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Tide Pods: Useful or Silly?
Procter & Gamble is making a major marketing push with their new Tide Pods, which seek to "[add] a whole new dimension to laundry, with an innovative look, feel and performance." Question is, is this innovation for the sake of innovation, or does this truly provide a measurable benefit to the end user?
The Pods are little dissolvable packets containing three washing ingredients that are kept separate, like epoxy or explosive chemicals. The idea is that you throw one packet into the wash—relieving yourself from the difficult strain of pouring liquid into a cup—and then it dissolves.
Something that surprised me is that the commercials for the product (click here if you want to see them, I can't embed them, they're just too dopey) don't seem to target the people who'd benefit from this the most: Laundromat users. Back when I was living in an apartment with no washing machine, I would have definitely preferred to take a couple Pods down the block rather than hauling the gallon jugs I'd buy to save money.
Also, an amusing metric touted in P&G's product announcement is that the Pods "took years in development...and over 450 packaging and product sketches." Four hundred and fifty presentation boards would impress me; four hundred and fifty sketches, not so much, particularly over the course of years.
In a write-up on Tide Pods, the Times made an interesting assertion:
Tide Pods is indicative of a trend that is gaining traction in the marketing of mainstay household brands, which could be termed Apple envy. Giants like Procter, Clorox, Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever are seeking to continually deliver distinctive new products that pique the curiosity of consumers who dote on high-technology items like smartphones and tablets (the iPad kind, not the laundry kind).
I admire the thinking insofar as things like smartphones and tablets can greatly improve our experience of often unexciting tasks we need to get through; but do you readers feel this thinking can be accurately translated onto household chores? Let us know in the comments.
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Comments
Why buy a new product to make sure you don't use too much detergent? Why not just use _less_?
Hi the film wrap the liquid is water soluble. its totally eco friendly plastic like material. it will dissolve in water and no harm to ECO
I have to agree with several others on here, the value & environmental impact negatives far out-weigh any minor mess annoyance I have with other laundry products. Tide did manage to make me think about their product for more than a split second and I've actually been having reoccurring thoughts about it since then. That might be an indication that they've made a big enough impact that it'll change many other consumers laundry cleaner purchasing choices - especially in combination with the other benefits they're selling with the new product design.
And then he also described the gamut of reactions to Procter & Gamble introducing a competitor but it was blue and white, and the possibility of legal action.
So clearly, this seems a market niche where innovation is extremely specious, where each infinitismally minute introduction must be heralded as the next big thing.
Also, in commodity markets like laundry detergent, P&G and others are constantly searching for points of difference with their competition. Developing a new delivery method like this is a great one. I bet that Tide is a billion dollar brand. Just grabbing an extra .1% is hard, but extremely profitable.
People who are really serious about laundry detergent should make their own laundry machines.
I like Ken J's suggestion about building a washing machine with reservoirs for detergent, softener and bleach. A better high tech washing machine is what will really appeal to the Apple lovers out there.
I have this product at home (a different brand but pretty much the same). For the plastic case to melt in the dishwasher, it's very thin and sticky already. I'm sure some of them have disintegrated already, in fact it looks like some of them have deflated.
Their shelf life vs a big bottle of dishwasher fluid is questionable, however this is a short term problem that will be fixed with time.
One last note, I definitely agree that laundromat users should buy these in bulk, as well as the elderly. My grandmother doesn't have the fortitude to lug a gallon container to the dishwasher, tilt it and hold it in that position. Suffice to say, this would make life a lot easier for her.
-Higher cost per load
-bulkier products that use more space in transportation (aka not fuel efficient)
- overpackaging for the big plastic tub size
- inability to tailor dosage to load thus wasting product when doubling up or washing very small loads
What woud impress me ?
-Even more concentrated product to reduce bulk (very possible)
-Dosage cup that you can fill and then throw in the wash with the content and resuse (standard ones break after a few washes)
-Clean pouring spout or other better system
-Better environmental standards (or green product certification)
For laudromat users, a carry away refillable format would be great. Just like a water bottle with a dosgae spout.
That I would buy, meanwhile I use Nellies washing soda, it's the closest contender.
Then on their first venture to a regular laundrymat they guess by filling a few cap fulls of detergent and dumping silly amounts of detergent into the machine.
I laugh, I should stop 'em, but I'd rather let them figure out that they're dumb on their own. In my old apartment building I saw this happen about 6 times, each time I laughed, and each time I go back to the laundry room filled with bubbles.
Liquid spills, is sticky and nasty and always gets all over the bottle. There are issues pouring and keeping the cap clean.
Similarly, the powder gets all over the place. When spilled on the dryer top, it can cause scratching as well. Messy!
These pods, are the best answer in my opinion. Now, WHY they would hype up the 'innovative' aspect of their design is beyond me. Seems like a simple no brainer design solution to me, but DEFINITELY better than existing products in the category.