Frosch
A Werner & Mertz household-care brand built around phosphate-free, environmentally oriented cleaning products.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Frosch is a German household-care brand owned by Werner & Mertz GmbH, the Mainz-based manufacturer also associated with brands such as Erdal. The brand was introduced in 1986, when Werner & Mertz registered Frosch Neutral Soap Cleaner as a phosphate-free household cleaning product. Its launch extended the company's existing portfolio with a brand whose proposition combined cleaning performance with a visible ecological orientation. The Frosch range initially focused on household cleaning agents and grew from a niche environmental offering into one of Germany's best-known cleaning brands. Its portfolio includes multipurpose 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. The wider family comprises more than 80 products according to published reference material. Frosch has been described as Werner & Mertz's largest revenue source and, in 2006, represented approximately 80 percent of the company's revenue. Frosch's market position developed strongly during the late 1980s and 1990s. It became a German market leader in household cleaners, although it lost that position in 1999 after competing brands adopted stronger environmental messaging and Werner & Mertz suspended Frosch advertising for several years. A renewed advertising investment helped the brand regain market primacy in 2000 and 2001. In 2001, Frosch was reported to hold 19.5 percent of the German household-cleaner market, ahead of Der General and Mr. Clean in the cited comparison. Environmental positioning remains central to the brand. Frosch products were developed to use plant-based or otherwise environmentally oriented ingredients while retaining practical cleaning performance. Werner & Mertz has pursued the positioning through packaging, manufacturing, formulation and external partnerships rather than relying solely on advertising. Production facilities associated with the brand in Mainz and Hallein have obtained EMAS environmental-management certification. The company has also worked with NABU, the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union, on recycling and biodiversity projects. Packaging circularity is a major part of the Frosch proposition. The Recyclat Initiative, launched in 2010, supported the use of post-consumer recycled plastics. The brand later moved toward bottles made entirely from recycled material and, in 2019, collaborated with Green Dot and Erema on retail packaging using recycled plastic recovered from Germany's Yellow Sack household-recycling stream. Published accounts report that the share of Yellow Sack material in bottles reached 50 percent by 2022, alongside recycled bottles. Frosch has also promoted recyclable refill pouches and packaging designs intended to reduce virgin-material use. Ingredient sourcing has attracted both innovation and scrutiny. Frosch uses plant-derived surfactants and has incorporated materials associated with orange-peel oil and European-grown crops such as sunflower, rapeseed, flax and olives. Werner & Mertz has sought alternatives to palm-kernel-oil-derived surfactants, including non-food rapeseed grown on poorer soils and orange-peel-derived ingredients. Nevertheless, the continued use of palm-kernel-oil surfactants in some products has been criticized because of links between plantation expansion and rainforest loss. Consumer studies and industry awards have reinforced Frosch's reputation for trust and sustainability. Reader's Digest Trusted Brands research has repeatedly placed Frosch first in Germany's household-cleaner category, including the 2020 study. The brand has also received recognition from the German Sustainability Award, Effie, Lebensmittel Praxis, Global Packaging Awards, German Design Award, WorldStar Packaging Awards and related programs. Its commercial range has continued to expand: Frosch achieved reported lea…
History
Frosch emerged from Werner & Mertz's effort to create a household-cleaning brand with an explicit environmental identity. In April 1986, Werner & Mertz registered Frosch Neutral Soap Cleaner, described in reference material as the first phosphate-free household cleaning agent of its kind on the German market. The brand complemented the company's established products, including Erdal, by linking ecological considerations with practical cleaning effectiveness. During the late 1980s and 1990s, Frosch moved beyond its initial niche. Its range expanded across everyday household tasks, including multipurpose cleaning, scouring, glass care, specialist cleaning, toilet care and dishwashing. The brand became a German market leader in household cleaners during the 1990s. Its momentum weakened in 1999, when rival manufacturers increasingly adopted environmental claims and Werner & Mertz stopped Frosch advertising for a six-year period. The company subsequently