The continuous introduction of new feminine care products and brands continues to redefine this hygiene category. Within the last decade a number of new direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands have launched online and have eventually become omnichannel, showing up on the shelves of Target, CVS, Walgreens and other retailers. At the same time, major brands that have been in the femcare business since the category’s origin have been launching new products that cater to different desires among consumers such as sustainability, ingredient transparency and alternative formats.
“It’s been a really interesting couple of years in the feminine hygiene category,” says Liying Qian, research analyst for Euromonitor International.
Looking at new disposable individual feminine care products, Euromonitor is seeing new formats for specific occasions like postpartum, overnight protection, as well as more clean, sustainable ingredient-oriented products, using fibers like organic cotton.
The market researcher is also seeing a growing variety of period underwear. “The format was traditionally more common in Asia Pacific, but has been making its way to the U.S. and North America over the last couple of years; it’s more convenient and offers better protection,” Qian explains.
A few notable launches, she points out, are Always ZZZ Disposable Overnight Period Underwear, which debuted in late 2020; Rael’s disposable underwear for postpartum that launched in early 2021; and Femi Secrets, which offers disposable underwear with a focus on menorrhagia and heavy overnight flow protection.
Despite the growing variety of disposable period underwear, challenges remain for mass adoption of such format, Qian adds. First is affordability: these products are typically far more expensive than overnight pads on a unit basis. Second is the environmental impact in terms of disposal. “Those who can afford these products are likely to be in higher income segments yet oftentimes also practice family planning/contraception, which reduces/eliminates menstruation. That’s a paradox - the higher the income, the fewer, if any, babies,” she says.
In femcare overall, Euromonitor sees most growth coming from pantyliners and thin pads. “Tampons have been seeing a lot more weakness because of health concerns lingering among consumers, but we see a lot of momentum coming from organic tampons especially with plant-based applicators, which have become more popular,” Qian notes. “A lot of younger consumers really resonate with the plant-based angle.”
Another novel trend in disposable femcare is the hybrid format, which combines protection for both menstruation and light incontinence. Recent launches in this category include Kimberly-Clark’s One by Poise, a two-in-one pad and liner that offers protection for both periods and bladder leaks, and First Quality’s Incognito by Prevail, three-in-one pads that protect against bladder leaks, menstrual leaks and daily discharge.“The goal is really to cater to the craving for convenience, multifunctionality, and to many consumers, cost efficiency. You buy one product that can take care of your period and other leaks,” she says.
By The Numbers
According to Euromonitor, the global sanitary protection category reached $30.9 billion in 2020 (U.S. dollars, retail sales price, at a fixed 2020 exchange rate.) Sanitary towels’ sales were $24 billion, pantyliners were $4.3 billion and tampons were $2.6 billion. “Sanitary protection is seeing growth globally, with developing markets accounting for the lion’s share of untapped potential and growth momentum,” a recent report from Euromonitor states.
When it comes to how menstruators are buying their products, e-commerce is becoming a more popular way to shop around the world, but more women still prefer to buy their products in stores. “The majority of femcare sales are still and will still be in stores,” Qian says. “DTC is an extremely expensive business model, and like in toilet paper and diapers, there is so much buzz about the subscription model and free delivery, which is all really good, especially in the pandemic, but DTC is very expensive. The customer acquisition costs are extremely high, and customer retention is a challenging business.”
There is also some fatigue when it comes to the usage of digital devices, she adds. “Ultimately femcare is a product that people are still buying in brick and mortar and that’s not going to change in the foreseeable future. Growth in femcare long term isn’t going to come from DTC, which is great to build up awareness and a virtual community, but the real sales still have to come from the physical retail. It’s how people shop.”
The share of e-commerce sales in feminine care will stay under 10% by the end of Euromonitor’s forecast period—2025.
On the other hand, Swedish hygiene company Essity considers e-commerce a main driver of growth in the femcare category.
Sheba Varghese, corporate vice president Communications – Consumer Goods, Essity, says e-commerce is continuously growing in Europe at a fast pace. “During the pandemic, shoppers shifted to online shopping and this trend is not showing any signs of slow down,” she says. “In Retail Europe, we have been growing double digit pre-Covid. We are winning in all countries and all categories, having now most of the time higher positions online versus our position offline. We are continuously accelerating with fair share plans and increasing business with pure players but also on marketplaces. A lot of new direct-to-consumer initiatives have been launched and social commerce accelerates. The lines between commerce, entertainment and community are now getting blurred.”
