Liquid detergent and softener
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What they are
A liquid detergent and a fabric softener: bulk liquids, poured into a machine or a dispenser, bought a few times a year and stored in a cupboard or on a floor.
The archetype
Bulk liquid, 950 to 4000 mL, narrow neck, HDPE, with a spout or a plain closure. That is a jug, and it is a different container from the tub a powder wants.
They were on the wrong one until recently
Both sat on the powder archetype, which requires a wide mouth. That requirement was excluding the F-style jugs this product is actually sold in. Corrected on 17 October 2026, and the bulk end of the shelf is usable as a result.
What the shelf offers
41 containers at 950 mL or more: 9 PE F-style bottles, 7 PE industrial rounds, 5 PE wide mouth packers, 5 PP round tubs, 4 HDPE round tubs with a handle, 3 HDPE single wall canisters, 3 plastic round pails and 2 EZ Stor pails.
The F-style is the one
A flat-sided jug with an integral handle. It stacks, it does not roll, it pours with control because the handle sets the angle, and it is what the category has used for decades.
The pour is the product experience
A detergent that runs down the side of the jug and onto the shelf is a bad product regardless of how it washes. That is a closure and neck decision, and it is worth testing with the actual viscosity rather than with water.
HDPE, and not PET
HDPE tolerates alkali, it is opaque so the contents do not photodegrade, and it takes a handle. PET is clearer and cheaper and is the wrong choice here for the first of those reasons.
Headspace and temperature
A full jug shipped cold and stored warm expands. Leaving headspace is routine, and it also leaves room for the product to be shaken, which customers do whether or not the label asks them to.