Cotton Incorporated, a global not-for-profit research organization, in conjunction with The Martec Group, a global research and consulting firm, recently conducted a global research project concentrating on baby diapers and baby wipes. The study surveyed 8000 parents between the age of 22 and 45 from eight countries—the US, Mexico, Brazil, China, India, Germany, France and the UK. Each surveyed consumer had at least one child under three years old and had purchased diapers or wipes in the last six months. The results shed some light on the current state of the baby Care industry—where the biggest markets are, what the significant paths to purchase are and what consumers are looking for—as well as where the industry is heading during the next five years.
 
Industry Outlook
 
According to Euromonitor International, the global market value of the Baby Diaper and Baby Wipes Market is forecasted to experience healthy growth in the next five years, expanding 35% by 2023 to a total of $70.1 billion. The  global diaper industry in 2018 sold approximately 182 billion diapers around the world. The global volume of diapers sold is expected to increase 22% to a total of 222 billion diapers by 2023.
 
The baby wipes industry isn’t slowing down either. According to Euromonitor International, the global Baby Wipes Industry sold 173 billion wipes in 2018 and is expected to sell 19% more by 2023. Overall, combined global sales of baby diapers and wipes are expected to grow by a total of 20% by unit volume and 36% in value by 2023. While diaper sales growth is relatively concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region and Africa, sales of wipes are expected to grow substantially across all global regions.
 
“The markets in Asia will see strong growth as GDP per capita reaches and exceeds index benchmark for product use. Rising GDPs combined with population growth represent robust business opportunities for our industry,” comments Jan O’Regan, Cotton Incorporated’s director of Nonwovens Marketing, who gave a presentation on the data obtained from the survey. “But please don’t lose sight of Europe and North America, where the markets are projected to shrink slightly. In 2023, they are still expected to represent nearly one third of the global market for disposable diapers and wipes.”
 
Paths to Purchase
 
Where are consumers getting information relevant to the baby diaper and wipes industry? It might seem surprising in the increasingly IoT landscape of today, but according to the research, people—colleagues, friends, family and medical professionals—are the most important source of information, particularly in Latin America and China.
 
More traditional channels of information such as retail and advertising are less important than in the past, but retail advertising is still healthy in the U.S. and advertising is still important in India. Parenting groups are becoming increasingly influential and represent a growing word of mouth platform. In India 75% of surveyed parents said they participated in parenting groups; the average across all countries was 60%.
 
“In our increasingly connected world, brands and retailers need to understand where today’s and tomorrow’s consumers are going for information so they can be there,” says O’Regan. “Today’s consumers use a wide variety of media and no single channel dominates.”
 
The same goes for the places where consumers are shopping for baby diapers and wipes—no single channel dominates. Supermarkets and mass merchandisers are the top destinations for baby care products, but growth in internet retailing has outpaced all of the other channels in the last five years. A newer segment of the online shopping environment is subscription services. Nearly one-third of parents around the world subscribe to a service for scheduled delivery of diapers and wipes.
 
“Everybody needs to pay attention to online retailing and the communications platforms that drive this business,” O’Regan emphasizes. “Diapers and wipes’ online purchasing marketing share has experienced phenomenal growth and there’s every reason to believe that will continue.”
 
Consumer Use and Needs
 
What are the features that consumers are looking for in diapers and wipe products? The primary drivers for diapers globally include leak protection, absorbency, comfort and dryness. These features are all mostly related to skin health—keeping skin dry and clean. The primary drivers of wipes globally are not as easy to generalize. There are more regional differences in important features for wipes. Different features, like softness or strength are more important in some countries, which suggests that a more regional product line strategy would be most effective for the wipes industry.
 
With the baby diaper and baby wipes market expected to reach $70.1 billion by 2023, the future seems bright for the industry. Paying attention to markets with great potential for growth, maximizing presence across multiple channels and paying close attention to the features that consumers are looking for are great ways to make sure your business takes advantage of forecasted growth. The future of online sales Is particularly exciting and sure to shake up the market, even if it is still a long way from overtaking grocery stores. Overall, only one thing is for certain: the possibilities and opportunities are endless.