03.09.11
Smaller, more convenient and space-efficient laundry detergent packages are on the way, according to The Lempert Report. The consultancy predicts that in the not-too-distant future, consumers will use a customized blend of detergent, bleach and softener. The blend would be determined after tests of a home’s water and plumbing, and with some knowledge of the kinds of clothes worn by the household.
The blend would be delivered to homes in cartridges that, once empty, would be recycled like today's copier toners—by mail to manufacturer-run recycling centers, or drop-off at the nearby supermarket’s recycling center.
To capture category revenue in this newly convenient world for laundry consumers, supermarkets would need to position themselves as intermediaries. Consumers who drop off their old cartridges could first pre-order their own custom-blend replacement cartridges from the supermarket. Their individual mix would be tracked within their customer history.
The whole concept may sound far-fetched today, but with customized beauty a reality and customized medicine being added to physicians' arsenals, why not customized laundry detergent?
The blend would be delivered to homes in cartridges that, once empty, would be recycled like today's copier toners—by mail to manufacturer-run recycling centers, or drop-off at the nearby supermarket’s recycling center.
To capture category revenue in this newly convenient world for laundry consumers, supermarkets would need to position themselves as intermediaries. Consumers who drop off their old cartridges could first pre-order their own custom-blend replacement cartridges from the supermarket. Their individual mix would be tracked within their customer history.
The whole concept may sound far-fetched today, but with customized beauty a reality and customized medicine being added to physicians' arsenals, why not customized laundry detergent?