In April, SCA launched gender-specific protective underwear through its Tena adult incontinence line, creating a new niche in the adult incontinence care market.

“It is a totally new approach to the category. We will be first in Europe to introduce this concept to the market,” said Katrin Rosenbichler, European marketing manager at SCA. “The launch of new gender-specific Tena Protective Underwear will clearly differentiate us from our competitors.”

The product is more like a piece of underwear than a diaper. It has a design print, it is less bulky with a new, soft material and products are made to fit the different body shapes of women versus men. The barrier to use this kind of incontinence product has decreased.


Women who need more protection but that are using pads today are more likely to start using the new protective underwear than traditional pants, according to SCA research. New protective underwear has proven to be able to change women’s perception of the pants category and there will be pants resembling men’s underwear that will make it more natural for men to use them instead of women’s purpose made pads.

“We did studies, focus groups and one-to-one interviews across Europe in order to test different ideas”, said Ms. Rosenbichler who is expecting a successful launch as from March this year. The products are available in France, the U.K., Germany and Greece.