P&G has introduced "Dawn Powerwash Dish Spray," its first new form of dish detergent since Dawn soap in a bottle was released nearly 50 years ago. The new formula, which comes in a spray bottle, doesn't require water to activate cleaning suds the way traditional dish soap does.
This new bottle of Dawn spray with a nozzle costs about two dollars more than the regular version of Dawn liquid soap. P&G hopes consumers are willing trade up for the higher-priced version of because of the convenience the soap should bring to daily chores.
P&G has innovated with Dawn in the past with different foams and liquids, but says this is the first completely new form of soap since the 1970s. The company hopes the new spray will become one of the company's most successful innovations since the launch of Tide Pods in 2012.
"This is our Pods launch," said Kristine Decker, P&G's dish care director. "We're really treating this as a revolution to the category."
Washing dishes is consumers' second least-favorite household chore, behind cleaning the toilet, according to P&G. Between scrubbing, waiting, and scrubbing again, consumers told P&G's research teams that they were looking for quicker solutions. P&G observed customers doing chores and washing their dishes in their homes or at company offices.
"Their two biggest frustrations with the dish-washing process are the soaking and the scrubbing," said Brashear, the home care senior scientist at P&G.
So P&G went to work. It says it the new formula breaks down burnt and baked-on-food without having to use water or soaking the dishes. The company claims it works five times faster than traditional dish soap.