The Red, White, and Green

Higher oil prices worldwide have forced companies to reevaluate how they package and transport their products. This, according to CPGmatters, a monthly e-zine serving the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, which recently examined Datamonitor‘s Product Launch Analytics and released its top trends affecting products in 2009. One easy way to reduce shipping costs? Take the water out of the product. A lighter load means less fuel (and subsequently, less CO2 emissions). One new example to hit the mainstream marketplace is Arm & Hammer Essentials, a new line of plant-based cleaning products with no ammonia or phosphates that feature empty 32-fl.-oz. spray bottles sold with attached 1.2-oz bottles of liquid concentrate, to be mixed with water at home. Refills, which are sold in packs of two, cost 25 percent less.

I wonder how the average American consumer will react to what is essentially an empty bottle for sale on the supermarket shelf. While it’s a gutsy move by A&H–and one that may see other companies follow suit out of sheer necessity to cut costs–past marketing theory dictates that Americans instinctively buy the biggest bang for their buck (the Olive Garden and gargantuan portions, anyone?). Or maybe it’s not instinctive. I think advertising has become so pervasive that we’ve been trained to see bigger and think that it means better. Looks like in this new era of skyrocketing energy prices and environmental awareness, we’ll have to be retrained to realize that smaller = savings.

–Jennifer Grayson

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