Persil History Thread - Info/pictures/videos appreciated!

[zanussi_lover]

I love persil

I have a 25 wash pack of Persil Non Bio powder open at the moment, which i am using with Summer Breeze Lenor

 

[chris74]

By the way...

Henkel's Persil does not feature "bio" or "non-bio" powders in its country of origin, Germany, because there is no differentiation in that way over here. All of German Persil products do contain enzymes, so they are all "bio".

 

[aquacycle]

I found this recently, it's an interesting read

 

[launderess]

Persil Washes Whiter

Trust me, I know what everyone's Mum should know; Persil Washes Whiter

 

[aquacycle]

Persil Washes Whiter

It's true! And that means CLEANER.

 

[michael]

Persil is the best

I use persil and always will have done.. If something does the job, why change it! unlike Ariel, when the clothes are drying, it smells fresh and clean- not musty...Ariel of old had a clean smell, although I always used Persil, most people I know have now changed to Persil, because Ariel and Daz don't smell nice or fresh!!

 

[aquacycle]

Persil is still my go-to detergent. I do change every now and then to try different things out, but I always end up back on the Persil.

Ariel used to be brilliant, until they brought out the stain removers and dumbed down the forumla of the regular powders. Persil has been far more consistent than a lot of other brands and like others have mentioned, it leaves a lovely light scent on things. Not too strong.

 

[aegokocarat]

If in doubt or short on money Persil non bio is always my best friend, plus it has a pleasant soapy smell.

 

[launderess]

Henkel Germany originally licensed out Persil to the UK because it couldn't be bothered with doing what was necessary to increase distribution. This decision is one am sure Henkel later came to regret but it is water under the bridge. Lever Bros (now Unilever) has been approached at times over the years with offers by Henkel (and vice versa) the answer always the same "no".

This being said in many European consumer testing groups Ariel often beats Persil in some formats. Indeed if one is in Germany or Europe you can find detergents that clean as well or better than Persil (Henkel) for less money.

 

[aquacycle]

European consumer testing groups

They leap frog constantly in supposed "consumer testing" and always have.

Personally, I find the best test for a detergent is in the home, not a lab.

I have to say I'm grateful that Unilever held out. I've only used Henkel Persil once but Unilever is miles ahead in terms of cleaning performance

 

[arbilab]

You knew right? Unilever's other major product line is........ fudgecicles.

 

[aquacycle]

Unilever make absolutely LOOOOAAAADDDSSS of stuff here. And I don't think you can buy fudgecicles over here either, actually.

 

[liamy1]

Ariel stain removers

Aquacycle, you may be interested to know P&G have just pulled their entire line of Ariel stain removers (along with Ariel colour powder tablets) from sale.

Anything on sale now is the remaining stock.

 

[aquacycle]

pulled their entire line of Ariel stain removers

Really!? Wow! That's a shame, I thought the powder stain removers were pretty good when they came out, but I've not used them for years. I suspect more and more people are realising that you can just buy some oxy clean from the poundshop or even just use good old fashioned laundry soap for stain removal and don't need to spend £4 or £5 on a stain remover as long as you use a decent washing powder.

 

[dixan]

Oxy clean from the Poundshop can't even be compared with Ariel stain remover powder and it's fantastic, complex formula. Ariel is the best stain removing powder on the market so far.

 

[aquacycle]

That may be the case, but it's unnecessary. It's no better than using a decent detergent at appropriate temperatures.

I had to get curry out of a shirt last night. What did I use to get rid of it? Pre treat with a bar of laundry soap that cost £1 in Home Bargains and then a 40 wash with Persil bio. Gone.

 

[launderess]

For TOL Detergent Powders

Such as Persil, Tide, Ariel, etc... you don't really need extras such as stain remover powders. If anything just perhaps a bit extra detergent for badly stained loads. Using the normal profile wash/stain cycles of most washing machines sold in Europe plus TOL powders should take care of things 99.9% of the time.

OTOH using when using liquid, gels, or those pod packets, then yes, you are probably going to need some sort of stain removing "booster".

Neither liquid or gel detergents contain oxygen bleach if they have enzymes. Oxygen bleach plus perhaps a bleaching activator, enzymes, and a alkaline substance (usually washing soda) is mostly what you find in most boosters.

Persoally just add activated oxgyen bleach or sodium percarbonate to laundry when using liquids or gels which gives the same results. Don't need more enzymes as the detergents already contain a complex cocktail . In fact the only time one uses the various "booster" pods (Tide or Vanish) is when using any of the vintage laundry detergents in my stash that lack enzymes.

 

[aquacycle]

using liquid, gels, or those pod packets

As I'm sure many MANY people will already be aware, I loathe liquids. I mean they really are the most pointless rubbish. Why buy a product that usually costs more but doesn't wash as well and causes a build up of mould and residue in the washing machine over time? I use a bio powder for everything. Liquids are just a completely marketing con.

 

[liamy1]

Ye

Yes AquaCycle, they were good. However p and g have said due to them not being as popular as they hoped, they pulled them.

