A New P&G Product gets tested in the South

[jt1985]

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Procter & Gamble Co. said Wednesday it has begun trying out a lower-cost version of Tide laundry detergent in a bid to churn up new sales in the recession.

"Tide Basic" is hitting shelves in some 100 Wal-Mart and Kroger Co. stores in southern and southwest U.S. states. P&G spokesman Kash Shaikh said the new Tide product sells for some 20 percent less than the regular Tide powder, which generally retails for around $8 for the smallest container.

The six-decade-old Tide brand has more than $3 billion in annual sales, but it and other P&G products have lost sales to cheaper alternatives as households tighten spending.

The Cincinnati-based consumer products maker has reported good sales during the recession for lower-cost "Basic" versions of Charmin toilet paper and Bounty paper towels.

Shaikh said Tide Basic is aimed at households that haven't been using Tide, besides existing customers who want a lower price. It is available only in powder form, not liquid, and won't have all the latest cleaning technologies as the regular brand.

"It's a good clean at a good price," Shaikh said.

He said P&G expects the trial to quickly provide a good reading on the potential for a full-scale rollout.

P&G officials have said they expect the company's sales overall to remain slow this year.

Bob McDonald succeeded A.G. Lafley as CEO on Wednesday. Lafley, who remains as chairman, told analysts recently that P&G plans to offer a range of prices and products to suit different household budgets.

Among Tide products launched in the past year have been the upper-end Tide Total Care and a Stain Release laundry additive.

 

[gansky1]

Good, but...

They should be focusing their energies on New "Vintage Tide" with the old scent(s) - who wouldn't love to smell the "washday of your childhood" again?

 

[strongenough78]

I agree!

Another vintage scent they need to bring back is DASH. I so miss the smell of that stuff. I say we harass these companies til they give us our vintage detergents back!

 

[jeffg]

"It is available only in powder form, not liquid, and won't have all the latest cleaning technologies as the regular brand."

It'll be fun to see how much cleaning power Tide has without enzymes. I'm guessing next to none.

 

[kqkenmore]

I love Tide but they can have Tide basic if it is like Charmin and Bounty basic they suck.I have been told by my mate that if I bring home either of those basics I will be divorced.The reason people do not buy Tide is because they do not want tide.What they need to do is reduce the price of Tide or put out high value coupons like they use to ex.2.00 off.I agree that they need to bring back some of the vintage names and scents.Dash is what we used when I was growing up and I miss it also the vintage scent of Tide.

 

[launderess]

Tide goes on sale often enough that if one shopped carefully and stocked up it should last the duration. I mean we're not speaking about storing fresh food or some such.

IMHO people either like Tide products or they don't. Also P&G isn't giving away anything, so if the product costs less it stands to reason something is "missing". One gets what they pay for.

L.

 

[supersuds]

Huh?

An article about this in the Wall Street Journal says:

"Tide Basic won't have some of the 'bells and whistles' in regular Tide, such as fragrance-heightening technology....."

What the heck is fragrance-heightening technology? More perfume? If that's what they leave out, it will be an improvement over most of the versions they have out now.

 

[launderess]

Have Said This Before

P&G holds patents to various technology and chemicals that cause scent to remain in clothing long after it is dried, either by machine or otherwise. This the reason why one smells those heavy perfume Tide scents including their stabs at "Lavender and Violets" and such days or even weeks after doing the wash. It is also why washing those darn scents out of laundry is difficult.

Apparently some darn fools did market research and reported back consumers wanted whatever scent from their laundry products to last not only after wash is tumble dried, but after storage as well.

Have a huge bottle of Tide "Simple Pleasures" in Lavender and "whatever" scent and it is barely used, and probably will go into the rubbish. Not only is the scent powerful and rather, well gross, it does not wash out easily. Several washes afterwards one can not only smell the scent on laundry, but in the wash and rinse waters as well.

Another patent and technology used by P&G is the inclusion of "Febreeze" technology into laundry detergents and fabric softeners. If one knew what was in Febreeze, you certianly wouldn't wish to wear it next to one's skin.

 

[angus]

Apparently almost everyone seems to like these fragrances that cling like glue to the laundry. I have noticed in recent months that sitting on the train on the daily commute into NYC that I am surrounded by the scents of other peoples' laundry. Granted I happen to have a very sensitive nose, but even sitting in meetings, those heavy, sickly sweet scents are completely overpowering, between the detergent and the fabric softener.

