Absorbent products categories have been transformed in recent years through the introduction of independent start-up brands offering original ideas to products likes baby diapers, femcare products, wipes and adult incontinence items. Whether the message is one of sustainability, improved performance, economics, or more, these brands are challenging major conglomerates that have been doing business in disposables for decades and inspiring these established brands to also develop new products and new marketing messages for their products.

In part 1 of this feature, here’s a look at some of the year’s more inspiring independent baby care brands.


Sposie (toilet training aid)
A finalist for the Hygienix 2022 Innovation Award, Sposie Dribble Potty Training pads help bridge the gap between diapers and underwear by adding a protective absorbent layer to children’s pants, giving caregivers and children added confidence that small accidents will be captured while still giving their children the independence, space and encouragement to learn in their own time.

This potty training aid allows children to feel the sensation of being wet without getting their clothes wet. So when they do have a small accident, they can begin to understand and react to what’s happening without the embarrassment of wetting their clothes or surroundings.

Recognizing that most children take six months to be fully toilet trained, CEO Ryan Wright says, “A lot of parents feel pressure to have their kids fully trained before they go to school but the reality is there are a lot of challenges.”

Sposie Dribbles are designed to be as thin and soft as possible for children’s comfort, while also being super-absorbent for maximum protection against leaks. Similar to feminine hygiene or adult incontinence pads, they can be positioned inside a pair of underwear via an adhesive strip. Each pad can hold about half of the average two-year-old’s bladder capacity.

In developing the game-changing design for Sposie Dribbles Potty Training Pads, Sposie surveyed over 500 moms about their frustrations with potty training. Respondents stated that over 30% spent more than four months potty training their children, and nearly 80% encountered multiple weekly accidents during the process. Additionally, greater than 50% of respondents’ children who were considered potty-trained continued to have accidents semi-regularly.

Hello Bello (baby diapers)
In late 2021, Hello Bello, the diaper brand co-founded by celebrity couple Kristin Bell and Dax Shepherd, opened a diaper factory in Waco, TX, becoming one of the first independent diaper brands in the U.S. to bring manufacturing in-house. The custom, state-of-the-art 312,000 square-foot integrated facility was brought to life by Waco hometown heroes Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia design team who assisted on general design, staging and visual merchandising for the space.

“We started this company with a simple mission to provide access to premium products for all; ensuring that parents never have to sacrifice on quality or choose between their baby or their budget,” says Bell. “By having this extraordinary (and very colorful) factory, we will be able to reduce our carbon footprint, create U.S. jobs, provide superior quality control and produce a best-in-class product for all families. We are so grateful.”

This new diaper distribution and manufacturing factory represents a multi-million dollar investment in U.S. manufacturing. Creating nearly 200 new jobs for the region, the made-in-the-USA factory provides greater sustainability (in production and distribution), best-in-class quality control and will keep costs low for the consumer. The decision to open and operate in Waco is based on the location’s central geography for its direct-to-consumer customers, retail and premium supply partners; providing logistical efficiencies and significant reduction in freight. Hello Bello plans to source a majority of raw materials from local and regional premium U.S. supply partners which will improve reliability, flexibility and cost efficiency, ultimately improving the company’s overall carbon footprint. 

Hello Bello, known for its premium and affordable products, manufactures and distributes over 100 family essentials, including diapers, wipes, toiletries, cleaning supplies, seasonal goods and more to leading retailers across North America, including Walmart and Target stores across the U.S. It was founded in 2019 as a parenting platform to provide premium and affordable products designed to eliminate the choice many parents have to make between what’s best for their family or what’s best for their budget. In April, the company announced it had closed a $65 million credit facility to help it grow and reach more families.

Also this year the brand stepped up efforts to fight diaper need through the introduction of the Diaper Registry Fund to take on the critical and growing diaper need that currently affects more than one in three U.S. families.

This new fund expands that commitment and is a first-to-market solution that blends a traditional gift registry with crowdsource functionality to help any caregiver or cause in need. 

“The Diaper Registry Fund is an initiative I care deeply about. I’m aware of the challenges many families face and it was important to me that we launch this Fund at such a critical time. Although it won’t solve the problem alone, it’s a step in the right direction for both families in need and Hello Bello,” says Bell.

Consumers can donate to anyone’s fund and provide needed essentials. Or, they can also choose to support charitable organizations or causes that have created a fund.
It’s easy to start a registry—simply choose a contribution or goal amount and personalize the page with a message and photos, which can then be shared via email or social media. Once a donation is submitted, funds are immediately available to the registrant to purchase a monthly diaper subscription or any Hello Bello product. Hello Bello has also created a Ukraine Relief Fund with a donation of 200K diapers, wipes, onesies and more and seeks contributions to hit its initial goal of 500K needed items with 100% of donated funds directed to the cause (zero dollars for administration).
 
Kudos (baby diapers)
The winner of the Hygienix 2021 Innovation Award, Kudos is a disposable diaper featuring a 100% breathable cotton topsheet  as well as a patented an absorbency layer made from plant-based materials, including wood pulp. According to founder Amrita Saigal, an MIT graduate who previously worked at Procter & Gamble, the Kudos diaper system was two years in development.

Saigal thanked the many suppliers who were willing to take a risk on a very small team with a vision. “Thank you for believing in the future of sustainable products,” she says. “This is just the beginning. There is a lot to be done.”

The Hygienix Innovation Award honors a product or technology that advances the use of nonwovens in a
bsorbent products and has been introduced within the past year. The products are judged by four criteria—creativity, novelty of approach, uniqueness and technical sophistication.

Kudos launched last year as a direct-to-consumer brand and is available as a subscription on the mykudos.com website.

Dyper (baby diapers)
Dyper, the eco-friendly diaper brand, continues to improve on its pledge to eliminate as much diaper waste as possible. In 2023, the company will become the first diapering company in the world to successfully “char” a diaper with its Byochar technology. 

With this innovation, Dyper enters the biochar economy by turning soiled diapers into biochar. Biochar is a carbon-rich product created through a heating process called pyrolysis, which allows for waste to be transformed into a reusable commodity that can improve soil, assist in air and water purification, and be an additive to paints and inks for improved pigment.

Debuting in 2023, Byochar reactors will be located in select markets. When in place, Dyper will be able to reduce landfill waste and lessen overall global greenhouse gas emissions by transforming something as environmentally hazardous as a used diaper into something that can ultimately have a carbon-neutral footprint on the planet, without the use of offsets.

Dyper, which makes its diapers from plant-based materials and without harmful ingredients, has already diverted more than 11.5 million pounds of waste from landfills through Redyper, its landfill avoidance program, which turns used diapers and wipes into nutrient-rich topsoil for large-scale landscaping, roadside plantation and growing sod. As Byochar technology is deployed, it will gradually replace in the Redyper program.

“While there are no silver bullets to solving the plastic diaper dilemma, we feel it is our obligation to continuously look for solutions,” says Sergio Radovcic, founder and CEO of Dyper. “We’ve started with composting, fully aware of the inherent difficulties of doing it at scale. With this innovation, we will bring modular disposal technology to complement or replace composting closer to the consumers, reducing processing and transfer times. We’re excited to see our work turn waste into something more helpful to our planet.”