Interest in Reusables
With environmental concerns and the impact of disposable products top of mind for many consumers, reusable products such as menstrual cups, discs and washable period underwear have gained in popularity, although these products still take up a very small share of the overall feminine hygiene products market. But, this growing interest has certainly attracted the attention of the major brands in the femcare space.
According to Euromonitor International’s 2021 Health and Nutrition survey, 15% and 12% of all millennial women surveyed have used washable underwear and period cups, respectively, during their time of the month.
Procter & Gamble, the maker of Always pads and Tampax tampons, launched a menstrual cup under its Tampax brand in 2018, and in 2019 Kotex maker Kimberly-Clark invested $25 million in Thinx, a maker of reusable period underwear designed to offer an eco-friendly alternative to pads and tampons. K-C executives have said that the investment in Thinx provided an opportunity to gain deeper insights into this emerging space in the feminine care market.
This year Essity joined the club, launching both a menstrual cup and washable absorbent underwear. In Essity’s feminine care category, a line of period underwear was launched called intimawear under the brands Libresse, Bodyform and Nana.In Essity’s incontinence products category, Tena Silhouette Washable Absorbent Underwear launched for women with light bladder weakness and with a focus on discretion. The two products have different gusset lengths and come in different styles and with different types of lace.
Meanwhile, the company expanded its range toward more sustainable products through the launch of Libresse V-Cup, a reusable menstrual cup, in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Libresse V-Cup is a complement to the brand’s assortment providing an opportunity for women to choose the product that best suits their lifestyle. Essity has previously launched menstrual cups in Latin America.
Libresse V-Cup is made from 100% soft medical-grade silicone. The menstrual cup’s soft material and form help it to remain securely in place, offering protection for up to 12 hours. It is reusable and durable, and therefore helps to reduce the amount of waste.
“At Essity we are always looking for new and better solutions for our consumers,” says Varghese. “There is a growing trend and requirement for options that are more sustainable but [provide] good leakage protection. With the launch of Libresse V-Cup and new ranges of washable absorbent underwear within our feminine care and incontinence products categories, we keep expanding our offer towards more sustainable solutions. With these new alternatives, customers get more options to choose the products that best fit their lifestyle.”
Varghese says it is Essity’s priority to produce more washable products and continue reducing the disposables. Therefore, it will keep on shifting towards cloth-based solutions that are more sustainable.
In February 2022, K-C acquired a majority state in Thinx, Inc. a manufacturer of reusable incontinence underwear. The company made an initial investment in the company in 2019.
"Our investment in the success of Thinx represents a compelling strategic fit as we build our portfolio of period and light bladder leakage solutions, and we are excited for the opportunity this expanded partnership will provide to both Kimberly-Clark and Thinx," saysRuss Torres, Group President of Kimberly-Clark's North American consumer business. "The investment in Thinxpaves the road for collaboration and allows us to work together to drive category growth with our retail partners while continuing to support Thinx in direct-to-consumer channels."
In March, sportswear company Puma and global leak-proof apparel company Modibodi launched a range of leak-free period underwear and activewear, created to help women stay comfortable and active druing their period while making a positive environmental impact.
Puma together with Modibodi believes that everybody who wants to participate in exercise or sport should be given the opportunity to stay active and play, fueling the motivation behind Puma x Modibodi’s exclusive global partnership under the “She Moves Us” platform.
“Even in the 21st century, periods and leaks still prevent women from participating in sports. Studies have revealed that girls’ participation in sport drops from 69% (ages 11-12) to 45% (ages 13-15). Additionally, the single-use plastic from disposable products can continue to pollute the environment for hundreds of years,” says Erin Longin, global director Run/Train at Puma. “As a global brand, we felt it important to do our part to address this issue. The Puma x Modibodi collaboration allows women to stay active, without having to worry about leaks, while reducing their monthly waste from period products.”
The Puma x Modibodi collection is designed to be reused and replaces the need for disposable pads, liners and tampons, while ensuring women can stay extremely comfortable, odor free and protected from all leaks (not just periods). Modibodi’s proprietary Modifier Technology achieves this through its soft top layer, made of merino wool, which wicks moisture and sweat, a quick-drying absorbent microfiber middle layer, that locks away fluid and odor, and an additional waterproof protection in the bottom layer.
Something for Everyone
Innovation in feminine care hasn’t been limited to reusable products; the ongoing trend of new product launches in the disposable category continued in 2021, and brands old and new are doing their best to differentiate their line ups.
