Toilet paper is getting a new look these days, and it's putting a real spin on the bathroom tissue market.
Today's consumers are no longer satisfied with the standard stiff white sheets. They are looking for extras, which might mean anything from odor-reducing baking soda to soft quilting.
"There is incredible competition out there, and every company is working hard to distinguish their product from the next," said Al Ries, a marketing consultant at Ries & Ries in Great Neck, N.Y.
What started in the mid-1800s as an alternative to the corn cob has grown into a multibillion-dollar market. Sales topped $3 billion in 1994, up 6.3% from the year before, according to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based market research firm.
