寶潔之類的消費品集團面臨著嚴(yán)峻挑戰(zhàn)：現(xiàn)在的很多消費者為了省幾美元會選擇沒名氣品牌的產(chǎn)品，而寶潔旗下卻有大量知名產(chǎn)品。在2010年左右，該問題已經(jīng)拖累了寶潔的增長。前員工表示，早在1946年就創(chuàng)立的汰漬品牌就是明顯例子，在洗衣用品領(lǐng)域已經(jīng)吸引不了顧客。洗衣凝珠給了寶潔重建汰漬競爭優(yōu)勢的機會。

《財富》雜志采訪了寶潔公司的9位前員工，談了談汰漬洗衣凝珠的發(fā)展情況，各人回憶的歷程基本一致。（寶潔多次拒絕采訪現(xiàn)任高管的請求。《財富》雜志曾與負責(zé)監(jiān)督凝珠安全工作的高級經(jīng)理交談，也與公關(guān)團隊談了多次。）按照固定容量包裝洗衣液并銷售的想法并不新鮮。2001年，寶潔和聯(lián)合利華就開始在歐洲銷售洗衣凝珠，比現(xiàn)在的版本大一些。前員工表示，先前的版本取得了一定成功，洗碗機清潔啫喱球的業(yè)績也不錯，寶潔相信更先進的汰漬洗衣凝珠能在北美流行。2004年寶潔開始開發(fā)，希望能打造為熱門產(chǎn)品。后來寶潔自夸說，接下來8年里，寶潔安排75名員工加入汰漬洗衣凝珠項目，邀請約6000位消費者參與市場調(diào)研，制作了超過450份包裝和產(chǎn)品草圖。

最終定稿后，開發(fā)團隊都很興奮。汰漬洗衣凝珠拿起來非常有趣，濕濕軟軟有彈性。顏色用了汰漬標(biāo)志性藍色和橙色，在白色背景上點綴了兩點小漩渦，比當(dāng)時市場上單一顏色的凝珠鮮艷得多。凝珠特地放在透明的盒子里，可以清晰展示亮眼的設(shè)計。

“我們當(dāng)時就知道凝珠會成爆款。”寶潔公司負責(zé)織物和家庭護理用品銷售的前主管湯姆·費舍爾說，正是該部門負責(zé)汰漬凝珠。

2012年2月發(fā)售后，證明了公司的判斷沒錯。看起來購物者很喜歡使用上的便利，再加上彩色外形討喜，銷售額猛增。2012年寶潔發(fā)布財報時，凝珠剛上市幾個月，時任首席執(zhí)行官鮑勃·麥克唐納自豪地宣稱，凝珠是“過時產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新”的好例子。根據(jù)市場研究機構(gòu)歐睿國際的數(shù)據(jù)，2013年（洗衣凝珠在美國市場上市的第一個完整年度）到2018年，汰漬凝珠銷售額增長了136%。在此期間，洗衣用品整體增長僅為7%。現(xiàn)在，汰漬凝珠已經(jīng)占寶潔洗衣劑總銷量的近四分之一。

2012年汰漬凝珠上市時有款廣告，可以充分體現(xiàn)寶潔的興奮情緒。廣告里，一位女性從敞開的盒子里拿出一顆凝珠，扔到洗衣機滾筒里。背景是氣泡爆裂的聲音，還有Men Without Hats樂隊唱的歡快歌曲“砰砰砰，走向世界”。廣告結(jié)尾是標(biāo)語“小泡泡，大出色”。但現(xiàn)在，寶潔不希望任何人把汰漬凝珠跟泡泡破裂聯(lián)系在一起。

Consumer conglomerates like Procter & Gamble face a daunting challenge: They sell huge portfolios of famous brand names—in an era when many shoppers are happy to buy no-name brands to save a few bucks. By the early 2010s, that problem was becoming a drag on growth at P&G. And former employees say that Tide, a brand that dates back to 1946, was a case in point—no longer luring customers in its commoditized category. Laundry pods offered P&G a chance to restore Tide’s competitive edge.

Fortune spoke with nine former P&G employees about the Tide Pod’s development, and their accounts tell a consistent story about the process. (P&G declined multiple requests to make current executives available for interviews. Fortune spoke with the senior manager responsible for overseeing its pod safety efforts and conducted multiple conversations with the corporate communications team.) The idea of selling liquid cleaning agents in pre-measured packets wasn’t new: In 2001, P&G and Unilever started selling laundry pods in Europe that were larger than today’s versions. Former employees say that given the moderate success of these packets, as well as its dishwasher detergent tablets, P&G was confident that its more advanced Tide Pods would catch on in North America. Beginning in 2004, P&G embarked on a development process that it hoped would turn the product into a hit. Over the next eight years, the company would later boast, P&G dedicated 75 staff members to the Tide Pod project, involved some 6,000 consumers in market research, and generated more than 450 packaging and product sketches.

As the final shape emerged, the development team was thrilled with the results. Tide Pods were fun to hold—squishy, yet firm. Their colors—Tide’s signature blue and orange, in swirl-shaped chambers atop a white backdrop—stood out far more than the single-colored packets on the market at that point. And the pods came packaged in a clear tub, designed to show off the attractive design inside.

“We knew we had a breakthrough product on our hands,” says Tom Fischer, a former P&G executive for fabric and home care sales, the division responsible for Tide Pods.

The pods’ launch, in February 2012, proved them right. Shoppers seemed to love the convenience and the colorful form factor, and sales soared. In P&G’s 2012 annual report, released just a few months after they hit the market, then-CEO Bob McDonald proudly described Tide Pods as an example of “innovation that obsoletes existing products.” Between 2013 (liquid laundry packets’ first full year on the U.S. market) and 2018, pod sales grew 136%, according to Euromonitor International, a market research provider. During that period, the overall laundry detergent category grew just 7%. Today, pods make up close to a quarter of P&G’s overall laundry detergent sales.

A TV commercial that accompanied the Tide Pod launch in 2012 conveys the euphoria. In the ad, a woman draws a pod out of an open case and tosses it into the drum of a washing machine. In the background are sounds of bubbles popping and the upbeat Men Without Hats song “Pop Goes the World.” The spot ends with the tagline: “Pop in. Stand out.” But nowadays, popping is not an image P&G wants anyone to associate with Tide Pods.