Manufacturers of feminine hygiene products still face some hurdles when trying to attract new customers. First, a rapidly aging population coupled with declining birth rates in developed countries is dampening growth in regions such as North America and Western Europe. According to the statistics of the Euromonitor International, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the health protection category in these areas is 0.3 and 0% respectively in the period 2016-2021.

In developing regions, their growth has also been negatively affected by different barriers. According to Svetlana Uduslivaia, head of Euromonitor's U.S. home and technology business, a large portion of the population in these areas does not have the habit of using modern feminine hygiene products, or the usage rate is very low. "In most cases, the question is whether there is the ability and channels to buy these products."

Going forward, this will remain a challenge, even though middle-and high-income people in these markets already have access to these products and can afford them. "The potential people whose needs have not been met are mainly low-income women. As the market seeks long-term growth opportunities, how to meet the demand for more cost-effective products will become a hot topic throughout the industry." Uduslivaia explained.

correct its name

In developed countries, in order to attract new young customers, the marketing strategies adopted by major brands focus on breaking the traditional concept of "menstrual taboos" and normalizing people's attitudes towards menstruation, which is called "normalization of menstrual issues". Gone are the days when women in white pants appeared in tampon ads. Today's marketing campaigns allow active women to tell stories about what happens when they first menstruate, why they don't need to be ashamed of their period and how it naturally becomes a part of women's lives. An important part of this strategy is to reach out to women on social media through discussions and videos on the subject.

"The more realistic dialogue and the more realistic portrayal of the menstrual experience. Messages like this empower women. This is definitely a more powerful change," Uduslivaia said. "With this strategy, major brands have obtained Good returns have increased the attractiveness of products to women."

In 2010, Kimberly-Clark launched U by Kotex with the intention of changing the stigma and stereotypes surrounding periods. "This is a function that the human body has, and we really need feminine hygiene products to manage these functions," said Kade Applegate, brand manager of Kimberly-Clark U by Kotex. "Traditionally, marketing activities in this category have chosen metaphors and vague descriptions instead of straightforward, empathic, creative and innovative solutions."

U by Kotex has been trying to establish a healthy conversation with consumers about their period and their experiences through social media and other channels. In order to achieve this goal, one way the brand has taken is to launch a "The Period Projects" campaign. Applegate said the campaign gave young women a voice to make changes, and even saw the world's first pop-up shop related to menstrual products on New York's Fifth Avenue. At this event, women who buy products from U by Kotex and other businesswomen companies will support homeless women. At the same time, in pop-up stores, women also share their unique menstrual stories, which are then edited into videos and released through U by Kotex's social channels.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the Swedish company Essity (formerly the SCA hygiene products business) has launched "bloodnormal" campaigns in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

The film for "bloodnormal" features a series of young women in real-life scenes who continue to go about their normal daily lives while they are in the middle of their period. The film sensitively depicts this daily journey that women go through every month; showing that menstruation-in all its forms-is normal and should be.

Esity's Bodyform has launched a new ad in which a red liquid that mimics blood is dumped on a tampon instead of the blue liquid commonly used in general ads. Although such a change seems to be nothing, it is an important step in the normalization of menstrual issues.

Take tampons to cover up, talk about the topic of menstruation must be tactfully said, Bodyform believe that these phenomena will lead to menstrual stigma. According to a survey conducted by Bodyform, 20% of women believe that not being able to discuss the topic of menstruation publicly will damage their confidence, and another 42% believe that if the silence on the topic of menstruation continues, it will make those who have not yet Grown up women's confidence is threatened. In order to allow the public to talk about the daily events of menstruation with more ordinary eyes, Bodyform launched such a "normal bleeding" advertisement. In doing so, Essity says it wants to challenge the negative labeling of menstruation in society and to make young girls less scared, embarrassed and confused when faced with physical changes.

"We believe this is like other social taboos, and the more people see them, the more normal the issue appears." Tanja Grubner, marketing and communications director for Essity's women's care business, said, "We hope to lead people to be truthful and honest about their periods in their daily lives by running a campaign to address taboos, which is the right thing to do for society."

At the same time, P & G continues to execute its strategy of engaging young women through "LikeAGirl" social media campaigns, which are designed to keep young women active and confident, with puberty and first menstruation being the time of their lowest confidence.

The latest Whisper Confidence & Puberty survey shows that half of girls feel deenergized by the fear of failure during puberty. To help young women accept failure when things happen and use it as a confidence-building tool, Always recently partnered with director Lucy Luscombe to show how girls feel about failure, especially during adolescence. The film follows a group of girls spending a day at school.

