P&G sees niche market in laundry avoidance
USA Today
Procter & Gamble — which sells more laundry detergent than anyone on the planet — is testing a product line that helps slackers put off doing the dreaded wash.
The maker of Tide, Gain and Cheer is market testing Swash, a four-product line that, with a spray or wipe, removes wrinkles, stains and odors from clothes in minutes. Without washing.
Laundry detergent is a $7 billion business in North America, and P&G has 60 percent of the market. But with Swash, the laundry giant is positioning itself as the laundry slayer. Sort of.
"This is not meant to replace the wash, but to enhance the re-wear experience that is a big habit with consumers," says Kevin Crociata, marketing director of North American laundry at P&G.
Re-wear? That's P&G's term for folks who grab stuff from the closet hook — or off the floor — and wear it again without washing it. Some 75 percent of consumers do that three to four times weekly, according to P&G research.
The Swash lineup in testing:
P&G's even turned to its beauty care team to design Swash bottles to look nifty on nightstands. "The product isn't made for the laundry room, but for the bedroom and bathroom," Crociata says.
