Glad brand’s innovative trash bag addresses ‘top’ consumer pain points
By Pam Griffin, Associate Director – Brand Experience Lead; Becky Reuhs, Associate Director – R&D; and Lia Dawley, Brand Manager
Did you know that one-third of consumers experience issues in the top area of their trash bags, such as rips, tears, drawstring breaks, and fingers poking through?1 What’s more, nearly half grab the bag near the top of bag when taking out the trash,1 and almost everyone is guilty of cramming their trash bags at least sometimes.2
We identified these consumer tensions and saw an opportunity to address top-of-bag strength. Using proprietary lamination technology, we added more material at the top of the bag and took advantage of extra material already at the top of the bag to make it stronger. This “strength where you need it” approach provides a double thickness extended grab zone to prevent those rips and tears at the top. The technology also provided unique aesthetic cues, which were optimized based on consumer feedback, including our own internal panels that examined both their look and feel.
Executing the new design across our manufacturing facilities also required innovative thinking. We had to engineer novel high pressure bonding equipment in a way that would not lead to premature equipment failure.
The result? Glad ForceFlex MaxStrength with a 2x stronger top4 that offers double the protection against rips and tears, allowing consumers to securely grip and stuff more into every bag.
Our strongest bag yet, it hit store shelves last October supported by an integrated marketing campaign to drive awareness and consideration. The “over-the-top” creative executions demonstrate Glad’s reinforced top through a modern take on a trash torture test, featuring a cowgirl and a skier putting our 2x stronger top through its paces. The campaign was amplified through influencer partnerships to connect the new product with consumers’ passions, hobbies and interests.
Fueled by our consumer obsession and innovative thinking, the Glad ForceFlex MaxStrength Trash Bag differentiates itself from the competition through the new benefits it offers — delivering increased strength where consumers need it most.
- Survey, Trash bag behaviors, n=200, Jan 2020
- 2020 Discovery IHUT
- Packcept test, n=1500, December 2022
- vs. Glad 13-gallon ForceFlex bag