P&G to discontinue Gain Detergent

[sudsdudeshane]

I was chatting with a client yesterday who happens to work for P&G. She told me there are plans to phase out the Gain brand by the end of '07. P&G plans to focus mostly on Tide and Cheer.
I really wish P&G,Colgate-Palmolive,Unilever.etc would get a clue.!
I really miss the detergents of yesteryear..Old Oxydol,Dash,Cold Power,Classic Blue Cheer..

 

[whirlcool]

As much Gain as you see on the shelves, it's hard to believe that they would discontinue it. Wasn't it just recently that they came out with new varieties of Gain?
I remember when Gain first came out, I think it was 1972 or so, Drive came out at the same time. We used to use it, the original scent was the best I thought.
But if this is true, I think we are seeing consolidation in the laundry detergent marketplace.

 

[oxydolfan1]

Gain is VERY popular among a growing demographic in my area-large Spanish-speaking families.

I personally wish they'd bring out a lemon-scented version, or at least have a lemon-scented Tide version, like they have in virtually every other country Tide is marketed.

I noticed on someone's photo gallery that there was a liquid version of Cold Power at one point. What company manufacturered Cold Power in the first place?

 

[zipdang]

lemon-scented Tide

I love the lemon-scented Tide, too! When I visit B.C. I always buy a box to bring back to the U.S. I wish they'd sell it here.

 

[hoover1060]

Gain Fresh...

or original, that stuff smells great! I am surprised they would drop Gain too, given the number of flavors on the shelves!

I remember my grandmother used blue cheer, the scent was unmistakable, I loved it.

I juts recently bought a HUGE box of Tide Powder from Sams, original scent, it smells wonderful!!

 

[westytoploader]

Gain is a great detergent and has a pleasant "bath-soap" scent. I will definitely miss it if it is discontinued. Hopefully this is just "through-the-grapevine" banter over at P&G instead of something that will actually be carried out!

 

[oxydolfan1]

I could see ditching the detergent/softener combos and the berry-smelling one, but not the regular or bleach/combo products.

Also, this brand fills a niche, with Surf having been discontinued as well.

 

[westytoploader]

SURF DISCONTINUED, WHAT?!?!??! Blasphemy, I tell ya!

 

[petek]

Odd that they'd discontinue it with all the tv advertising they do. Maybe they just need more shelf space for more tides

 

[oxydolfan1]

Well, Surf is "gone" off Unilever's site, but they still have two powdered versions at Target stores and on the Internet.

 

[whirlcool]

Surf boxes have had an "All" logo on them for quite some time now. I think they are merging Surf into All.

 

[peterh770]

I don't believe P&G would kill of such a good selling brand. If anything, they should kill off Cheer. Nearly no one comes into the laundromat with that brand, and I stopped carrying it in the soap vendor because it didn't move at all.

 

[oxydolfan1]

If I had to make a cut, I'd probably recommend Dreft.

I'm actually concerned they'll ditch the whole Ivory brand (which will piss me off mightily, since Ivory (and the Ahava dead sea soap) are the only bar soaps I can deal with in the shower).

Personally, I dislike US Ariel (the imported blue Ariel in the bags is surprisingly good though, although you can smell it a mile away)....

 

[frigilux]

There's a US version of Ariel? In a box?

After Venus got me hooked on Ariel, I've been buying the bagged version at a Mexican grocery store in Worthington, MN. Ariel and Tide CW are my daily drivers. And I'm using Suavitel (yellow bottle) fabric softener. Apparantly I'm into the strong-scented laundry products, LOL.

 

[wcd63]

refference to Gain



Hello
I personally hate Gain!! when I bought my new Frigidaire top load washer in dec 1994 it had a box in it. I used it on my darks and all I got was a stickey white residue on them and I used the warm water temp.the white clothes the same on the hot so I never used it again. I now use Surf or ALL ,Purex,Sears detergent and Never had that problem. I thought that it was the water but it was naturally soft so I just do not use it.
It is very popular hear with the spanish community and I can smell the dryer exhousts two to three blacks away! Dont get me started on bounce! Absoultely hate the smell! Downey sheets are the best! WCD63

 

[oxydolfan1]

"There's a US version of Ariel? In a box?"

Yep. It's similar to one of the versions sold in Puerto Rico (where they have Ariel, Ariel Color, and corresponding liquids).

Try your local KMart. I don't care for it, though, because it doesn't work as well in my water as the blue-bagged one (I think it doesn't have phosphates, like I believe the Mexican Ariel does). It's also way too sudsy, in an original-Tide sort of way.

I also react rash-wise to it.

 

[oxydolfan1]

WCD63, lol, I'm just the opposite when it comes to the dryer sheets! I don't like the Downy ones, but do like Bounce Original and the very happening Bounce "winter" version from Canada I got at the discount store.....

I also really like the Arm and Hammer dryer sheets as well.

My big fave, fragrance-wise, is the Persil Color Gel fragrance....reminds me of "Cool Water" cologne....way too much money for me to spend on laundry, though.

(Found the new "Oxydol" liquid at Shop-Rite today, and, IMHO, the manufacturers should hang their heads in shame when they collect their paychecks....)

