Adding your own water isn’t just good for the environment – it’s good for you

The brief

PDD Futures is an initiative we run to investigate and inspire the development of new products and services. We then take our ideas off the page and create solid examples, so our clients not only get to see the future on paper, but hold it in their hands too. This project came about when we started mulling over the potential of concentrates. With the world rightly becoming more environmentally and socially responsible, an increasing number of laundry detergents are being sold in their concentrated format. Thousands of FMCG products contain water as one of their main ingredients so we had a thought – is it time we started thinking about concentrates in other areas? 

What we did

By making use of our fully integrated design and innovation process, we researched consumers’ current attitude to products that contain water as a main ingredient vs. concentrate-based products. We found that concentrate-based products will have to offer more than an environmental message—they will have to offer practical benefits and an enhanced experience or else the additional hassle will mean they’re simply rejected by consumers.   

Result

We came up with three big ideas showcasing how making things smaller is not only better for your carbon footprint, but better for you too. 

Big idea 1: Tulip shampoo

A range of hair products with a contemporary style pump unit and shampoo concentrate ‘bulbs’ that open slowly when added with water.

Big idea 2: Pod shower gel

A soft moulded pod container in which a concentrate capsule is inserted. When the closure is twisted home, the pod is activated, injecting a concentrated mixture into the water to create an invigorating shower gel. 

Big idea 3: +H2O cleaning detergent