In the spring new feminine care brand Moons introduced duets, a tampon and liner system designed to end period stains. Duets features a capsule tampon and slim liner packaged together for the first time in the U.S. in a discreet, soft-touch pouch for ultimate protection and convenience.
Moons CEO and cofounder Rachel Donovan Geller has dreamt of better period protection since she was a teenager, and this inspired her to create duets.
“I was constantly having really embarrassing moments, really horrible leaks and stains, throughout my menstrual career, from my first couple of years through my young adult years as well as into my grown adult years,” Donovan Geller says. “I was constantly suffering from leakage, which was bleeding through to my pants, my clothes and towels. Sometimes they were really high-profile embarrassing moments, and other times they were just inconvenient, frustrating moments.”
As a tampon user, she always wanted a product like duets to exist, but a tampon alone isn’t always enough. Most women develop their own improvisation, such as rolling up wads of toilet paper in their underwear to catch leaks, she adds. “We always have our own backup system, but that’s really antiquated and old school and I felt like we deserve better. We need better products that are based on insight; this insight being that tampons leak, and that’s okay, they do a great job, but they don’t do the whole job, so you need a backup system.”
Yes, she admits, one can buy liners separately from tampons, “but that’s another layer of inconvenience for a modern woman, a young woman, a grown adult, who’s focused on her life and doesn’t have time to make an extra stop or pack an extra thing.”
Duets, manufactured by First Quality, is a simple, convenient solution that offers the two together in one pouch, and provides superior protection against leaks and stains. The pouch also acts as a disposal system. “The pouch is very elegant; it’s white with navy blue graphics. It’s not hot pink; it doesn’t leave a trail of fairy dust behind you,” Donovan Geller quips.
The name, brand and package design are out to change the culture, language and experience around menstrual cycles.
“By naming our company Moons, we’re introducing a new way to talk about cycles, bodies and experiences,” says cofounder Melanie Pitson. “From our package design, which illustrates each phase of our monthly cycles, to tools that support dialogue around menstruation, to our online community, we’re normalizing conversations about bodies so everyone can speak confidently and comfortably about the power and beauty of this natural experience.”
Moons plans to be a full lifecycle brand, starting with menstruation, going into pregnancy and postpartum, and then evolving into menopause and post-menopause. The brand’s First Moons Kit will roll out next for young girls who are about to enter their menstrual years. The box will be filled with product samples, lifestyle samples and educational information to prepare girls for their periods.
Moons products are currently available direct-to-consumer through the brand’s website, ourmoons.com, and recently launched on Amazon Prime. The company has plans to become omnichannel soon.
Meanwhile, period protection brand Femi Secrets recently gained an investor in Lightship Capital, a venture capital fund that invests in smaller businesses and focuses on specifically investing in founders of color and women.
Developed by Davielle Jackson as a solution for a friend experiencing heavy menstrual flow and leaking, Femi Secrets’ signature product, The Pretty Panty, has become a standard in innovative, effective and sustainable feminine hygiene products.
The idea came to Jackson, who was pre-med before she started Femi Secrets, while she was working in a hospital. “Women always raved about the disposable panties that they get after they give birth, so I grabbed one of those samples and took it to my seamstress to see if I could figure what the problem was and stop my friend from having leaks,” she recalls.
After doing some research, she realized that all products on the market were supposed to stop the leak from happening, but they weren’t dedicated to the actual woman. “One thing I know being from a bio-medical background is that no woman’s vagina or anatomy is the same. No tampon is going to fit every woman the same way. Then, take into account that women are active now. We don’t have the capability to sit at home while we’re on our cycle. Everyone’s working and moving around all throughout the day,” she continues.
Realizing that women may be wearing the wrong underwear during their cycles, plus the pad may not fit the underwear and will shift and move, Jackson and her team solved the problem by creating a panty, with a pad that doesn’t move, in one system. “The dimensions of our panty are accommodating to make sure women don’t have a leak,” she says.
The Pretty Panty is made with 100% cotton and is completely biodegradable and compostable, according to Jackson. Femi Secrets also offers liners, pads and wipes, as well as other products like CBD bath bombs, “products that help women relax and feel better during their cycle.”
The DTC company offers an online subscription box through its website, femisecrets.com, which launched in 2018 and already has 25,000 subscribers, and the brand’s products are also available at Wegmans stores in the U.S. The company is working to expand its product line and presence at other retailers. Lightship Capital has led the round to move the company closer to this goal.