renewed its marketing effort. Reference material states that an advertising program costing €6.1 million helped Frosch recover market primacy in 2000 and 2001. A 2001 comparison placed the brand at 19.5 percent market share, ahead of Der General and Mr. Clean. Frosch later broadened its portfolio into laundry detergents, hand soaps, shower products and air fresheners. The Frosch Oasis room-freshener line became a notable brand extension and received industry recognition for successfully creating a sub-line within the main brand architecture. By 2006, the Frosch brand was reported to account for roughly 80 percent of Werner & Mertz's revenue, making it the company's central commercial platform. The parent company reported revenue of €455 million in 2019; this figure concerns Werner & Mertz rather than Frosch alone. Sustainability has been pursued across formulation, manufacturing and packaging. Werner & Mertz's Mainz and Hallein production sites associated with Frosch have received EMAS environmental-management certification. The company has worked with NABU on the use of recycled plastics and on biodiversity projects, including support for the reintroduction of tree frogs to Rhine floodplain habitats near Mainz under the initiative commonly translated as “Frosch protects frogs.” Packaging became increasingly central to the brand's environmental strategy. The Recyclat Initiative began in 2010, initially emphasizing recycled plastic from used bottles. Frosch subsequently moved toward bottles made entirely from recycled material. In 2019, the brand worked with Green Dot and Erema on packaging made from recycled plastic collected through Germany's Yellow Sack system. By 2022, reported packaging composition had reached a 50 percent share from recycled bottles and a 50 percent share from Yellow Sack waste. The brand also developed a recyclable polyethylene stand-up pouch without glue; the design was patented in 2017 and later received packaging and design awards. Frosch's ingredient policy has involved both innovation and criticism. The brand has used plant-derived surfactants from sources including sunflower, rapeseed, flax and olives, as well as orange-peel oil in some products since the early 1990s. Werner & Mertz has sought to replace some palm-kernel-oil-derived surfactants with alternatives such as non-food rapeseed grown on low-quality soil. However, the use of palm-kernel-oil surfactants has remained a subject of environmental criticism because of the deforestation risks associated with plantation cultivation in Southeast Asia. The brand's public reputation has generally been favorable. Marketing researchers have associated Frosch with environmental competence and innovation, while Reader's Digest Trusted Brands studies have repeatedly identified it as a leading household-cleaner brand in Germany. Frosch has received awards for sustainability, advertising, packaging, product development and brand extension. In 2020, it was reported to have taken market leadership in glass cleaners, with laundry-detergent share reaching 3.3 percent. The same year saw strong year-on-year growth in liquid soap and laundry-detergent sales during the first quarter. Frosch remains an active Werner & Mertz brand spanning household cleaning and selected personal-care categories.
- 2022
Frosch receives a WorldStar Packaging Award
[1]The brand is recognized for packaging using a reported 50 percent share of Yellow Sack-derived recycled plastic.
- 2021
Frosch recyclable packaging wins design recognition
[1]The packaging receives a German Design Award and National German Sustainability Award Design recognition.
- 2020
Frosch gains recognition for sustainability and product performance
[1]The brand receives sustainability-strategy recognition, wins a product award for sensitive shower gel and is reported to lead Germany's glass-cleaner category.
- 2019
Retail packaging made with Yellow Sack recyclate is introduced
[1]Frosch collaborates with Green Dot and Erema on packaging made from recycled household packaging waste.
- 2017
Recyclable stand-up pouch is patented
[1]Frosch develops a polyethylene stand-up pouch designed without glue and intended for recycling.
- 2010
The Recyclat Initiative begins
[1]Werner & Mertz begins a formal program to expand the use of post-consumer recycled plastics in Frosch packaging.
- 2009
Frosch is named Germany's most sustainable brand
[1]The brand receives National German Sustainability Award recognition.
- 2008
Frosch receives a brand-extension award
[1]The brand is recognized in the best brand extension category for establishing Frosch Oasis room fresheners.
- 2001
Frosch records a leading market share
[1]The brand is reported at 19.5 percent share in a German household-cleaner comparison and wins a Silver Effie in the same year.
- 2000
Frosch regains market primacy
[1]Renewed advertising investment helps the brand return to the leading position in German household cleaners.
