Consumption of hygiene products has a strong correlation with income level. Picture a pyramid, with toilet paper on the bottom and incontinence products at the top. More and more countries are now climbing up the personal care pyramid and SCA is present, offering inexpensive hygiene products in small packages.
More and more countries are climbing up the hygiene pyramid. People have access to basic hygiene products and can raise their quality of life. When people have income of even two US dollars a day, they start using their money for more than food and housing – for personal care products in particular.
Countries whose citizens are rapidly climbing the hygiene pyramid include Brazil, Colombia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Mexico, Malaysia, South Africa, Chile, India and China.
“There is a very strong correlation between GDP per capita and consumption of hygiene products, and all these countries are experiencing strong growth right now,” says Ian Bell, head of home care, tissue and hygiene research at Euromonitor International.
Buying hygiene products
A study by the Japanese hygiene products company Unicharm found that purchases of feminine care products rise sharply when GDP per capita exceeds USD 1,000. As the level reaches USD 3,000, people also begin to buy diapers and wet wipes, and at USD 8,000–10,000 demand for incontinence products rises.
“There is, of course, considerable variation within countries,” Bell says. “Many high-growth and developing countries have relatively high use of hygiene products in cities, whereas use in rural areas is almost nonexistent. That’s the case in China, for instance, where many personal care products are generally available in Shanghai and eastern China but not at all in the interior of the country.”
A great many people in the world deal with daily budgets and have to shop for everything they need that day, every day. The main reason for this is that their incomes don’t cover anything beyond their daily bread. There is a major difference between earning a dollar a day and 10 dollars a day.
“With just one dollar, people have to put all their money towards food and housing costs,” says Victor Niembro, SCA’s category portfolio director feminine care Americas, MEA & Asia.
“But as soon as they make two dollars a day, there’s something left over that can be used for entertainment and consumer goods. If you make 10 dollars, that portion is fairly large. And priority is often given to hygiene products rather early on.”
Small packages
In high-growth and developing countries, products are often sold in smaller packages. In Asia and in Latin America SCA sells diapers in small packages. More than half of sales are to consumers in “mom-and-pop” stores, local service outlets with behind-the-counter sales.
Another project also sells feminine care products in single packs in Peru and three-packs in Nicaragua. Many people can’t afford diapers every day but buy them for use at night or at a wedding, party or other festive occasion when they want to be sure to avoid leaks.
The same is true for feminine care. In the past, small corner shops often sold sanitary products one at a time, opening the packages and selling the items over the counter, but nowadays feminine care products are sold in small packages.
Consumers with low incomes also look for products that can be used for multiple purposes. “One example is when packaging can be reused as a container or for storage afterwards,” Niembro explains.
“It’s easy to draw the conclusion that people with the lowest incomes would choose low-priced products and the chain stores’ own brands, but that’s not the case at all,” he says. “If they’re going to put their money into personal care products, they want to be able to rely on the quality. So most people choose the best-known brands.”
Read the full story in Shape, the SCA magazine on trends, markets and business.
Sara Bergqvist Photo Pysse Holmberg