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It is relatively infrequent, surprisingly, that we see products that have a form, or package, and a function that play on one another and enhance one another.
The effectiveness has a somewhat different purpose. In the case of this Clorox product, the package helps to ensure usage.
These days, everyone seems to have hand sanitizer spray or gel and antibacterial wipes. But those tall plastic canisters for wipes can be a bit unattractive, and evoke a much stronger sense of being a cleaning product designed to be hidden away when not in use. Therefore, Clorox has taken a page from Kimberly-Clark’s Kleenex brand and now offers its Clorox disinfecting wipes in decorative oval canisters with a snap-close lid. In this case, the package helps to enhance usage, as it is one that consumers are more likely to want to leave out for easy access.
Just as we now see hand sanitizers in homes and businesses everywhere, so too may we now see wipes appearing more frequently, especially when they can be disguised to fit into one’s décor.
How low can it go?
First, there was 2x concentrated detergent, then 3x concentrated, and we have even seen in some markets 4x concentrated detergent. But for all that laundry detergent innovation, one thing has always stayed the same—the package. The plastic jug may get smaller, and the cap may get more functional, but it's still a jug with a handle. Until now.
Leave it to method, the U.S.-based home and personal care company, to revolutionize another category. The company did it years ago with dish detergents in packages so pretty that you’d want to leave them on the kitchen counter. Arguably, method was one of the first companies to make cleaning product packages artistic and attractive.
While this new package certainly is attractive, it is also extremely functional. No jug with a handle here. Instead, the very compact bottle with a pump system. It says clearly on the pack “4 pumps = 1 load,” and that there are 50 loads per 20-fl.oz. bottle (25 loads for a 10-oz. bottle). The company gives instructions on the back of the pack as to exactly how many pumps to use (one for a light load, etc.) plus it also offers instructions for using the detergent as a pretreater as well. The detergent is only slightly more concentrated than 3x detergents on the market. Most 3x detergents use about one-half ounce per load; the method product uses a little less than that.
It is not that often that we see significant package innovation in this category. Look to this concept to gradually make its way to other companies and other markets as method's competitors begin to take notice.
Lynn Dornblaser is the director of the Custom Solutions Group at Mintel International. She can be reached at 312-932-0400 or lynnd@mintel.com.
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