ABSTRACT
An indication of the problems that soap powder can cause was provided in September 1993 with Unilever's launch of New System Persil Automatic. The new product was enzyme-based – or biological – and aimed to take advantage of the low suds sector for the growing number of automatic washing machines, then found in half the homes in the country. New System Persil Automatic had not used words like 'enzyme' or 'biological' but had relied on 'biocare', which is not to be found in technical dictionaries. At the beginning of August 1994 Persil brought back the original Persil Automatic alongside the new version. Persil Power was launched in the UK, and Omo Power on the Continent, in May 1994 to boost Persil's overall brand share which then stood at just over a quarter of the UK soap powder market. The impact of the Persil Power launch was revealed when figures on Britain's top brands from Checkout/Neilsen were published.