Femi Secrets will also be releasing products in the nursing and baby care market, which are expected to be announced in 2022.
Another new femcare brand, TOP the organic project(TOP), has also recently gained investors. The women-ownedorganic period product startup announced in August it extended its seed round to raise $2 million as it expands its presence in nationwide retailers and product offering. The funding will enable TOP to capitalize on strategic expansion and partnerships, bolster marketing initiatives and grow its team as it seeks to provide women and girls with better and healthier products for themselves and the planet. The round was led by Massachusetts-based Mass Mutual through the MM Catalyst Fund, The Impact Seat, Maine Angels and Dirigo Angel Fund.
Since its founding in 2018, TOP has raised $3 million and expanded into 1500 retailers nationwide, including Sprouts, HEB, Fresh Thyme, Wegmans, Fresh Market, Erewhon and many more, leading to triple digit growth year over year. In August, TOP launched its First Period Gift Box with Target.com to address Target’s mom and teen shoppers. The company also recently launched a partnership with Imperfect Foods to further deepen its connection to consumers seeking to live more sustainably.
All TOP tampons and pads feature 100% certified organic cotton free from synthetics, toxins, pesticides, dyes and fragrances. TOP tampons feature its trademarked Planticator, a plant-based tampon applicator, to replace the traditional plastic applicator design.
“For too long, the feminine category and female-founders have been overlooked when it comes to investment in innovative, effective and sustainable solutions for girls and women,” says Thyme Sullivan, co-founder and CEO of TOP. “As former corporate executives and mothers to daughters, we plan to leverage this new capital to re-invigorate the category with the introduction of functional organic period products that bring joy and also support our goal of giving back to our communities.”
In other product news, Belgian hygiene products manufacturer Ontex recently introduced a new core platform for its ultra-thin towels, called the Genius Core. Genius Core consists of flex-zones and channels which significantly improves the absorption speed as well as enabling the product to fold in the right areas to be more adaptive to body shapes. “This makes the ultra-thin towels our most comfortable and performing product yet!” says Annick De Poorter, executive vice president Innovation & Sustainability, Ontex.
Ontex now also offers a full range of feminine hygiene products of towels, liners and tampons with natural materials. Its towels are produced with a 100% organic cotton topsheet, FSC certified fluff pulp, and bio-PE or plant-based backsheet. The company’s tampons are made with 100% organic cotton throughout the entire product including the removal cord. Additionally, its packaging materials, including individual wraps, are made of sustainable materials and the cardboard packaging is made from 99% recycled components.
“Sustainable lifestyle products are the future and, of course, we have several more innovations in the pipeline for the upcoming years,” De Poorter says. “The new generation of natural brands are embracing body and planet. Women are looking for sustainable and transparently produced feminine hygiene products. On top [of this], upcoming regulations through the world driven by environmental concerns about growing waste reinforce this trend.”
Ontex is witnessing a significant increase from retailer requests to include plant-based materials in feminine care products. “It is primarily driven by the appearance of many new start-up online brands promoting healthy lifestyle or natural ingredients,” she adds.
Ontex’s organic cotton business is especially growing in the U.S., but sees the trend also catching up in Europe.
Meanwhile, Corman, the manufacturer of Organyc products, has long been in the natural feminine care space. The Milan, Italy-based company introduced the first range of 100% cotton feminine care pads in the early 1990s. Today, Organyc is the only clinically-proven period protection for women, manufacturing and marketing pads, liners and tampons using 100% certified organic cotton fully, both outside where the products touch the skin and inside where they absorb.
“Because of Corman’s long history in medical textiles the cotton core of our products is designed to work as well as man-made products using super absorbents and wood pulp,” says Jim Ebel, global vice president of marketing, Corman. “That means Organyc brand products not only offer unsurpassed absorbency but also protection and resolution of sensitive skin issues. This was proven clinically at the cellular level.”
Growth in what is now being called the natural or organic segment is coming from an unusual place, he says; products that are not natural or organic. “The consumer is being offered a disservice in this sense,” he explains. “We like to say, ‘You can’t judge a pad by its cover,’ because brands that offer half natural products such as a cotton cover only pad, are being allowed to make claims that make them seem to be all natural. We’ve always taken the high road when it comes to offering our consumers an authentic organic product, backed by scientific evidence of the benefits we offer.”
