Unilever's Dirt Is Good brand has developed Wonder Wash—a detergent designed for a 15-minute cycle—using robotics and AI.
A change in consumer habits has meant that while clothing still picks up invisible grease and grime, 70% of the clothing we wash now contains no visible stains. Instead, it is soiled with invisible sweat, dust and odor-causing body oils. As a result, 78% of washing machine owners choose a cycle that lasts less-than-30-minute at least once a week. This, coupled with the rise of washing machines with cycle settings as short as 15 minutes, has created a new consumer need.
Unilever scientists have developed a blend of fast-acting ingredients, which activate as soon as the cycle begins. With 35 patents pending, the innovation is set to create a new category of laundry products.
Eduardo Campanella, business group president, Unilever Home Care, said, “Until now, laundry detergents have not kept pace with changing consumer behaviors. By harnessing people’s enthusiasm for short cycles for everyday stains, we’re opening up the potential for a new category of short cycle products within laundry. This breakthrough in fast-acting cleaning will come to consumers around the world under Dirt Is Good, one of Unilever’s 30 Power Brands—where we’re really focusing our investment and bringing through bigger and better innovations. As part of Unilever Home Care’s Clean Future Strategy, not only is this about delivering an unmissably superior laundry experience, but reducing environmental impact by encouraging the use of shorter, energy-saving cycles. Using over a century in detergent-development, we’ve overcome a real technical challenge to offer outstanding performance even in the shortest timeframe and the difficult washing conditions of the short cycle.”
