India Market for Baby Diapers to Touch US$707 MN by 2020 at a CAGR of 21%

Rising disposable incomes, awareness on sanitation, ecommerce platform to fuel growth

CMR today released the CMR Initial Market Guidance (IMG) report on the baby diapers sector that construes the big picture and captures current demand and supply drivers; opportunities and challenges.

The market for baby diapers in India will reach US$707 Million by 2020, growing at an impressive CAGR of 21%, from US$303 Million in 2016.

The penetration of disposable diapers stands at 3%, and >80% of the diapers market is controlled by the top three market participants.

The key business driver for baby diapers in India is increasing disposable incomes, coupled with increasing awareness on sanitation.  The rising proportion of working urban population, currently at 160 million with an annual average wage of US$3000, is driving the growth of the diapers market. Another factor for rising diaper consumption is the ecommerce channel, which is increasingly being used by the millennial population.

According to Saikat Mookherjee, Head- Research and Consulting, CMR, “Greater convenience and lower costs are driving diaper sales on ecommerce platforms. As it stands, millennials are driving the sales for premium, imported diapers online.”

In rural India, the increasing literacy levels have contributed to adoption of baby diapers. As a result, rural India is seeing more uptake than before. There is an ever-growing awareness about baby’s health. More women in the workforce, growing at 5.6% annually, are also boosting the growth of the baby diapers market.

Lastly, technology has been instrumental in development of new, novel baby diapers that have positively impacted the India market. The market is benefiting from new technological advances resulting in novel baby diapers with superior properties.

The baby diapers market has benefited from improved supply-side infrastructure; thrust on technology-led cost-efficiencies; and from the awareness campaigns run by market participants.

The baby diapers market in India comprises of market leaders, niche brands and eco-friendly brands. The leading players include Unicharm, P&G, and Kimberly-Clark.

According to Prabhu Ram, General Manager, CMR Industry Consulting Practice, “For capturing the leadership position in a market, one has to rewrite the rules of the competition by spotting new, untapped opportunities, and capitalize on them. Unicharm has done that precisely in India by introducing new innovations into the market. They focused on both new market development and market expansion, and in the process, made the competition follow suit.”

In terms of raw materials, there is a continuous challenge for non-woven suppliers to deliver cost competitive diaper fabrics with the specific functional performance and aesthetic properties. Suppliers have secured flexibility from diaper manufacturers to change raw material formulations to accomplish cost efficiencies while maintaining high performance standards.