I still cannot understand why P&G simply won't revive the original scents of Tide, Cheer and Gain. There is a whole generation that doesn't even know what those scents were. I take particular offense at the Gain commercial that touts the scent of Gain as the "scent you fell in love with". Today's Gain smells nothing like the original. But I guess I am just an old Dinosaur about these things.

 

[rolls_rapide]

If one knew what was in Febreeze, you certianly wouldn't

What exactly is in it?

 

[alr2903]

I bought a dependable care maytag off craigs list a couple weeks back and whatever the fabric softner was (it was green) the machine still reeks of it, after washing only rags in Very hot water with LCB, i even scrubbed the dispenser and the "barrel of the agitator with a toothbrush and it still reeks, even with the lid wide open. Give me 1/2 of a dollar store dryer sheet for static in colors and i am good to go. I miss Lemon Fab powder, I think someone mentioned the Sears detergent has a lite lemon scent. Does it?

 

[kqkenmore]

sears detergent has a lite lemon scent

sears detergent does have a light lemon scent if you get the original in the orange box.I also liked lemon fab too.I hate all of this detergent that smells like a french whorehouse and you cannot get rid of the scent

 

[launderess]

Febreze

Cyclodextrin.

 

[animasinsulinpu]

Ban Suavitel

Anyone like this fabric softener? Someone on here once posted a link to "ban Suavitel.com". Very funny!! But that stuff almost makes me want to blow chuncks. When I did use it I could smell it at my Circle-K store. Nasty crap....Bill in Az.....

 

[whitekingd]

Oh, Bill!!

I LOVE Suavitel! But that is the reason I use fabric softener - for the scent. Field of Flowers, Festival of Flowers, Lilac, I love them all. And they last soooooo long!!

 

[kenmorekeith]

Vintage Scents

I would love to smell the old tide.Also blue cheer,cascade,oxydol and the old reg clorox 2 powder.

 

[veg-o-matic]

Cyclodextrin

"cyclodextrin
Ring-shaped glucose molecule chain created in 1993 at Osaka University, Japan. Cyclodextrins are commonly used in food additives, and can also be used as capsules to deliver drugs, as cutters to separate ions and molecules, and as catalysts for chemical reactions."

If I remember correctly, the cyclodextrin in Febreze is made from corn. Seems a lot safer to have that next to one's skin than some of the other chemicals in detergents.

veg

 

[whirlcool]

If I remember correctly, back in the 80's wasn't there an uproar about too much scenting? Like people being gassed in elevators by womens overpowering perfume. People complained about as much about that as they did about cigarette smoke.

Laundress, I remember your comments about the Tide Rose & Violet detergent you used one time. You stated that your ironing board reeked of the scent after ironing a few items washed in that detergent. That gave me a chuckle. Thanks for the forewarning. But we never use Tide because of the sudsing quotient. Our WP shredder would whip up a storm of suds with Tide.

As for Sauvitel. We used to use the Baby Fresh Scent until we couldn't find it anymore. We tried the Flower Fields 3X version and washed our sheets in it. We couldn't stand to be in that bed with that odor! It burned our eyes and noses! We actually had to change the bed sheets in the middle of the first night! Didn't someone here also say that a neighbor used Sauvitel and when they dried their clothes it stunk up THEIR backyard?
Last weekend I put in 1 drop of the stuff in the rinse water thinking that would be enough for a load of sheets. We almost couldn't get in the bed that night. It wasn't as bad as the first time, but it still REEKED! We actually don't use any softener now, we love the scent of line dried clothes much better. We have been using Gain with Baking Powder which is a pretty light scent and occasionally use FOCA on more heavily siled items. FOCA has a very light scent too.

 

[dirtybuck]

kenmorekeith:

I used to LOVE the older Tide, Cheer and Oxydol scents. They really made the laundry smell extra fresh.

The one detergent that I like the smell of is Tide HE. In my opinion, it SLIGHTLY resembles the smell of Dash. But, at 8.50 a box, I'll stick to my Surf "with All stain fighters".

 

[joelippard]

I'll be sticking to my usual Tide

Nothing goes in my GM Frigidaire's but Tide Powder. I use the Mountain Spring scent because it resembles the smell of the original most closely, in my opinion. I love the high sudsing, you can see dirt riding on top of those suds and when the overflow rinse kicks in all those dirt and suds float away, or in case with the 1-18 it get's slung out of the top holes of the tub and stays away from the clothes below.

