Description
Tide is an American brand of laundry detergent manufactured and marketed by Procter & Gamble. Introduced in 1946, it is the highest selling detergent brand in the world, with an estimated 14.3 percent of the global market.
History
The original Tide laundry detergent was a synthetic designed specifically for heavy-duty, machine cleaning (an advance over the milder cleaning capabilities of Fewa and Dreft detergent brands). Tide was first introduced in U.S. test markets in 1946 as the world's first heavy-duty detergent, with nationwide distribution accomplished in 1949. Tide claimed it was "America's Washday Favorite". Authority was quickly gained in the U.S. detergent market, dwarfing the sales of Ivory Snow; and accelerating the demise of two of its main competing products, Rinso and Gold Dust Washing Powder, both then Lever Brothers brands. These other brands came in the more familiar soap-powder and soap-flake forms. Tide, however, came shaped like a white powdered bead. The line was expanded to include an orange-tinted clear liquid form in 1984. Today, most formulations of liquid Tide, both concentrated and regular, are dark blue, with the exception of "Tide Free", which is clear. Each year, Tide researchers duplicate the mineral content of water from all parts of the United States and wash 50,000 loads of laundry to test Tide detergent's consistency and performance.
In 2006, the development of Tide was designated an ACS National Historic Chemical Landmark in recognition of its significance as the first heavy-duty synthetic detergent.
As of January 2013, Tide has more than 30% of the liquid-detergent market, with more than twice as much in sales as the second-most-popular brand Gain, although it costs about 50% more than the average liquid detergent.
For the company's national and international experience in sustainable development, and eco-friendly products, the Environment Possibility Award conferred the "Environmental Heroes of the Year" to Tide in 2020.
In some areas, Tide has become such a hot commodity item, that criminals steal it from stores to resell. Police call the detergent "liquid gold" on the black market and it has been known to be traded or sold for illegal drugs.
