Super grime fighters hitting store shelves

Drug Store News, April 24, 2000 by Kevin O'Rourke

Spring is the season of freshness and rebirth. In that spirit, Procter & Gamble has introduced a number of new products to help your customers keep things clean and fresh.

This month the company introduced Cascade Complete, the first premium-priced, premium-performance tier in the automatic dishwashing category. This new line offers superior cleaning and shine, as well as improved scent, in a variety of forms: powder, gel and tablets.

New technology allows consumers to skip the sink. They can get clean dishes without needing to rinse before putting them into the dishwasher.

According to one buyer at a regional chain, Cascade Complete allows retailers to merchandise dishwashing detergent as a good, better, best category. "They are introducing the old 'plus' technology into all the Cascade SKUs," he said.

The company also plans to extend its Tide detergent line with two new formulations. Tide Deep Clean Formula is a liquid detergent that uses proprietary Mannaway enzyme technology for outstanding stain removal. Tide WearCare powder detergent uses a proprietary technology that penetrates garments to help preserve fabric thread and lock in dye to help prevent fading. Both new Tide formulations will be hitting shelves in May.

The company is also introducing Tide in a new 150-ounce size, which, according to one buyer at a major chain, may be overkill for the category. "I already carry the 50-, 100-, and 200-ounce sizes, but can't be all things to all people. Drug stores don't have the space that supermarkets have."

The company is also introducing TideKick, a new dosing and pre-treating system consisting of a plastic roll-on ball. The consumer fills the TideKick with detergent and then rubs the detergent into the stain. It is designed to then be included right in the wash cycle.

In May, P&G will also introduce Febreze Clean Wash, a laundry aide designed to remove odors from clothes in the wash. Febreze Clean Wash will be available in 1-liter and 2-liter sizes and retail for $5.99 and $10.99. Febreze Clean Wash was a product idea generated by consumers who were frustrated that some detergents alone do not effectively wash away tough odors from clothes.

"Of all of P&G's new items, this is the weakest," said a buyer at a national chain. "I am not sold that people believe that clothes are coming out of the wash smelly enough that they are going to use this product at the rate P&G is projecting."

Also, P&G is continuing to build the fabric refresher category by extending the Febreze technology to the Bounce brand. The new freshness spray, available in 1-liter, and half-liter bottles, extends Bounce's fresh scent beyond the dryer.

The company plans to further build the Bounce brand with new Bounce ColorSmart, a dryer sheet with specific color-protection technology that pulls color-dulling minerals away from fabrics.

The new introductions in the household chemical category create happy headaches for buyers. Because of the heavy footprint of these items, they are forced to pick and choose.

"There is a lot of action in this category right now. It becomes a question of what sizes are most promoted and what sizes are customers going to look for in drug stores," said one buyer.