 

[kenmorekeith]

Vintage scents

dirtyduck

I buy Tide He from time to time but I have really been enjoying that new Cheer brightclean HE. It works great and smells nice not to heavy. Also C/R gave it a good rating higher than Tide and less per load. What do you think about these new laundry sheets? Will you them a try? I get a 64 load bottle of Cheer at target for $8.87 not bad.

 

[mysteryclock]

Vintage scents

Makes me wonder if there was something in the original, vintage Tide scent that is "chemicala non grata" these days -- i.e. subsequently banned or widely frowned-upon? Of course anyone with a decent nose in the perfume industry should be able to come up with a modern mimic of it, I would think, although developing one that also lasted through the dryer w/o discoloring clothes, changing scent dramatically or exploding would be a neat trick of organic chemistry.

 

[jeffg]

chemicala non grata

Manufacturers aren't required to list laundry detergent ingredients, so few people know how long that list might be.

Part of the reason detergents (and washed clothing) don't smell as good as they used to is the lack of STPP in formulations. It was one of the keys to a "fresh" smell, even with unscented detergents.

 

[j2400]

I wonder if a lot of people don't like heavily scented detergents because otherwise their clothes won't smell clean. A good, heavy dose of Tide, followed by a heavy dose of Downy, followed by seven sheets of Bounce, will leave enough scent to make it seem "kinda sorta" to some fresh even when clothes are never washed in anything but cold water, in a modern BOL washer.

 

[j2400]

I, myself, usually dislike scents...particularly the ones that are used in most modern laundry detergents, which smell like an exploding perfume factory. A perfume factory that makes that really cheap, really nasty perfume they sell by the gallon to unknowing little kids to buy for Mommy's birthday.

Usually, I prefer no scent, particularly when I dry outside. A light scent for inside drying (air or machine) is OK, and possibly a good idea.

 

[mysteryclock]

Sometimes scents help...

Well as a Charlie's Soap user I occasionally find myself wanting a detergent that has at least a ~very~ light scent. Case in point -- we're nighttime potty training around here right now so sometimes we end up with some exceptionally smelly items to launder along with the usual kids grimy clothes. When I wash these in CS they come out physically clean (no stains) but still don't smell as fresh as I would like. I get around this by using some Biokleen Bac-Out in the wash cycle which contains both enzymes and a lime-citrus scent, which is really quite mild once the wash is done and seems to completely eliminate any remaining odor.

Not sure if it is the enzymes or the scent which does the trick, but I suspect the latter because I can get the same better-smelling effect by adding a few drops of lemon oil to the white vinegar in the rinse.

I think a light, natural scent may be the way to go. Surprisingly, I sort of like the Bac-Out lime, and I'd like to try some of the Vaska natural lavender detergent if I could ever find any at a retail location.

 

[MikeS]

A Scent That's Not Overpowering

It has been hard to find a detergent that has a nice scent but doesn't linger on like cigarette smoke or cheap perfume.
By accident, I found the answer at my local Big Lots store.
It had 32 ounce bottles of Sunlight Multi-Action 3X concentrate with "lemon fresh" scent on sale for just $2.20 each. Being a cheap so and so, I bought three bottles and put them to work on my wash. (I also know Sunlight is sold in Canada and the Big Lots specials may have been the last of the Unilever-made formulas before The Sun Company bought Unilever's detergent brands in the US and Canada.)
I was very pleased. The formula didn't oversuds in my trusty Roper automatic; my whites and colors came out clean and bright, and the pleasant lemon scent pretty much disappeared after a tumble dry.
All in all, a successful experiment. I plan to buy more Sunlight before Big Lots sells out!

 

[laundryboy]

Vintage Scents

I always remember using SOLO and YES in my grandmothers wringer and then in her Whirly.. If only they would bring them back...

 

[danemodsandy]

One Reasonable Scent Is....

....The current "Smells So Good" formula Oxydol (lime green jug). I get it at Big Lots. Cleans very well, cheap at $3 for a 33-load bottle, and the scent is reminiscent of old Tide or Oxydol or something else with phosphates. Not perfumey, just a nice clean smell you can live with.

In this house, there is a complete, total, absolute boycott on Proctor & Gamble stuff until they stop over-scenting everything. I'm sick and tired of having my nose run and my eyes water from so much needless perfume, particularly on sheets. If I wanted my bedroom to smell like Paris Hilton, I would invite her to spend the night.

 

[angus]

Interesting that you found that stash of Sunlight here in the US and at Big Lots no less. The nearest Big Lots to me is around 20 miles away and is a real bust. The only detergent brands I ever see there are the usual Purex, Trend, some All and Sun products. Oh, well, this is the Northeast...