"I remember trying to avoid failure many times when I felt afraid of it, but I was inspired by the girls I met during the filming of this film," Luscombe said. "I hope that this film will help us rethink the way we face setbacks and encourage every girl who sees this film to build confidence and move on."

Recently, Always partnered with retail giant Target to support the Girls on Run nonprofit. As part of this collaboration, Target and Always donated $1 million to the organization. This contribution will provide financial support to the organization.

"The purpose of Always's 'LikeAGirl' campaign is to give adolescent girls back their self-confidence, which is why we are excited to partner with Target on this project," said Amanda Hill, brand director of P & G Always. "We know that these funds will benefit more adolescent girls by providing them with the tools they need to help them maintain their self-confidence during adolescence and beyond."

Find the right product

Another way brands try to attract customers is by product segmentation and offering products that meet specific needs. Euromonitor Uduslivaia pointed out that the strategy includes active positioning, better comfort, more close-fitting and night products.

Kimberly-Clark also launched a feminine hygiene product for fitness-U by Kotex Fitness. According to a survey conducted by the brand, 3/5 of women said it was difficult to exercise during their menstrual period, and most said they would choose less intense projects. U by Kotex Fitness products are designed for these women who have fitness habits.

U by Kotex Fitness compact tampons, pads and ultra-thin sanitary napkins have unique functions, such as unique sanitary napkin design, Dual Flex Zones of pads allow products to follow the movement of the body to provide better protection, and tampons It is a long-term, more close-fitting and more secretive product. These differences are designed for physical characteristics during exercise and make U by Kotex Fitness products clearly different from other products on the market.

At the same time, Kimberly-Clark's rival Procter & Gamble is also trying to help women find more suitable products when buying sanitary napkins. Last June, the Always brand launched a new custom sizing system-Always My Fit. The Always My Fit series of sanitary napkins are designed to help women who will choose the wrong size of sanitary napkins. It is estimated that these women account for 60%, and the wrong size of products will lead to leakage. Consumers can now find custom-sized products based on their flow and panty size.

By checking out the new Always My Fit size chart on the Always packaging or website, women can now find the size that works best for them to prevent period leaks. The Always My Fit size chart has a simple size grid with one axis representing panty size and the other axis representing flow. The size chart guides women to the sanitary napkin size indicated by their suitable color code-from size 1 to 5, so that they can easily find the most suitable product, day or night can provide full protection.

"Always scientists have been studying the most common causes of leakage for many years, and choosing the wrong size of sanitary napkin is one of the main reasons," said senior scientist Laura Goodman. "Research shows that leakage mainly occurs in the front and back parts, so finding the right size to completely cover the front to back part is an effective way to avoid leakage."

Always's Maxi, Ultra and Infinity sub-brands offer sanitary napkins in 5 sizes, 3 sizes for daytime and 2 sizes for nighttime, so that women can find the right size products 24/7. The night product has a wide tail and wings to help align the area that needs to be covered when placing the sanitary napkin. "Women who like to sleep on their stomachs may choose to flip the sanitary napkin so that the wider tail is in front of the underwear," Goodman explained. "Determining coverage needs to be based on the size and flow of the underwear. Some women may choose size 3 for daily use at the beginning of their period, size 5 for night use, and size 2 for daily use and size 4 for night use at the end of their period. We hope that by offering these five sizes, women can appreciate that they can now get customized menstrual protection based on their flow, and we have successfully achieved this."

Outside of period care, P & G is also continuing to expand its line of urinary incontinence products, the Always Discreet, hoping to attract women who use feminine hygiene pads to address their mild urinary incontinence problems.

Always Discreet launched a series of pads, sanitary napkins and sanitary pants in 2014, and recently launched a "fashion" series of urinary incontinence sanitary pants called Always Discreet Boutique.

"The new Boutique series was born to help women with urinary incontinence problems, who often struggle to choose between maximum protection and aesthetics." Goodman said.

Procter & Gamble also interviewed thousands of women during the successful development of the Always Discreet Boutique. They believed that urinary incontinence protection products can either guarantee beauty or provide good protection, but they cannot have both. "Women have always told us that bulky incontinence products can weaken their confidence and femininity, and 77% of them said that wearing incontinence sanitary pants makes them feel older. We have also learned that young women can be embarrassed by wearing incontinence sanitary pants products. The Always Discreet Boutique is committed to changing women's perceptions of urinary incontinence protection and providing them with maximum protection by creating a beautifully designed product."