Products and positioning
Environmentally oriented household and personal-care products designed to combine plant-based or resource-conscious formulations, recyclable packaging and effective everyday cleaning.
Household cleaner · 1986
Frosch Neutral Soap Cleaner
The product associated with the brand's 1986 introduction. It established Frosch as a phosphate-free household-cleaning offering and expressed the brand's original combination of everyday cleaning utility and environmental differentiation.
Household cleaner
Frosch multipurpose cleaners
A core part of the range for routine cleaning of household surfaces. These products represent Frosch's broad everyday-use proposition and are marketed within the brand's plant-oriented and environmentally conscious product architecture.
Specialist cleaner
Frosch glass cleaners
Products formulated for windows and glass surfaces. Frosch was reported to have achieved market leadership in the glass-cleaner category in 2020, making this one of the brand's notable specialist segments.
Dishwashing
Frosch dishwashing liquids
Manual dishwashing products within the household-care portfolio. They extend Frosch's ecological cleaning proposition into kitchen use and are part of the brand's broad range of daily cleaning formats.
Laundry care
Frosch laundry detergents
Laundry-care products that became an important later expansion of the brand. Reference material reports strong sales growth in early 2020 and a 3.3 percent market share for the category at that time.
Air freshener
Frosch Oasis
An air-freshener sub-line developed under the Frosch umbrella. Its establishment was recognized as a successful brand extension and broadened Frosch beyond surface, dish and laundry cleaning.
Personal care
Frosch hand soaps and shower gels
Personal-care extensions including hand soaps and shower gels. The range includes Aloe Vera hand lotion and Senses Orange Blossom Sensitive Shower Gel, the latter receiving a 2020 Product of the Year award according to reference material.
Marketing campaigns
- 2010Recyclat Initiative
Germany
A packaging and circular-economy program focused on increasing the use of post-consumer recycled plastics in Frosch bottles and other packaging.
Outcome. The program supported the later use of bottle recyclate and Yellow Sack-derived plastic.
- 2000Frosch market-recovery advertising campaign
Germany
Werner & Mertz renewed Frosch advertising after a multiyear pause, supporting the brand's return to household-cleaner market leadership during 2000 and 2001.
Outcome. Frosch regained reported market primacy.
- Frosch protects frogs
Germany
A biodiversity initiative supported by Werner & Mertz and NABU that promotes the reintroduction of tree frogs to Rhine floodplain habitats near Mainz.
Outcome. Local biodiversity-support activity associated with the Frosch sustainability identity.
Brand decisions
2019
Introduction of Yellow Sack-derived retail packagingProduct launchBackground
Werner & Mertz pursued higher recycled-content packaging and a more circular relationship with household plastic waste.
Action taken
Frosch collaborated with Green Dot and Erema on retail packaging made from plastic recovered through the Yellow Sack system.
Aftermath
The packaging approach received subsequent sustainability, design and packaging recognition.
2010
Expansion of recycled-plastic packagingStrategyBackground
The brand's ecological positioning increasingly depended on reducing packaging's use of virgin plastic and supporting a circular materials system.
Action taken
Werner & Mertz launched the Recyclat Initiative and expanded the use of post-consumer recycled plastics.
Aftermath
Frosch later introduced packaging using recycled bottles and Yellow Sack-derived recyclate.
2000
Renewal of Frosch advertisingStrategyBackground
The brand had lost market leadership after a period in which competitors intensified environmental communications and Frosch advertising was suspended.
Action taken
Werner & Mertz reinvested in advertising to rebuild the brand's market position.
Aftermath
Frosch regained reported market primacy in 2000 and 2001.
Advertising investment. €6.1 million (2000-2001 campaign)
1986
Launch of a phosphate-free cleaning platformProduct launchBackground
Werner & Mertz sought to complement its existing product portfolio with an environmentally differentiated household-cleaning brand.
Action taken
The company registered and introduced Frosch Neutral Soap Cleaner.
Aftermath
Frosch developed from a niche product into a major German household-cleaner brand.
Sources1 sources
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