By Ellen Byron
Kim Gilroy ranks changing the toilet paper roll as the most
annoying household chore "because it's the easiest," she says. "It
takes two seconds and no one wants to do it."
Ms. Gilroy, a fitness coach in Manchester, N.H., for years has
nagged her three sons and one daughter, ages 13 to 19, about
replacing the roll instead of setting a new roll on top of the
empty one. She hung a sign in her family's main bathroom that reads
"Changing toilet paper will not cause brain damage." Still, empty
rolls piled up.
Then Ms. Gilroy saw an ad on social media for a giant
toilet-paper roll the size of small tire. It had 1,700 sheets, the
equivalent of 24 rolls.
After confirming the ad wasn't a spoof, she ordered her first
Charmin Forever Roll, sold online by Procter & Gamble Co.
The roll is one foot in diameter, compared with roughly 5 inches
for conventional rolls. Too large to fit in most holders, the
Forever Roll comes with a starter kit that includes a
free-standing, stainless-steel one. "It lasted 21 days," says Ms.
Gilroy. "Yes, I was still the one who changed it when it was
empty."
Technology has yet to conquer the tyranny of the empty toilet
paper roll. Brands threw their best marketing, engineering and
packaging at the problem. The bottom line: They can't make a roll
that really lasts forever, or solve family strife caused by the
eventual appearance of one small cardboard tube. They can only
delay it.
Some 85% of U.S. adults agree that walking into a bathroom with
an empty toilet paper roll is one of the most frustrating bathroom
scenarios, P&G research found in a March survey of 2,015
adults.
"With families what we hear is that it actually creates ill
feelings toward other people in the house," says Rob Reinerman,
innovation director for P&G family care.
Toilet paper brands rolled out ever-larger sizes, setting off an
escalating arms race of "double," "triple," "jumbo," and, most
recently, "mega" rolls.
Now, the Forever Roll is even bigger. Last month, Charmin
announced the Forever Roll XL, with 50% more sheets than the
12-inch version. Ms. Gilroy immediately ordered the new size and
subscribed to future shipments every two months. "I don't know how
much bigger they can make it, but I would buy it if it lasted a
year," she says.
Charmin, after launching "mega plus" and "double plus" rolls in
2013, introduced "super mega" rolls in 2017.
With Forever Rolls, Mr. Reinerman wants to determine whether
some consumers so badly want to avoid changing the roll that they
are willing to change their holder. "That spawned the idea of the
Forever Roll, an unapologetically large toilet paper that lets you
go a month without changing it," he says.
Forever Rolls initially were available in 8.7-inch and 12-inch
diameters, but more than 90% of customers chose the larger size.
"Our hypothesis was that it would be a slow and gradual trade up to
the larger roll, that people would dip their toes in with a small
version and make their way up with time," says Mr. Reinerman. "It
was the exact opposite."
Scouring consumers' comments and reviews, he noted a glaring
omission. "There was a complete absence of people complaining that
the roll was too big," he says. "At what size will consumers tell
us that it's too big?'"
The Charmin team decided to drop the smallest Forever Roll. It
kept the 12-inch roll and added a 13.2 inch Forever Roll XL.
The XL weighs 3 pounds and holds 2,550 sheets, about as much as
36 rolls, P&G says. The starter kit costs $29.97 and includes a
stand or wall mount and two rolls.
Andrea Oertel ordered the XL version of the Forever Roll. "You
can't make a toilet paper roll big enough for me," she says. "The
bigger it is, the less I have to change it."
Ms. Oertel, a physical-education teacher in Fredericktown, Mo.,
recalls when her son and daughter were children she would change
the toilet-paper rolls a couple of times a week. "It doesn't matter
how many times you show the kids, they're not going to do it," she
says.
Now, the giant roll sits in her home's hall bathroom as a joke
to her family, who still leave empty rolls behind, even as adults.
"I wish this would have come 20 years ago," she says.
Jackie Mills, a real-estate agent in Maryville, Tenn., bought
her first Forever Roll to tease her husband. "I'm sick and tired of
him not changing the roll," she says. Recalling how her sons, now
adults, neglected the chore growing up, she shipped rolls to them,
too. When the rolls, which sit in all three of her bathrooms,
needed changing after about a month, the job fell to Ms. Mills,
again. "Me, me, me," she says.
Mr. Reinerman says buyers seem to fall into two groups: Those
who are proud of their purchase, and those who are embarrassed.
"Some people love the fact that it's a conversation piece," he
says. "And there's another group where they're not sure whether or
not it's acceptable."
Dylan Nelson, a Minneapolis-based photographer, bought the
Forever Roll starter kit so he could photograph it.
He eventually decided to install the roll in his apartment's
only bathroom, which he shares with his fiancée. "It really has
lasted a month, but it is embarrassing," he says.
When friends come by, Mr. Nelson offers a quick warning. "Hey,
there's a comically large roll of toilet paper in the bathroom, but
you know it's actually pretty convenient," he says. "That's the
only way I can preface it."
As the mother of two young children, Rachel Smith initially was
drawn to the big roll for convenience sake. But she realized it
would be an entertaining addition to the guest bathroom. "We're not
a very serious household," says Ms. Smith, a church-volunteer
coordinator in Riegelwood, N.C.
She and her husband recently hosted a family reunion of about 25
people. In preparation, Ms. Smith changed their half-gone Forever
Roll to a new one so its full size would stun guests.
"When people went in the bathroom, we would hear them laughing,"
she says. "I hope there's enough toilet paper in there," Ms. Smith
said she called through the door. "If you run out, just let me
know."
Write to Ellen Byron at ellen.byron@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 16, 2019 11:29 ET (15:29 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Procter and Gamble (NYSE:PG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Procter and Gamble (NYSE:PG)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024