When The Honest Company, founded by new mother and actress Jessica Alba, launched 10 years, ago it broke several barriers in the disposable diaper market. For decades, from its inception really, the market had been dominated by large multinational companies like Kimberly-Clark and Procter & Gamble as well as a spattering of smaller private label producers who offered lower cost (and often quality) products for more budget minded consumers.

Honest, on the other hand, broke into the market offering premium quality and enviable designs, catering to parents’ need for a safer and more transparent choice for their children.

Fast forward 10 years and it is clear the Honest brand’s design strategy and its marketing message worked. Not only has the brand continued to expand and evolve over the years, its model has been imitated by countless entrepreneurial start-ups that continue to offer new designs in the diaper market.

This phenomenon is not just the work of Honest and Jessica Alba, the efforts of hygiene companies like Ontex to expand their contract manufacturing efforts, the increased use of social media in marketing campaigns and the growing role of e-commerce have all made it easier for smaller companies to enter the hygiene markets.

According to Euromonitor, these new brands have created a new “private label,” market replacing cheaper alternatives with innovative designs and features like plant-based ingredients, biodegradable, sustainably sourced, soft for baby’s skin, along with eye catching packaging and targeted marketing messages.

While the big brands like Pampers and Huggies continue to dominate, the smaller brands continue to grab market share and influence diaper designs in the category. While the smaller brands were initially launched in e-commerce sites through social media promotions, brands like Honest, Dyper and Parasol have all gained a brick and mortar presence in the past year or so. And at least one company, Hello Bello, has committed to in-house manufacturing, lessening its reliance of contract manufacturers.

The proliferation of independent brands is not unique to the diaper market, either. The feminine hygiene and adult incontinence categories also continue to be revolutionized by visionary companies (many of which are female-led) looking to not just offer more choices to help consumers handle daily problems but also to improve the narrative around these sometimes taboo subjects.

Let’s keep the conversation going.


Karen McIntyre
Editor
[email protected]