EVERYDAY VALUE
KIRKLAND SIGNATURE NATIONAL BRAND SAVINGS
Brand Name Loads/ct. Price Loads/ct. Price
Ultra Clean Premium
LaundryDetergent 126 $14.69 146 $23.99 29%
Ultra Clean Premium
Laundry Detergent Pacs 152 $17.99 152 $29.99 40%
Ultra Soft Premium
Fabric Softener 220 $8.99 197 $11.99 33%
In addition to adding odor-eliminating technology to three Kirkland Signature
laundry products, Costco offers a strong everyday value against the national retail brand.
This chart shows the great value Kirkland Signature provides compared with
the top national brand available at Costco. Prices may vary at some locations.
the ;rst step in removing odors is to wash
them away, which is exactly what a
top-quality detergent does.
Enzymes in detergents do a lot of the
dirty work. They help break down stains
and soils so they can be washed away
more easily. Each enzyme targets speci;c
types of stains: grass, starch, chocolate,
etc. But adding enzymes to detergent is
costly, so most brands limit the number
that are included.
But that’s not the route that Costco
takes: Kirkland Signature detergents contain quite a few more di;erent enzymes to
ensure broad stain-fighting power at a
great value, Padilla says.
Once the stains are broken down,
they must be rinsed away—otherwise
they can settle back on the laundry. If
you’ve ever noticed that over time your
clothes get yellow and dingy, it’s because
the detergent is not fully removing the
soil during the wash process. Instead, it’s
being redeposited on other clothes.
That’s where Catch-and-Release technology (which has been part of Kirkland
Signature formulations since ;;;;) comes
into play. This component of Kirkland
Signature detergent traps the soil and
ensures it goes down the drain to keep it
from redepositing.
The nose knows?
After ensuring the laundry is free of
soil, the next step is to make it smell clean.
Odor-control technology has traditionally
relied on reducing our perception of bad
smells in laundry. One way of doing this is
called masking—i.e., tricking the receptors in the nose to smell what the detergent manufacturer wants you to smell
instead of noticing bad odors. The other
method is to o;set a bad smell with a complementary scent that ends up neutralizing the odor.
But the best way to ensure clothes
smell clean is through a process that actually targets odor molecules to remove odor.
That ability to target odor molecules is
unique to Costco’s Kirkland Signature
laundry products, says Erin Medved,
Costco’s assistant general merchandising
manager of corporate sundries.
“That’s why we’re so proud of this
odor-eliminating technology. The national
brands have their version of it, but it’s not
the same thing; it’s more of a masking
product than an odor eliminator.”
And, Padilla notes, the odor-zapping
power works even in cold water.
The proprietary odor-eliminating
technology is available in two Kirkland
Signature laundry detergents and in the
liquid fabric softener. I wondered: Do I
have to use multiple products to truly
eliminate the odors in my wash?
The answer is that you can use either
detergent or the liquid fabric softener
independently and get a very good result.
But the best approach is to use both,
advises Padilla. The deepest cleansing
comes from using the detergent and letting it do its odor-;ghting job. Following
up with the liquid fabric softener helps
deliver a long-lasting bene;t.
“Sometimes the quality of the products and the value that we bring aren’t
immediately obvious to our members,”
says Padilla. “But if you look at the great
features of these products and the bene;ts those features represent, and then factor in the price points, you see that they
are really some of the top market performers, at a remarkable value.
“At Costco, we always focus on making
sure that we bring the best value to the
member every day. I think these products
really achieve that.” C
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Right: Other great products
available in the laundry
category at Costco.
