More Delays for Tide Pods

Procter & Gamble Co. is facing a second delay in the launch of Tide Pods, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Schmitz.

“For P&G investors, this represents another frustrating misstep,” Schmitz wrote.

The delay involves “off-shelf” product shipments and promotional displays until the second half of this year. Schmitz said that’s giving P&G competitors time to catch up and could result in lost market share.

P&G said there will be adequate supplies for a “shelf-only” launch in February. It is the second delay for the detergent tablets that P&G hails as a major laundry innovation. P&G originally planned to launch Tide Pods last fall, but delayed the launch soon after it was announced.

According to P&G spokeswoman Petra Stovickova there were two factors which played into the details of the launch: New-to-the-world manufacturing processes and exceptional demand for the product. The “three-chamber unit dose” delivery system for Tide Pods required special manufacturing processes to be developed.

“Unfortunately, we recently experienced unexpected challenges as we ramped-up new manufacturing capacity and processes in mid-November and December. However, we continue to see improvements in the manufacturing processes and are confident we will achieve the manufacturing capacity we expect on Tide Pods,” Stovickova said.