For anyone interested....

[liamy1]

Video from an Australian news show about OMO detergent (Persil in UK).

Filmed at Port Sunlight in the UK.

The amount of research for soap is staggering, right down to having Australian water in the Netherlands, to test how the soap works for the market it is to be sold.

I found it interesting.

It also made me think. A lot of us who buy detergents from different parts of the world, are we silly for doing so as they won't have been tested against our own water and even the machines we have in our respective markets?

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqEz0JtfelM

 

[supersuds]

It's an interesting piece. All the R&D centralized in Europe.

As far as the water goes, I don't know about Australia, but there is a lot of variation in water across the USA. Older detergent packaging often specified using more product in hard water areas, and people in soft water areas learned from experience that they needed to use less. (Oversudsing!) Some water may have high iron content, some may not. I don't know if you can draw such fine distinctions about a product being specifically designed for one "national" water type.

I suspect that the biggest adjustments they make are to suit local laundry preferences and practices.

A tough reporter would have asked, if Omo is so high tech, what exactly are you leaving out of Drive and Surf? Lol.

 

[washer111]

How Long is a Piece of String?

... However long you make it.

The same is true of Australian water.
Depending on the source, it can be anything from almost like rainwater (in terms of softness and taste), taste putrid and still be relatively soft, stink badly of rotten eggs (bore water), be iron-laden or not, have more calcium than a glass of milk for any given volume, salty or not etc.

I'm not sure what "Australian Water" is, but I can't imagine its very good.
Perhaps they are testing for rural users who are more likely to encounter peculiar water conditions than city folks (bar Adelaide. Very hard and slightly saline water).

The other issue I think is that water treatment, aside from under-sink carbon-filtration is practically unheard of. Most people living in areas with hard water do not have water softeners. They are not advertised (aside from those magnetic scam devices).

In the USA, you have home water treatment solutions encompassing all the major areas, Iron Treatment, Sulfur removal, increasing calcium/mangesium (after R.O. treatment) or decreasing it (softening) that can be tied together for comprehensive full-house treatment, so I think its more expected water is a relative norm over there.

 

[liamy1]

Water type

"I don't know if you can draw such fine distinctions about a product being specifically designed for one "national" water type".

I don't know how true this is, as there isn't much on the net, but I did read a few years back, that Persil is formulated for the particular region it is sold. E,g in UK Northern Water tends to be v.soft to soft and in the South it is normally harder.

But all detergents have different doses on the box for varying hardness, so I am confused as to why they would do this (if this is true).

 

[washer111]

It would be easy enough to determine whether or not the product has been subtly changed, without any alterations to packaging.

Just check out the PLU (barcode) strip between two products. If there is a difference of some sort, then I'm pretty sure it would earn itself a separate barcode.

 

[liamy1]

Will try and have a look...

Only issue is, will have to wait until Im in the south, to check products on sale.