Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Why are manufacturers pushing detergent pods?

I'm signed up for various free sample and coupon sites, and I've noticed recently that they are really pushing detergent pods, for both laundry and dish detergent.  Samples are only ever of detergent pods, never regular liquid or powder detergent, and now I'm finding sometimes you can only get coupons for the pods, not for the regular detergent.

I wonder why they're pushing them so hard?

I have found that, without exception, the detergent pods are far inferior to regular liquid detergent (and to old-fashioned powder detergent.)  They simply don't break up in the machine when used as directed, so you have a half a pod, a few clumps of detergent powder, and a not-fully-clean load of laundry or dishes. 

On top of that, detergent pods seem like they'd be more expensive to manufacture than regular detergent, because you'd have to make the different components and then combine them all into a pod and count out a specific number of pods into each container, whereas with liquid or powder detergent you can just manufacture it in bulk in a giant vat and dispense it into containers.

Even if there is some reason I can't see why some customers might prefer pods, why are manufacturers pushing pods to the exclusion of regular detergents?  What is gained by trying to urge us away from the more effective product that's easier to manufacture?

6 comments:

M@ said...

I've noticed this too. It's getting increasingly difficult to find detergent powder for the dishwasher, too.

My theories:

- Consumers like them more, and are buying more of them, so the move to pods is purely market pressure.

- Manufacturers can control the amount of detergent used, so they can increase the amount that consumers use. Even a couple percent more detergent per load can mean a significant profit increase.

The cynic in me is pretty certain it's the second reason.

Lorraine said...

I thought maybe they finally banned them in the USA, so Tide and friends are dumping their inventory on the Canadian market, but apparently they have not yet been banned.

impudent strumpet said...

M@: That would explain why they never fit properly in my detergent dispenser - maybe they just have too much detergent in them!

Lorraine: I had no idea that was a thing, but now that I look at them objectively they do look like something a small child would think is yummy! I don't know if banning them is the answer though - people could just not have them around children. Reminds me of how you can't bring Kinder eggs into the US even if you have no children with you and they're just for personal consumption.

laura k said...

Does the detergent pod work out to be slightly more expensive per load? That would be another potential reason. Even if it's only a cent or two difference, it would add up significantly.

So far we have resisted pods of any type.

impudent strumpet said...

Looking at the prices at walmart (because that's the easiest way to display a range of products on one page) the pods seem to be kind of in the middle of the price range.

I strongly recommend against them though. I've gotten a few free samples over the years, and never once have they worked. They always make a mess.

laura k said...

Thanks. I'm not tempted, but now I'm even less so.