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Category's 'dirty secrets' lead to detergent breakthrough

A jolt of inspiration often can bring about innovation that disrupts a product category when creative teams think about product and package development differently than the competition does.

Method's goal was to change category norms by better understanding the category and its consumers.
Method's goal was to change category norms by better understanding the category and its consumers.
Such inspiration can lead to real breakthroughs at shelf, even when the budget is tight.

Consider Method Products, San Francisco, CA. The household cleaning products creator and marketer's "total marketing budget is less than our competition spends on toilet paper every year," quips Joshua Handy, who carries the title of "disruptor." At Method, the way to gain inspiration comes by looking at a category's "dirty little secrets," and Handy says that's how the company aims to put the laundry detergent aisle on its ear.

Laundry detergent is a $3 billion industry, and jugs and screw caps long have dominated the packaging. Method's goal was to change category norms by better understanding the category and its consumers.

Through deeper research, the company uncovered three category secrets that drive package design in laundry detergent. First, the bulky jugs contain about 50% water. Second, 53% of people use an improper amount of—usually too much—detergent in each load. Third, the big, sticky jugs can make laundry a messy chore.

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