Style and Substance - method Laundry

The P&G problem

The laundry category is dominated by one player (Proctor and Gamble), they “own” most of the shelf-space at retailers, have strong IP on efficacy and defend their territory vigorously - and why not? - it’s a multi-billion dollar franchise, and they have successfully scared off many major competitors over the years. It’s just too hard and too costly to compete on their turf, playing by their rules.

We had gained some notice with the world’s first 3X concentrated detergent (which provoked the industry to shift (reluctantly) to 2X) , and then again with the disruptive 8X concentrated pump laundry, but after years of participating and struggling for growth, method wanted to try another approach.

The colorful solution

On review, we decided that we needed to stand out in the sea of red (Tide) that was in the laundry aisle by bringing the method brand equities of color and fragrance to life. Research had indicated that we had overshot the concentration game with our 8X pump detergent and we were confusing consumers. We decided on a 4X formulation that allowed us to still claim category leading sustainability but also shift to a clear PET bottle that gave to us the opportunity to use a 100% PCR PET, a world’s first in the category.

One of the reasons PET is not commonly used in laundry, is because the typical voluminous water based formulas made bottles so large that consumers needed handles to safely lift and pour them. PET Plastic molding constraints do not allow for a typical handle that you might see on a laundry jug to be formed. Using a 4X concentrated formula allowed us to shrink the bottle for 64 loads to around 64oz (about the size of a large soda bottle, which we knew most people had experience in pouring) and so my challenge became to design a beautiful and functional handle grip into the bottle that would allow pouring to be controlled and easy.

I developed a design that pinched the bottles waist in at just right place for pouring, then then added aesthetically designed ribs to strengthen and stiffen the bottle and provide grip for the consumer that worked in all the stages of picking up and pouring.