With a large middle-class population and ever increasing disposable incomes, the Indian diaper market is forecasted to grow much faster than before. The quick pace of urbanization and the mounting number of modern nuclear families with both parents working will only add to the demand of disposable diapers in India. As a result, there is a trend of global giants entering into the market. Even existing players are busy scaling up their production capacities to match the growing needs and demands of the Indian market.
India has a vast population of around 1.2 billion and uptake of disposable diapers is still low compared with other developed markets. However, manufacturers believe that India could grow to become an even larger market than China in coming years. Taking note of the potential growth, several multinationals are entering the lucrative Indian market which has led to players investing heavily on product innovation and development to get an upper hand over their competitors. The major brands have been using television based advertising to their full advantage and have raised the awareness of diapers in the country. Consumers today are looking for baby diapering solutions that go beyond the basic benefits of dryness and look for value-added features such as softness for their baby’s delicate skin.
According to recently published report of Bonafide Research “India Diaper Market Outlook, 2022”, the diaper market is growing with more than 20% CAGR from the last seven years. The healthy growth rate is driven by factors such as millions of babies born per year, higher disposable income among common people and the increased hygiene awareness of Indian mothers. The Indian diaper market has long been characterized by large fluctuations in the market share within short periods. Previously, the main players in the industry were Proctor & Gamble with its brand Pampers and Kimberly-Clark with its brand Huggies. However, Unicharm’s Mamy Poko Pants, one of the latest entrants into the market has gradually developed into a major player now. The company has already overtaken Kimberly-Clark before some years.
Unicharm India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of M/s Unicharm Corporation, a Japanese manufacturing company of health & hygiene products. The company has two diaper brands in its Indian portfolio, MamyPoko for baby diaper and Lifree for adult diaper. It offers two products namely MamyPoko Pants and MamyPoko Pants Standard, under disposable diaper for babies. Unicharm has seen strong growth in India since 2009, when it entered the disposable baby diapers on a full-scale basis. In fiscal 2013 and 2014, the company’s sales growth accelerated to almost 100% and 80% respectively year on year, supported by efforts to promote economy pants-type disposable diapers. Unicharm India is further targeting growth in India by extending their sales areas to secure new users and by promoting their pant type disposable baby diapers, a category where the brand already has a strong position. The company’s second factory located in Southern India has currently started the operations in 2016. The new factory is a part of wider efforts to strengthen their local manufacturing framework and give them the capability to serve all areas of India.
Major companies operating in the diaper market of India are SCA Hygiene Products India Pvt. Ltd., Johnson & Johnson Private Limited, Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care Limited, Kimberly-Clark Lever Pvt. Ltd., Unicharm India Private Limited, Nobel Hygiene Pvt. Ltd., Godrej Consumer Products Ltd., BellaPremier Happy HygieneCare Pvt. Ltd., Wipro Enterprises (P) Limited and Patanjali Ayurved Limited.