But with that problem behind it, P&G execs say they are creating a $300 segment within the US laundry detergent catgory.
Still, the long-awaited launch of Tide Pods still faces some hurdles. First is the launch of competitive products from the likes of Church & Dwight and Henkel. And then there's P&G's admission that it will hold off shipping of products and special displays for off-shelf promotion until the second half of the year, due to supply constraints.
Still, Bob McDonald, P&G's chairman, called Tide Pods, "a game-changing innovation."
As he recently told investors, "there will be nothing on store shelves that looks or performs like Pods, and if the demand we are seeing right now is any indication of success, we are confident that Pods will deliver on its promise to change the way people think about laundry."
A research note by Deutsche Bank said that competing products expected to come from such marketers as Church & Dwight Co. and Henkel, marketer of Purex, could gain market share at Tide's expense. Deutsche noted that single-dose laundry capsules make up roughly 30% of the U.K. laundry market but that reception in the U.S. remains in question.