 Re: The Incredible Shrinking Packaging
Another story from Tide... courtesy of the Cincy Enquirer.
Tide getting slimmer, stronger
Bottle will be half the size, slicing P&G's shipping costs
BY CLIFF PEALE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Starting in a test market in October, Procter & Gamble Co. will cut the amount of Liquid Tide in a bottle in half, strengthen the formula and keep the price the same.
In a fundamental change to one of P&G's most enduring brands, P&G says the test market could lead to implementing the change throughout North America. The company says consumers can use half as much detergent for the same cleaning power.
"You absolutely get the same number of uses," spokesman Ross Holthouse said. "It's concentrating the formula."
The test market in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the first step for the change. P&G will remove all of the old formula from the shelves, taking from consumers a choice that it says might confuse them. And the bottle cap will be smaller as well, helping them to use the right amount of detergent.
Since Tide sells about 39 percent of the detergent in the U.S., the change signals P&G's willingness to tweak its biggest brands. It also lowers manufacturing and shipping costs, helps the environment and signals the influence of retailers who want to free up shelf space and distribution space.
"I think that's a big positive," said Randy Miller, director of grocery buying at Milford-based bigg's. "That's less inventory and fewer dollars that we have to carry through the system."
Holthouse said P&G knows the switch will require a change in consumer habits. University of Cincinnati marketing professor Frank Kardes said shoppers' natural reaction is that bigger packaging means better value and that P&G will have to overcome that.
"I think people can adapt to that," he said of the P&G change. "It can be done, but it requires motivating them (consumers) to think more carefully about it as they're doing it."
P&G shares closed down 18 cents at $59.54 Wednesday.
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