Erema presented a retail package made from fully recycled plastic.

• 2010

  Recyclate Initiative launched

  [1]Frosch (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Werner & Mertz formalized efforts to use post-consumer recycled plastics in Frosch packaging.

• 2002

  Reader’s Digest trust leadership

  [1]Frosch (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Frosch began a reported run of first-place rankings in the household-cleaner category of the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brands study.

• 2001

  Reported 19.5% household-cleaner share

  [1]Frosch (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Frosch was reported to lead German household cleaners with a 19.5% market share.

• 2000

  Market leadership regained

  [1]Frosch (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Frosch regained primacy in household cleaners after a major advertising campaign.

• 1999

  Market leadership lost

  [1]Frosch (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Frosch surrendered German household-cleaner leadership as competitors adopted environmental messaging and the brand paused its own advertising.

• 1991

  Gold Effie recognition

  [1]Frosch (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Frosch received a Gold Effie for its marketing work.

• 1986

  Frosch brand introduced

  [1]Frosch (brand)en.wikipedia.org

  Werner & Mertz registered and launched a phosphate-free neutral-soap household cleaner under the Frosch name.

Environmentally oriented, plant-based, effective, and skin-conscious household and personal-care products, supported by recycled and recyclable packaging.

• Household cleaner · 1986

  Frosch Neutral Soap Cleaner

  The original Frosch product, introduced in 1986 as a neutral-soap household cleaner. It established the brand’s combination of everyday cleaning performance, phosphate-free formulation, and environmental positioning.

• Dishwashing

  Frosch Dishwashing Liquids

  A major Frosch category comprising hand dishwashing products positioned around plant-derived ingredients, cleaning effectiveness, and skin compatibility. The range forms part of the brand’s core household-cleaning business.

• Laundry care

  Frosch Laundry Detergents

  Laundry detergents that extend the Frosch ecological proposition into fabric care. The category includes liquid and powder products and has been subject to independent testing concerning synthetic polymers and formulation choices.

• Surface care

  Frosch Glass and Multi-purpose Cleaners

  Everyday surface-cleaning products covering glass, general-purpose, toilet, scouring, and specialist applications. Frosch’s glass-cleaner products were reported to achieve category market leadership in Germany in 2020.

• Air freshener

  Frosch Oasis

  An air-freshener extension beneath the Frosch umbrella. Its establishment as an independent sub-range was recognized for successful brand extension, with products such as water-lily room freshener cited in industry awards.

• Personal care

  Frosch Hand Soaps and Shower Gels

  Later additions to the portfolio that apply the brand’s environmental and skin-conscious positioning to hand washing and shower care. Cited examples include aloe-vera hand lotion and sensitive shower gel products.

• 2010Recyclate Initiative

  Germany · Europe

  A packaging and sustainability initiative focused on increasing the use of post-consumer recycled plastics in Frosch bottles, developed with environmental and recycling-sector partners.

  Outcome. Frosch progressively increased recycled content and later used material from Germany’s Yellow Bag system.

  Source
• 2000Frosch market-leadership advertising campaign

  Germany

  Werner & Mertz invested €6.1 million in advertising after a six-year pause in Frosch advertising. The campaign helped the brand recover household-cleaner market leadership in 2000 and 2001.

  Outcome. Market leadership was regained.

  Source
• Frosch protects frogs

  Germany

  Werner & Mertz supported a NABU initiative to help reintroduce tree frogs to Rhine floodplain habitats near Mainz, linking the brand’s frog identity with biodiversity conservation.

  Outcome. Local biodiversity support; the supplied material does not quantify the results.

  Source

• 2019

  Introduction of fully recycled retail packagingProduct launch

  Background

  The brand sought to support a circular packaging system rather than relying mainly on virgin plastic.

  Action taken

  Frosch collaborated with Green Dot and Erema on retail packaging made from 100% recycled plastic.

  Aftermath

  The package received subsequent packaging and design recognition.

  Source

• 2019

  Response to synthetic-polymer criticismOther

  Background

  Öko-Test revised the assessment of a Frosch washing powder after identifying a synthetic polymer.

  Action taken

  Werner & Mertz stated that it would remove the cited type of ingredient from future formulations.

  Aftermath

  A 2020 follow-up reportedly no longer detected the offending polymer in the tested product, although later liquid-detergent testing still raised questions about another polymer ingredient.

  Source

• 2010

  Expansion of recycled-plastic packagingStrategy

  Background

  Packaging waste and the environmental impact of virgin plastic became central concerns for the brand’s sustainability proposition.

  Action taken

  Werner & Mertz launched the Recyclate Initiative and worked with NABU to increase recycled content.

  Aftermath

  Frosch moved toward bottles made from post-consumer recycled material and later incorporated Yellow Bag waste.

  Source

• 2000

  Reinvestment in Frosch advertisingStrategy

  Background

  Frosch had lost household-cleaner leadership after its advertising was discontinued while competitors increased their environmental messaging.

  Action taken

  Werner & Mertz funded a €6.1 million advertising campaign.

  Aftermath

  Frosch regained market leadership in 2000 and 2001.

  Advertising investment. €6.1 million (Campaign around 2000-2001)

  Source

• 1986

  Launch of phosphate-free neutral-soap cleanerProduct launch

  Background

  Werner & Mertz sought to complement its established household portfolio with a product focused explicitly on ecological concerns.

  Action taken

  The company registered and introduced the Frosch neutral-soap cleaner.

  Aftermath

  The product became the foundation of a broad ecological household-care brand.

  Source

1. 1Frosch (brand)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Frosch official websitefrosch.com