I often wondered did the line of stain removers damage the Ariel brand itself?

As known, Ariel is one of the two premium detergents in the UK. So when one markets a line of stain removers, I always took a bit of that as saying Ariel on its own is not good enough, so you have to buy an extra product- would certainly push me towards another brand if I was normal and didnt have an obsession with laundry products

I always noticed that in the TV ads they were careful to never show the stain remover products being used with Ariel detergent but instead a "unbranded/generic" washing powder box.

 

[liamy1]

Yep...

After years of Ariel saying it should be your detergent of choice for stains, this ad is saying that it's no longer good enough :/

 

[hoover8pulse]

That's very interesting to hear Ariel Stain Remover has been pulled, I guess since Ariel always boasts 'Outstanding Stain Removal in 1 wash' & the liquid 'removes up to 95% of the stain first time' then it seems odd that you'd have to add a stain remover to that. Plus Vanish will always sell, despite how unnecessary it is. I remember seeing the advert for the Gold White powder & said if my whites turned out that grey I'd be ashamed!

I still like Ariel powder & will happily use it. But I don't mind Persil either. I do however feel more 'proud' of how my laundry turns out with Persil, I think it's because of the history associated with the brand whereas with Ariel I feel a bit more 'modern' & 'sophisticated' because Ariel is the youngest of the two & has a more complex structure.

I was quite glad though when Persil redesigned the packaging a few months ago. I much prefer it now!!

 

[zanussi_lover]

Ariel Stain Remover

I'm not surprised Ariel Stain Remover has been pulled, why say your powder is the best, if you require additional stain removers to get your washing clean. I can't stand the smell of Ariel Powder, Haven't used it in ages, Since 2006 it has had a heavy overpowering chemical smell, that i'd rather do without.

The last time I used Ariel Powder was in 2005, 10 years ago which was Ariel Essential with Quickwash Action, I picked up another box of the new formula and it stank and washed clothes terribly, I threw it away and swapped to Daz and Surf. Surf at the time brought had Surf Breeze and Surf Tropical, which were my favourites for a while.

Persil seems to get it right with Branding, Marketing and Cleaning in one wash, although I wish Persil Biological/Colour Liquid would go back to being a white liquid like in the old days. Persil Performance Liquid smelt amazing, combine that with Comfort Silk or Original Comfort Blue (the proper stuff in the dilute bottle)....mmmm!

There seems to be an element of nostalgia of the 90s with the liquid eco refill packs, and the rubber detergent dispenser balls

 

[aquacycle]

Ariel hit the UK and Ireland market in 1967

Sorry to dig up an old thread, I was looking for some info and came across it again. Spotted the comment above.

Ariel did indeed hit shops in 1967, but it remained a high-suds, twin tub detergent until 1982. New System Persil Automatic followed in 83, originally intended to replace the old Persil Automatic. But due to the public outcry in the UK as Rob mentioned above, from 1984 onwards it was sold alongside original Persil Automatic - just as it is today in Bio and Non-Bio formulas.

 

[aquacycle]

Further to the above...

P&G opted to make a different product for front loaderss, rather than rebrand an existing product. P&G's low-sudsing, automatic detergent was actually Bold, which came out in 1973. Also biological like Ariel, but designed for front loaders. It failed to sell in the numbers that Ariel continued to, hence Ariel Automatic was launched in 82 and Bold was relegated to an entry level, cheaper product.

 

[vacerator]

So what if it's an old thread

Good information is always good.
I tried liquid Persil for the first time about 6 months ago. We love it.
The fresh scent is not too strong, and it reminds me of the Oxydol powder my grandma used. No skin irritation either. It's nice to have an alternative to only using Arm&Hammer free.

 

[foraloysius]

Mike

The Persil you bought is made by Henkel and is a German product. This thread however is about the history of Persil mady by Unilever. Different company and different product.

 

[aquacycle]

I haven't used Henkel Persil for years. I don't even remember what it smells like. Poundstretcher used to stock it occasionally but they've not had it for a long time.

It always suprised me that Henkel never marketed their Persil under a different brand in the UK, like Unilever Persil is sold as Omo in Henkel-Persil markets.

 

[vacerator]

Louis,

oh, Unilever is British, and Henkel is German. Which was the original maker of Persil? Did one license the name to the other, or were there no trademark infringement laws in Europe then?

 

[foraloysius]

Here's about the whole story.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persil

 

[aquacycle]

Which was the original maker of Persil?

Long story short, when the German company Henkel first started producing Persil, they licenced the product name and it's formula out to other companies so that other companies could produce the product and sell it in other marekts - this was before the days of the mass import/export that we have now.

In the UK and Ireland, Persil was licenced to a company who's name has escaped me. Originally, both the Henkel version and UK version was the same formula just made by 2 different companies, but over time, both formulas have changed. The original company was acquired by Lever Brothers which then merged to form Unilever, further adding to the gap between Henkel Persil and UK Persil.

So in summary, Henkel Persil is the original, but both products started out the same and have grown further apart over the years.