Making a new product takes lots of time, money

[Rokke]

AP/Yahoo:

NEW YORK (AP) — It took eight years, 450 product sketches, 6,000 consumer tests and hundreds of millions of dollars for Procter & Gamble to create something that it hopes will be destroyed in the wash.

Tide Pods are palm-size, liquid detergent-filled tablets that are designed to be tossed in the washer to take the measuring cups — and messiness — out of laundry. P&G says the product, which hit store shelves last month, is its biggest innovation in laundry in about a quarter of a century.

[Rokke]

I've got two of these in a ziploc bag in my luggage right now. Part of my glamourous airline life includes doing my laundry in my hotel room bathtub. It turns out that the more upscale hotels don't have guest laundromats and instead charge a couple bucks to wash your shorts. Forget that. The pods are much cheaper than the individual detergent packs I normally buy. And TSA didn't see them in my luggage. So on Wednesday, I will either become the biggest fan of laundry detergent pods in their history, or I will go back to old school detergent.

Damn I live an exciting life.

[pollyannaish]

I saw these in the grocery store last night. I think I will try them.

 

Originally, I looked at the price per ounce and freaked out. BUT, what I discovered with dishwasher detergent in little packets is that we end up saving a lot of money because we do not overfill and waste as much.

 

I suspect the same to be true with laundry detergent. I suppose if I was very careful about measuring, I would do better...but frankly, I do want to live a slightly more glamorous life than spending five minutes accurately measuring laundry detergent.

[pollyannaish]

"You have to develop a product that is meaningfully better than the ones out there, which is tough because generally speaking consumer products work pretty well," says Ali Dibadj, an analyst at Bernstein Research who follows P&G. "You then have to convince the consumer to try the product ... and then get that consumer to break their old habit to make a new one."

 

 

 

Wanna make a meaningful new laundry product? Work with clothing manufacturers to implant RFID chips in their clothing. Then, create a clothes washing system that allows you to toss your clothes into the laundry shoot and when there is enough of a certain kind of load (it should have settings so you can choose what these are and how big they should be) it puts in the right detergent (which you load by the box), washes and dries it. I don't even mind folding it.

 

Of course, I could use a Rosie Robot to help me put it away...but still. Until that happens, tinkering with the detergent isn't going to feel all that meaningful actually.

 

Yes, I wanted to live with the Jetsons.

[Rokke]

"You have to develop a product that is meaningfully better than the ones out there, which is tough because generally speaking consumer products work pretty well," says Ali Dibadj, an analyst at Bernstein Research who follows P&G. "You then have to convince the consumer to try the product ... and then get that consumer to break their old habit to make a new one."

 

 

 

Wanna make a meaningful new laundry product? Work with clothing manufacturers to implant RFID chips in their clothing. Then, create a clothes washing system that allows you to toss your clothes into the laundry shoot and when there is enough of a certain kind of load (it should have settings so you can choose what these are and how big they should be) it puts in the right detergent (which you load by the box), washes and dries it. I don't even mind folding it.

 

Of course, I could use a Rosie Robot to help me put it away...but still. Until that happens, tinkering with the detergent isn't going to feel all that meaningful actually.

 

Yes, I wanted to live with the Jetsons.

Silly Polly. That technology already exists. In my house we call it a "Snoozen".

[pollyannaish]

Silly Polly. That technology already exists. In my house we call it a "Snoozen".

 

Hmmmm. How much does she cost?

[Rokke]

Silly Polly. That technology already exists. In my house we call it a "Snoozen".

 

Hmmmm. How much does she cost?

 

She's priceless. Lots of other fringe benefits too.

[Ghost]

P & G has come up with a lot of innovative things over the years starting with FLOATING Ivory Snow!

 

My father in law was involved in a lot of the developing & marketing of new products. The first 5 years of our marriage until he retired (he took an early retirement at 53) we always had the new things way before the test market was even out. we had the first pringles hand delivered when he & MIL drove from Cinti to visit with us in Kent.

 

We also had the benefit of a lot of stock.. my ex conveniently buried all our assets and when we divorced I PAID HIM just to be free. It was worth it as I simply did NOT want the hassle. I had been suicidal with him the last year & was now doing a residency many miles away & just wanted out. Now all that $$ would have been nice but at the time I was not far thinking.

[Rokke]

P & G has come up with a lot of innovative things over the years starting with FLOATING Ivory Snow!

 

My father in law was involved in a lot of the developing & marketing of new products. The first 5 years of our marriage until he retired (he took an early retirement at 53) we always had the new things way before the test market was even out. we had the first pringles hand delivered when he & MIL drove from Cinti to visit with us in Kent.

 

We also had the benefit of a lot of stock.. my ex conveniently buried all our assets and when we divorced I PAID HIM just to be free. It was worth it as I simply did NOT want the hassle. I had been suicidal with him the last year & was now doing a residency many miles away & just wanted out. Now all that $$ would have been nice but at the time I was not far thinking.

Considering you are thankfully still alive and well, I'd say you got a decent deal.

[SrWoodchuck]

GM to lay off up to 1,300......allowing Chevy Volt inventory to stabilize.......

 

H/T:DougRoss@Journal