SCA’s Libero brand has beaten out rival Kimberly-Clark’s Huggies brand among Indian consumers, according to a much-awaited consumer desire indicator, India’s Most Attractive Brands 2016, a study comparing the “attractiveness” held in brands. The research, compiled by TRA, lists 1000 brands across 270 categories.

 “The diaper category has seen a surprising shift in the top ranks, with new entrant Libero ranking higher than last year’s leader, Huggies,” says TRA CEO N. Chandramouli, CEO. “The difference in their attractiveness quotient, which is a measure of its overall attractiveness, is roughly 40% and depicts the changing consumer preferences with regards to diapers.”

Huggies has seen a dip in the rank, from being the category leader in 2015 with All India Rank 220 to ranking second in 2016 with All India Rank 401. Pampers managed to secure the third position in the Diaper category falling from rank 301 to rank 417 across India. The Japanese brand MamyPoko Pants which had featured in previous reports did not make it to the list this year.

Kamal Kumar Johari, managing director Nobel Hygiene (manufacturers of Teddyy diapers) says, “Consumer is the king and the shift clearly indicates that consumer preferences are changing rapidly. We are the only Indian diaper manufacturer and we understand the Indian body type well. We have customized our products according to Indian baby body type and are competing with the multi-national brands, innovating and consistently delivering better quality.”

In India the hygiene industry is experiencing an unprecedented growth as hygiene products are being adopted by masses. With the awareness and increasing purchasing power, customers are fast shifting from cloth nappies to baby diapers. Indians give birth to around 27 million babies each year, yet the penetration rate of baby diapers remains at less than 2%. According to “India Diaper Market Outlook, 2021,” India’s diaper market will be growing at a CAGR of 22.23% year on year.