 

[frigilux]

Oxydolfan1-- Thanks for the info. My 'local' K-Mart is 65 miles away in Mankato, MN (I live in a very rural area). Given your review of the US version, I'll stick with the bagged Mexican Ariel. I love the scent---like a bag of crushed-up Sweet-Tarts. It's especially noticable when I use my toploader, which allows more air exchange than the sealed-up frontloader.

I have never used a dryer sheet. I kept reading how they left gummy/oily deposits on various parts of the machine, so I just use liquid. Plus, with my very soft water, I've always needed to use a bit of softener to kill suds in the final rinse when using my frontloader.

 

[sudsdudeshane]

Gain

Gain original scent was first introduced in 1966. I too hope Gain is not phased out but I doubt this woman I met would make this story up.She gave me her card and she is obviously some bigwig with P&G based out of Cincy,OH.(VP of Sales and Marketing)She said Tide and Cheer are the 2 top selling brands for P&G. I also complained to her on all of our behalf that we wish P&G would return Tide,Cheer etc to the scents of the 70's and 80's.

 

[oxydolfan1]

Are there regional preferences for certain brands in the US?

Maybe Gain really doesn't sell well out in the Midwest, the West, or the South.

Look at Colgate Palmolive. They ditched all their detergent brands, and Unilever only has All and Wisk left now.

 

[re563]

Well, It will be really interesting to watch this unfold. From my personal experience, and working in the realestate field, going into a lot of homes, I can tell you that I see just as many people using Tide as I do Gain. So here in Florida, it seems to be a popular detergent. Even I myself, switch back and forth from Tide to Gain.

 

[retromom]

Gain gone?

There's still lots of powdered Gain here in Texas. I can't imagine it disappearing from the shelves completely.

Eugene/Frigilux....found a new Ariel Powder; Ariel Acti-Blu with an oh so pleasant lime scent. I have been using it consistently for the last few weeks. Could you use a bag?

 

[oxydolfan1]

Oh, no, retromom. The OP said he heard they were going to phase it out at the end of 2007!

It seems to be a very popular product up here too. It's Purex and All powder that is disappearing hereabouts....

 

[user 12105]

Gain is a good detergent from my experiences...do not know why a good product such as that would be discontinued...P&G should promote it better the way they do with their multiple versions of Tide and sales would go up. Besides regular Gain also has a great fragrance to it.

 

[sudsdudeshane]

Gain

I called P&G corporate regarding the info I received about the Gain Brand being discontinued. Turns out the woman I met that told me this is no longer employed with the company.<obviously some nutcase>!..They wouldn't clarify if the brand as a whole was indeed phased out but did tell me that the Joyful expressions scent as well as the Original scent was discontinued as of 2007. Original scent is being reformulated. Also, for us powder lovers, Powder isn't going anywhere! yippee!!.
Thought everyone would like to know this..Sorry for the misinformation

 

[westytoploader]

My suspicions were confirmed. I'm glad Gain (which is what I've been using for the past couple of weeks) is still going to be with us! It will be interesting to see how the new formulation of the Original scent is. I myself prefer the pleasant "bath-soap" scent the current version has, but I know others on here weren't too pleased with it.

 

[brettsomers]

changing the scent? well, im not P&G, but thought Gain was ALL ABOUT its original scent? i would be pissed if i bought a box of gain only to discover a change in scent.

 

[oxydolfan1]

I've been using Gain w/Bleach powder on whites in hot with a hit of Clorox (I know, I know, but old habits die hard!) for a week and a half now and it's great in my water!

One pair of white socks from playing football had a LITTLE bit of leftover residual schmutz that Tide with Bleach powder may have removed, but it could be argued that I should have trashed them in the first place and I didn't hit 'em with brown soap first.

It sudses up something fierce...at first. Then it subsides quickly, like Kirkland powder does.

The real disappointment this week was the Surf/All powder from Target. Nice controlled suds, decent smell....but not a good stain remover, and did get a mild case of the "itchies" from sweats, work clothes, etc. It's reminiscent of the "classic" Purex I tried earlier this year (but, unlike Purex, it did dissolve)...I don't think the savings are worth it for me.

I stand by my earlier prediction that they will discontinue the Gain With A Touch Of Softness powder, though. The manager at one store told me that none of the Tide w/Downy products were moving, either.

Still on a quest, lol!

 

[toggleswitch]

Paging Launderess.............

How does combining oxygen bleach in a detergent work with liquid chlorine bleach?

 

[launderess]

Oxygen bleach and chlorine bleach cancel each other out. Indeed oxygen bleach is used to neutralise chlorine bleach in both textiles and tap water. Many laundry detergents/colour safe bleaches" that state they protect colours from fading, do so by benefit of the oxygen bleach which cancels the chlorine bleach found in most tap water. In fact just peeped an old box of Lemon Chlorox II bleach at a discount store, and as one of the product benefits it lists that CII will protect colours from fading by dealing with the chlorine found in tap water. Chlorox II, including this version contains sodium perborate (oxygen bleach).