Charmin is trying to upend the toilet paper world with wider sheets, says consumers will 'know a better clean when they feel it'

“Consumers may not think to ask for a wider sheet, but they do know a better clean when they feel it. With Ultra Strong with Wider Sheets, we’ve taken something people use every day and made it meaningfully better,” Alex Perez, brand vice president for Charmin at Procter & Gamble, said in a statement.

The wider sheets apparently provide a lot more than just extra coverage. Charmin claims the new design, which is four times stronger (though it doesn’t say than what), will enable consumers to use 50% less toilet paper while they sit on the throne. That’s not, however, 50% less compared to current Charmin Ultra Strong users. The number is a comparison to 1-ply bargain brands in the U.S., the kind you’d find in an airport restroom or a highway rest area commode.

However, wider sheets could also be an opportunity for the company to wedge shrinkflation into the toilet paper market. One study found the new rolls contains 297 sheets per roll, compared to 330 sheets per roll with the existing product line.

Roll fit guarantee

The new toilet paper rolls are about one-fifth of an inch wider than the company’s previous product (approximately half a centimeter). That could cause problems for some household washrooms. Procter & Gamble, however, is ready for that criticism. The company is offering a free roll extender to buyers of the new product and is offering a “Roll Fit Guarantee,” which will give you your money back for one roll if you’re not satisfied within 60 days of purchase.

Procter & Gamble is giving the high-end butt napkins the hard sell, so expect TV channels to be flush with advertising for the new product. (I’m sorry. I promise that will be the last pun.) Even the company’s press release, though, lays things on a bit thick, with lines like “the innovation creates an upgraded experience that redefines what ‘good enough’ should look and feel like in the bathroom.”

This isn’t a one-off for the company. Charmin says the Ultra Strong with Wider Sheets product will be the new standard for the brand.

An industry that changes slowly

Charmin’s upgrade to a product that most people don’t actively discuss, but always hope to have handy, is one of a rare number of changes made to the home paper products industry. The fact is that napkins, toilet paper, paper towels and such largely do the jobs people expect of them, so there’s not a big push for upgrades.

There are a variety of choices for all kinds of budgets, and while some might be better than others, they sometimes carry a premium price compared to the competition.

The most recent big change in the paper products world came last year from Brawny paper towels, which began offering a three-ply towel to clean up spills. Georgia-Pacific, which owns the brand, has not broken out how sales have been affected by the change, to date.