Laundry detergent pod

Laundry detergent packs are products containing laundry detergent, softener and other soap types enclosed in dissolvable plastic discs. Notable brands of these packs include Arm & Hammer, Purex, Persil and Tide. They first became popular in February 2012 when they were introduced by Procter & Gamble as Tide Pods.

The chemistry of laundry detergent packs is the same as in liquid detergents (including alkylbenzenesulfonates). The water-soluble pouch is typically made of polyvinylalcohol (PVA) or a derivative of PVA. Although the formulas are similar, a detergent pack's liquids may contain only 10% water compared to 50% in liquid detergents.

MonoSol is one of the companies that develops the water-soluble film used for laundry and dishwasher detergent packs, used by brands including Tide, with roughly $250 million in annual sales and controlling around 90-percent of the market. The film is designed to be soluble within cold water.

Laundry pods are estimated to make up about 15% of the $7 billion-a-year U.S. laundry detergent market sales according to market researcher Nielsen NV. Laundry pods attempt to reduce wasted use of powdered and liquid detergent by having precise measurements for a load. For large loads, most brands recommend two to three pods. The price of detergent pods can also be higher than the liquid detergent for equivalent laundry loads.

Laundry tabs were originally introduced in the 1960s when Procter & Gamble launched Salvo tablets, later disappearing from the market in the 1970s. In the 1990s, Unilever and Henkel launched a similar laundry detergent pack product sold in Western Europe. These products sometimes didn't fully dissolve in United States washers.

In 2012, Procter & Gamble relaunched a liquid tablet product as Tide Pods.

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