Consumer-Driven Innovation
"At Unilever, we think about our consumers every step of the way. Such was the case with our drive to innovate and develop smaller packaging and a concentrated formula for our laundry detergent products," says Helayna Minsk, marketing director for laundry, Unilever.
In addition, Unilever has taken steps to decrease its imprint on the earth by developing products that are not only consumer friendly, but environmentally friendly as well. The result of these efforts is "All Small & Mighty," the first major national brand to bring a 3x concentrate to market in October 2005, leading its competitors by more than 18 months.
A 3x concentrate format means that a full load of laundry can be cleaned with just one-third the amount of detergent. This required particular ingenuity from Unilever's team of scientists and researchers, who had to maintain the integrity of the brand as they rebalanced and reformulated the detergent.
While Unilever's R&D team drove the development of the product, the innovation behind it was driven by consumer insights. Minsk explains, "In focus group tests, when acting out their laundry routines, consumers repeatedly pantomimed struggling with oversized and weighty detergent bottles." These focus groups enabled Unilever to create a few different prototypes before arriving at the All Small & Mighty bottle on the shelf today.
While Unilever's R&D team drove the development of the product, the innovation behind it was driven by consumer insights. Minsk explains, "In focus group tests, when acting out their laundry routines, consumers repeatedly pantomimed struggling with oversized and weighty detergent bottles." These focus groups enabled Unilever to create a few different prototypes before arriving at the All Small & Mighty bottle on the shelf today. "Our technology is such that we were able to test packaging performance and consumer reaction extensively before coming to market, spending just six to nine months in development," Minsk notes.
EARTH FRIENDLY
These innovative laundry products are just one facet of Unilever's commitment to sustainability. Minsk explains that as a measure of the company's efforts, it releases an annual Corporate Social Responsibility report, the latest came out in May 2007. She says this year's report tells a story of products that are empowering consumers to take an active part in the green revolution as 160 million people choose a Unilever brand somewhere in the world each day.
"In our innovation with All Small & Mighty, we took our answer to consumers a step further than just making a smaller, more convenient product. We made something that is better for the environment too," she notes.
Minsk calls All Small & Mighty "a win-win-win value proposition." Consumers benefit from a smaller, more convenient product that provides the same level of performance that the brand is known for, and retailers benefit from smaller bottles that make for a more productive shelf by allowing more bottles on the shelf, lowering stocking costs and reducing the number of out of stocks. Less material to produce and pack the product and less fuel to transport it means an environmental win as well. Since the launch of All Small & Mighty in October 2005, the product has saved:
CATEGORY CHANGE
It's not often that a product is so innovative it changes the entire category, but All Small & Mighty did just that. The entire industry is shifting to concentrates and Minsk says this is the biggest change in the laundry segment in 50 years. She predicts this will be more evident this fall as the majority of 1x concentrates are replaced by 2x concentrates.
The cutting-edge formula is not the only differentiator here. All Small & Mighty has been distinguished with a modern and sleek look on the shelf. "Without a handle and petite in comparison to its counterparts, All Small & Mighty boasts a glossy shrink wrap label around the entire bottle that stands out from other products on the shelf," says Minsk. In fact, the shrink wrap provides more room for "on-pack communications." Unilever can execute a 360° design on the bottle to help educate about concentrated formulas.
"The shrink wrap also allows for more vibrant colors and is easily changeable, giving us the latitude to quickly customize labels for new variants, seasonal promotions and more," Minsk points out.
As the category innovates to follow suit, what is compelling, according to Minsk, is the boosted environmental savings that will be seen. She details with the following statistics.
If the entire liquids market made a universal change from 1x to 2x concentrates, there would be a savings of:
"Put another way, a universal move to 3x concentrates would save 26 percent more packaging — plastic and corrugate — than using 2x concentrates," she says.
REACHING SHOPPERS
An industry shift is certainly something to brag about, but without consumer behavior change failure would be imminent. As the first major brand laundry concentrate on the shelf, Unilever had to convince consumers that smaller is better — a maxim that goes against conventional wisdom, Minsk points out.
As mentioned, All Small & Mighty's packaging was the first point of consumer education, incorporating: a smaller bottle cap to prevent over-dosing of detergent (since 96 percent of all dilute users dose with a cap); images of the traditional detergent bottle size pictured next to the concentrate bottle size; and a larger, clearly-stated load statement.
Unilever employed various grassroots marketing and advertising efforts to make mainstream consumers comfortable with the product, including a stunt on the Ellen DeGeneres show during which she had 32 washing machines cycling, just with the detergent in one bottle of All Small & Mighty; and traditional advertisements showing the amount of clothes that can be cleaned with one bottle of All Small & Mighty.
WINNING AT THE SHELF
Unilever has worked with all of its retail partners to make sure All Small & Mighty is a success at the shelf. Because the product is smaller, retailers have been able to reduce the number of out of stocks with more bottles on the shelf and store more bottles in their warehouses for easy restocking.
Furthermore, they have been able to reduce labor and transport costs as they benefit from the same lighter load consumers are enjoying. Minsk mentions that Wal-Mart's CEO Lee Scott adopted All Small & Mighty as one of his personal "value producing items" to help introduce the product to mainstream America when it first launched.
Recent sales figures for All Small & Mighty revealed a 52-week total of $145 million (ending March 24, 2007). Minsk looks ahead saying, "The 3x concentrate was a great jumping-off point into the concentrates segment. Now we are excited to bring the rest of our consumers the benefits of concentrates with the introduction of 2x concentrates in the fall. The 2x concentrates will take the place of our traditional 1x products, and will offer consumers who may be later adopters of new technologies the chance to experience concentrated laundry detergents. Unilever believes that once consumers realize the benefits of 2x concentrates, it is not long before they understand the even greater returns of a 3x product. On that front, the company has also introduced 3x concentrate Wisk Multi-Action.