Have you ever seen the Bollywood movie Pad Man? It is a very inspirational film based on real people and real events. Indian entrepreneur Arunachalam who known as the father of the sanitary pads is the archetypal character of the film. In the film, the hero gave up his job for his wife and began to focus on the research and popularity of sanitary pads. At first, his idea was questioned by many people, but he still continued. Finally, his efforts paid off and he finally realized his dream.
Because of the anonymity of online shopping, more and more women are trying to buy alternatives of sanitary pads such as tampons and menstrual cups. Sales of sanitary pads account for 80 percent of Walmart’s retailers, as well as private care products such as sanitary oils, gels, urination devices, and menstrual cups.
Market Segregation of Feminine Hygiene Products
* Segmentation by Product Type: Tampons, Menstrual Cup, Sanitary Napkins/Pads, Feminine Hygiene Wash, Panty Liners.
* Segmentation by Distribution Channel: Hypermarkets & Supermarkets, Retail Stores/Pharmacies, E-commerce.
Purchasing Behaviour in India
* According to the sales data, Flipkart find that the primary towns and cities in India are leading the growth in demand for tampons and menstrual cups. Sales of feminine hygiene products increased fivefold between April and June of this year.
* Top 10 cities demanding for tampons and menstrual cups include
Calcutta, New Delhi, Bangalore, Ghaziabad, Patna, Pune, Amritsar, Ambala (Haryana), Mumbai, and West Bengal.
* The popularity of sanitary products is now spreading to smaller towns.
Market Growth in India
* Visionaari, a tampon maker who headquartered in Delhi, claims that about 50 percent of its orders are now coming from second - and third-tier cities. Visionaari had sales of $340m in 2017 and is expected to grow to $522m by 2020. Northern and eastern states led the way. Besides, the northern and eastern are the most demanding states.* Gauri Singhal, founder of Visionaari suggests “ With shopping at the click of a button and easy delivery, the products and services are attractive in states such as Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.”
* It is estimated according to the relevant date that although the share of feminine sanitary products in overall online retail is still low in India, it is growing because of the increase in small towns.
* States that lead the demand for feminine hygiene products:
Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh.
* Increasing concerns related to personal health and hygiene among female population and rising awareness about various types of feminine products across the globe are key factors expected to drive the growth of the global market over the forecast period.
* In addition, rising awareness about several benefits of feminine products among women such as easy to use, comfortable, eco-friendly, and high-quality products are major factors expected to fuel the growth of the target market.
Why Demand for Online Feminine Hygiene Products is Growing in India?
* Nearly one trillion of three to four trillion middle class now live in the second - and third-tier cities. Many women in these places can’t get into physical stores to buy hygiene products, therefore they are turning to online stores.
* Online sales platform offers consumers a wide variety of products, promotions and free shipping to encourage women to purchase female products, according to Flipkart principal of the related department.
* With the increasing awareness of feminine health and hygiene, the government has taken some measures.
* Bollywood film Pod Man also drive the sales of hygiene products in small towns.
* In addition to Visionaari, the popularity of Internet devices and hygiene products has a contribution to startups such as Carmesi, Nua, Heyday, and Azah. They are keen to tap into the potential of the Millennial girls and office ladies who are looking for differentiated products and are willing to have a try.
* PeeBuddy, founder of Deep Bajaj suggests well-known sanitary pads brands such as Whisper and Stayfree have done a good job in spreading awareness about menstrual hygiene.
* However, the market is shifting to offering convenient, and personalized products now. If a woman with a disease of polycystic ovary disease, menstrual cups rather than sanitary pads are the best bets.
* There is an increase in demanding for environmentally friendly products in feminine hygiene. In addition to cost-effectiveness, waste reduction is one of the main reasons why more and more people are using products such as menstrual cups and reusable cloth pads.
* The Global Hygiene Market is forecasted to register a CAGR of 5.2 % during the forecast period (2019-2024).* Increasing awareness of female health and hygiene and the emergence of low-cost feminine hygiene products are factors that are expected to boost demand for feminine hygiene products.
* The demand for high-end products such as tampons and internal cleansers & sprays is more in developed regions such as North America and Western Europe.
* Market in North America is expected to witness significant growth in terms of CAGR in the global market followed by market in Europe, owing to high self-awareness, availability of wide range of feminine product brands, and increasing penetration of eco-friendly hygiene products such as organic tampons and reusable cloth pads in many countries in these regions.
* Asia-Pacific emerged as the largest market owing to higher penetration of sanitary pads in this region. Though menstrual hygiene is still at a nascent stage in Asia. Personal hygiene awareness campaigns taken up by government agencies have contributed an increase in demand for sanitary products in this region.
The usage of sanitary pads and tampons by women will be increasing in a couple of years.
* Globally, more and more women are getting educated about female hygiene products. The Asia-pacific market still prefers sanitary pads whereas the Americans prefer tampons.
* Various kinds of sanitary pads like with wings, great absorbents, thin pads, cotton-filled pads, scented pads, etc. can be seen in all types of supermarkets and even convenience stores.
* Moreover, there is a growing number of promotions, educational classes, use of social media and various initiatives taken by government and NGO entities, to increase the awareness of the benefits of using of hygiene product such as sanitary napkins among women.
* Global feminine hygiene market is a highly fragmented market dominated by many small-scale and large-scale firms. Some of the major companies are Procter and Gamble, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Unicharm Corporation, Johnson & Johnson and Brait(Lil-Lets).
* The Procter & Gamble primarily manufactures laundry and cleaning products for home care, oral care products, as well as products in the cosmetics and personal care sector. It offers feminine hygiene products under the brands, such as Tampax, Always Discreet, and Always.
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