Created by lingerie experts and fashion designers, this new product uses silky fabrics and curves to closely follow the silhouette design, in a rose color, and is accompanied by a beautiful lace print. The interior of the Always Discreet Boutique uses unique RapidDry technology to absorb leaking liquid within a few seconds. OdorLock technology helps to neutralize odors instantaneously and continuously. Absorbent Gel Material (AGM) locks the liquid in the core and keeps it away from the body.

At the same time, with the introduction of Confidence sanitary napkins, CVS Health has taken a step forward in its transformation from menstrual products to light incontinence products. This private brand sanitary napkin is the first ultra-thin sanitary napkin with 2-in -1 technology to deal with menstrual and urinary incontinence problems. According to CVS Health, thanks to seven layers of protective layers, the product quickly absorbs liquids and locks in bad odors, while its special protective edges prevent leakage.

CVS Health's Confidence sanitary napkin uses odor barrier gel technology to help absorb and eliminate odors, soft leakage protection edges, and its ultra-thin design makes it look and feel like a traditional ultra-thin ultra-long product.

Opportunity for organic products

The feminine hygiene products market is also seeing an increasing market share of organic products. In fact, a recent report from Research and Markets shows that the global organic and natural feminine care market is expected to maintain a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.09 percent through 2021.

According to the report, these products are more friendly to the skin and the environment, and even safer because they are made of non-GMO certified organic cotton and do not contain artificial dyes, artificial fibers and fragrances.

Euromonitor Uduslivaia say that while there is demand, organic tampons and pads are still considered very niche products. "They do have a following, but the gap with mainstream products is still very large," she said, "and there is still controversy over the comparison between organic and mainstream products. The disposable hygiene industry is constantly improving, whether it's how the product is made, the raw materials used or the manufacturing practices, and of course there will be controversy along the way, depending on where you are."

Price is another thing to consider when choosing organic and mainstream products, because organic products are usually more expensive. "It basically limits the consumer base, knowing that not all women are willing to pay three or four times more than a regular product, and there has to be a strong reason why it's healthier. Because no one is going to pay a premium unless it's certain the product is better." She explained.

And manufacturers of organic feminine hygiene products believe their products are indeed healthier. Sustain Natural companies have just entered the organic feminine hygiene products market. The company's product line launched in June last year includes organic tampons, organic cotton ultra-thin sanitary napkins with wings and organic cotton ultra-thin pads.

"For more than a decade, women have begun to show demand for healthy products from skin care products to food, so it's no surprise that women are finally looking for more natural and transparent options to keep their period healthy, in part because multiple brands are now launching such products and they are also promoting the benefits of organic cotton to consumers." said Ms. Hollender, co-founder and co-CEO of Sustain Natural.

While she believes this market segment is moving in the right direction, more research and publicity is needed in this product category because mainstream menstrual hygiene brands still have a monopoly on the industry and the FDA does not require sanitary napkin brands to disclose the materials they use. At the same time, Corman's Organyc line of menstrual products includes 100 percent organic sanitary napkins, pads and tampons, as well as maternal hygiene products, beauty care and baby care products.

Paola Stevan, marketing manager at Corman SpA, who is responsible for Organyc's international marketing strategy, says women are beginning to use organic feminine hygiene products because they are more aware of what is good for them and they are more interested in knowing what is in the products they use every day. "This is how they treat food, cosmetics and household cleaning products, so it's natural to start thinking about organic feminine hygiene products as well."

Corman is not only seeing a trend toward more natural products in developed regions, but they are also seeing it globally. "It is surprising that some developing markets, such as India, although penetration of feminine hygiene products is low, are still willing to bypass traditional brands and jump to the use of more natural and organic products. At least for women attracted by this niche market." Stevan said.

In the United States, Corman recently relaunched the Organyc Women's Care series. "To date, no feminine care product has met the needs of nearly two-thirds of women with sensitive skin in the United States," said Rebecca Rich, Corman USA marketing manager. "Corman has been designing and manufacturing personal care products made from cotton since 1946 and holds several patents in this field."

The company's relaunch of the line coincided with the release of the results of a study that looked at more than 300 women who were bothered by skin irritation in their private areas. Studies have shown that when replacing previously used products with 100 percent cotton products such as Organyc sanitary napkins, 90 percent of women completely eliminate skin irritation in three months or less.

According to the Organyc, the study was conducted by three top gynecologists on a sample of 306 women who had moderate to severe skin sensitivity when using feminine care products. The study claims that using 100 per cent cotton feminine care sanitary napkins can reduce skin irritation by 90 per cent in 90 days.