Laundry Composition with Encapsulated Liquid Benefit Agent

1 . A process for making aggregate granules comprising encapsulates of liquid benefit agent anchored to detergent particles, the process comprising the steps of:

a) providing a powdered and/or granulated laundry composition comprising detergent particles selected from surfactants, fabric softeners and/or detergency builders;

b) preparing a slurry comprising water, optional soluble materials, and encapsulates of liquid benefit agent;

c) spraying the slurry prepared in step b) onto the laundry composition provided in step a) using a high rate of spray to create droplets larger than 70 micron in order to form aggregate granules having encapsulates of liquid benefit agent anchored to detergent particles.

2 . A process as claimed in claim 1 in which the liquid benefit agent is perfume and the aggregate granules formed in step c) comprise perfume encapsulates or microcapsules at levels of more than 1 wt %, preferably more than 3%, more preferably from 10% to 60% by weight of the granule.

3 . A process as claimed in claim 1 in which the slurry produced in step b) also comprises a coloured dye or pigment.

4 . A process according to claim 1 in which the spraying step c) takes place in a low or medium shear mixer, having a Froude number (Fr) less than 1 and a ratio Fr to powder load of less than 0.01 per kg.

5 . A particulate laundry detergent composition including a plurality of aggregate granules encapsulates of liquid benefit agent anchored to detergent particles, obtainable by the process as claimed in claim 1 , and characterised in that the percentage of the benefit agent associated with the sieve fraction of 1000 to 1400 μm is greater than 10% of the total of benefit agent associated with sieve fractions 0 to 1400 μm.

6 . A laundry detergent composition according to claim 5 wherein the benefit agent is perfume.

7 . A laundry detergent composition according to claim 5 comprising a zeolite builder.

8 . A laundry detergent composition according to claim 6 in which more than 50% of the encapsulated perfume is contained in aggregate granules than will not pass through a 500 μm sieve.

9 . Use of a laundry detergent composition as claimed in claim 6 in a laundry washing process at a concentration of 1 to 10 g/l of wash solution, preferably 6 to 8 g/1.

10 . Use as claimed in claim 9 in which the perfume encapsulates comprising the aggregate granules have a breakage level in the wash solution of at most 20 wt % based on the total perfume content of the perfume encapsulates.