Cushelle Quilted has become the latest loo roll to be panned by shoppers, after being reformulated in June.
Despite a new marketing campaign and TV push promising its new formulation was its “softest ever”, Cushelle has been inundated with a slew of negative reviews online.
In the past month, 57% of reviews on the brand’s DTC website gave the product one star out of a possible five, whilst a further 16% rated it two stars.
Shoppers said the new Cushelle Quilted was “narrower”, “no longer soft” and “exceptionally thin”.
“The new Cushelle Quilted feels nothing like the old luxurious quilted texture that made you feel like the premium you were paying was well worth it,” wrote one disgruntled shopper.
“It’s absolutely awful and I’m certainly not going to be buying it again,” they added.
Another bemoaned: “Cushelle have always been superior to other quilted brands for thickness and strength. What on earth have you done?”
Manufacturer Essity insisted Cushelle Quilted remained three-ply and that rolls had not been reduced in length. There had, it admitted, been a small reduction in roll width.
Prices to retailers following the reformulation were unchanged, it added.
“The recent changes made to our Quilted product have been implemented to further enhance the softness of the roll,” an Essity spokesman said. “The significant change we have made is to the order in which the three sheets (ply) appear.”
Previously Cushelle had placed a layer of TAD (through-air dried) paper on top of two conventional sheets, the spokesman said. Its new formulation placed the TAD layer on the bottom, allowing the brand to use “micro-embossing technology on the top sheet” to improve softness, they claimed.
Essity shared third-party survey data from Bazaarvoice on the new formulation with The Grocer. Here, reviews were more favourable, with an average rating of 4.8 out of 5.
“Whenever a much-loved brand alters its appearance, consumers who are loyal to that brand will rightly question it,” the spokesman said. “We are grateful to those consumers that have provided feedback via the Cushelle website and we can reassure consumers that their feedback is listened to and investigated so that improvements can be made.”
It comes after Waitrose admitted to shrinking its own-label toilet roll earlier this week.
The retailer updated its Essential White Ultra Soft Bathroom Tissue last month, adding an “embossed” texture to the paper as well as shrinking the size of the sheets. The number of sheets was also reduced, from 240 down to 190.
The changes led shoppers to complain of a “shocking reduction in the quality, size, and value” of the rolls.
Waitrose, however, insisted the changes had been made to provide better value for money.
It said it had reduced the price of the rolls, and pointed out the sheet count and sheet size remained broadly in line with competitors.
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