Even with all the introductions of products that aren’t fully organic, the company is seeing accelerating growth of its Organyc brand, which it says is now the best-selling fully organic cotton brand in the world. “You can’t fool a consumer when it comes to performance, particularly on a major issue like sensitive skin, something that physically impacts at least a quarter of women and worries another quarter,” Ebel says. “Our brand delivers, clinically, on this issue.”
From Corman’s point of view, the feminine care business is changing in one important way—the world is getting older. The company has stopped defining feminine care as ending at the onset of menopause, but now defines it as when other absorbent needs appear. Corman’s new line of bladder leakage pads and underwear are an example of this, and these products aren’t coming to women under a new brand name. They are also branded Organyc, just like its pads and tampons for menstruation, and they offer the same clinically-proven protection, even if the definition of that protection might be a bit different. “No leaks, no odor, no irritation,” Ebel says. “With this line we like to say, ‘Three No’s equal a Yes!’ Just another way we show women the respect they deserve throughout their lives.”
Birla Cellulose Promotes Purocel EcoDry for Sustainable Absorbent Hygiene Products
Birla Cellulose’s Purocel EcoDry is a biodegradable and compostable viscose fiber with engineered hydrophobicity specially crafted for sustainable absorbent hygiene products (AHPs). It helps create super soft nonwovens for topsheet applications in AHPs like sanitary pads that keep the user’s skin dry, and at the same time allows fluids to get transferred to the core of AHPs. The fiber is fully sustainable in nature making it possible to have eco-friendly hygiene products meeting required performance, according to the company.
“Viscose staple fiber by nature is a hydrophilic fiber,” says Rahul Bansal, AVP, global business development head for Nonwovens – Birla Cellulose, Aditya Birla Group. “Our innovation Purocel EcoDry is a specialty viscose staple fiber which has been carefully designed with just optimum hydrophobicity to get the desired properties in the topsheet application of AHPs like sanitary pads or pantyliners. Purocel EcoDry fiber provides a perfect balance between the two most critical properties required in the absorbent hygiene products like rate of absorption as well as wetback or rewet.”
While the specialty fiber first launched in 2019, the company has continuously refined the product to secure the desired performance. In addition to being optimal for topsheets in feminine hygiene products, Birla is actively working on extending the functionality to other layers of sanitary pads starting with the acquisition distribution layer (ADL).
According to Bansal, viscose fibers have been known for being soft and absorbent in nature, at the same time being fully sustainable (biodegradable as well as compostable). “Recently with the introduction of single-use plastic directives in the EU, viscose is well positioned to bridge the gap in our journey to make plastic-free absorbent hygiene products.”
Birla’s R&D division has been extensively working to develop functional viscose fibers that can provide the performance of synthetic fibers along with biodegradability and sustainability of natural fibers. “We strongly believe that viscose is in the right position to improve the sustainability of single use products, allowing for non-plastic product options in the market,” Bansal concludes.
Hospeco Launches Enviroguards Organic Maxi Ven Pack
Hospeco Brands Grouphas launched the Enviro Gards Organic Maxi Pads Vend Pack. Every detail has been thoughtfully considered to introduce a more natural product that contributes less disposable waste to the environment. Each pad features a pesticide-free, 100% organic cotton topsheet; a compostable box; and an innovative, biodegradable and compostable bioplastic barrier film and wrapper. Enviro Gards Pads are chlorine-free, dioxin-free, and fragrance-free.
Cotton is among nature’s most absorbent materials, and it is also more breathable than synthetic barriers. As such, Enviro Gards’ cotton topsheet provides a softer, more comfortable, non-irritating absorptive topsheet that allows the user’s skin to breathe and lowers the risk of any allergic reaction.
Multi-channel embossing wicks, absorbs and locks in fluid, while wings provide maximum side protection and help to keep the pad in place.
Pad performance tests demonstrate that Enviro Gards Organic Maxi Pads absorb 15% more liquid and at a rate 80% faster and much more consistent than some other competing organic brands with a much lower standard deviation. Enviro Gards provide the confidence and security required during periods.
Increased consumer awareness of the environmental impact of disposable products like menstrual care protection prompted research on ways to reduce waste, particularly with the use of single-use plastics. Answering the call, Enviro Gards’ 100% organic cotton construction increases sustainability, while the introduction of the compostable packaging along with the bioplastic barrier film and overwrap reduces bulk in the waste stream.Supported by over 25 years of research, these bioplastics are environmentally friendly while maintaining product quality and performance with an efficient use of resources.
