A company has achieved the greatest advance of the toilet paper in 100 years. And he is shooting his sales

There are many sectors where the margin of improvement is very wide and others where it would be said that everything is almost invented. Let’s put the toilet paper market as an example. Since his invention more than a few century ago they have changed. Yes, a few years ago the arrival of A “Luxury” versionand has even been used for other purposes (the last putting it in the refrigerator), But, in essence, its virtues and defects have remained.

And suddenly, something seems to change.

Silent revolution. For decades, the toilet paper It has been one of the most unalterable products of modern home, a routine as natural as invisible. However, under that apparent immobility there is a fierce technological career: large corporations have been perfecting this essential object through small but sophisticated innovations for years.

As explained a few days ago The Washington Postthe most recent is possibly the most important and comes from the hand of Charminwhich after five years of research has replaced the classic straight drilling line with a undulating, in what call Smooth teara solution that seeks to solve such a mundane problem as universal: The damn unequal tear of the leaves. The company ensures that this minutia has triggered a 5 % growth in its business and a “significant level of delight” among users, demonstrating that even the most banal gesture can be optimized to the further detail.

Engineering applied to touch. Far from being frivolity, innovation in toilet paper is the result of highly complex development processes. Explained the post that in laboratories by Procter & Gamble and Kimberly-Clarkengineers and designers have tried hundreds of prototypes evaluating parameters such as resistance, texture and water response capacity and use in different positions of the portarrolos, even considering whether the user is left -handed or right -handed.

The curves of the new pattern are not ornamental, but the result of millimeter calculations on strength, traction angle and adaptation to the industrial process, where the technical challenge consists in creating a non -linear rupture line that is effective for the consumer, but robust enough to survive to the vertiginous rhythm of production machines. To get an idea, engineering behind this humble product includes rotary cylinders, synchronized teeth and strategically positioned anvils, a precision gear that the consumer never sees.

When Nokia produced toilet paper

Role, culture and hygiene. Modern toilet paper is surprisingly invention recent In human history. Although the paper has existed for more than two millennia (thanks to The ancient China), its use for intimate purposes did not popularize until the end of the 19th century. Before that, what would be at hand: leaves, rags, cobs, even store catalogs.

Was Joseph Gayetty who in 1857 introduced the concept of “medicated” paper, although it was ridiculed by the modesty of the time. The real milestone arrived in 1890, when LThe Scott brothers They popularized the perforated roll, contributing comfort and hygiene to the daily ritual. Since then, each advance (however it seems) has responded to a persistent search for balance between functionality, cleaning and experience (even sensory), gradually raising the daily product to a subtle form of applied design.

Innovation without rupture. Barry Kudrowitzproduct design expert, defined these types of changes such as “Incremental innovation”: lowercase improvements that do not alter the essence of the object, but optimize their use within the frame that the user already knows and accepts. As opposed to more disruptive solutions such as bidé (which still generates cultural resistances), the wavy toilet paper fits perfectly in consumer habits and finds its force precisely in its familiarity.

If you want also, we are facing a change that does not ask to relear anything, but it offers A tangible benefitand that is why it is precisely so effective. In a saturated market, where almost all consumers already use “their” toilet paper, the only real growth route is to convince them that their brand makes it a little better, a little softer, or a bit more intelligent.

Improve the practical. In short, the history of New undulating edge Charmin is, in essence, a metaphor of modern obsession for technical perfection in everyday life. It is not about reinventing the toilet paper, but about turning it into a product worthy of scientific attentioncommercial and cultural. The art of finding complexity in the simple, of applying high precision technology to an object whose destination, ironically, is disappear instantly.

In a world where almost everything essential is already invented, the idea is accurate: refine the ordinary, reinvent the minimum and remind us that even the most bland gesture (that pull a hung roll next to the sink and that it comes out “perfect”) can be the fruit of years of engineering, design and effort.

Image | Erik McLean, CATLEMUR

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