Why the laundry pods get smaller
Why the laundry pods get smaller
When the pods was introduced to market in US under Tide brand organically it’s 25g, after about 10 years time we start notice that the pods are getting smaller! Now the most popular size are around 13-15g and some extremely small pods weight only 5-8g. Why this happens ?
Well ,answer is simple , CHEAPER .
The laundry pods is not like regular laundry detergent contains water up to 80-90%. The pods are mainly formulated with highly concentrated surfactant and organic solvent. The price of the surfactant and solvent are almost same. To make the products cheaper either make a cheaper formula or reduce the weight.
A less effective formula might cause more problems than just lower the effciencent. Reform mean the structure has to be changed,for example solvent can be changed to lower industry grade, surfactant can be changed to lower quality or less effective one. But all these things together might reduce the price 20%. A pod weight from 25g reduced to 20g is 20% lower cost and this not require a new formula. Reduced to 15$ its 40% off, no formula can be more effective than reduce the weight.
In China we watched this change happening. At early time the products or technology are introduced form US or EU the pods size are designed to meet the demand of US market or EU market but in China people do their laundry on a much higher frequency. At the firs few years pods has not advantage over the regular detergent liquid. Price is high and it’s too much for a single dose. The manufacturers notice this problem and they changed the size to 20g to be more competitive, but the 20g not last long .Very soon the 15g pods take over the market. Then 8g came out it is so cheap compare to the big pods and so light. Perfect product for express. In a short time 8g pods take over the main stream.
What we noticed in China can be a very good lesson for all our customers who want to get involve in this business.