What's stalling the growth of new-age period products?

A decade or so ago, a woman may have been in a situation where she started her period and was caught unprepared without access to a sanitary napkin or tampon - maybe at school or work. But nowadays, the situation is becoming more and more unlikely. The feminine hygiene sector in India - especially menstrual products, is evolving as quickly as the users of the products themselves. The most recent development in this category is the introduction of a WhatsApp based period tracker by Sirona.

A product category which used to be taboo to talk about is now being proudly advertised. Companies are going beyond just making pads and panty liners and aaddressing the other aspects of the period - such as cramping, bloating, staining etc.

There are many different types of period products in India, but the most popular products are sanitary napkins. There is also a cultural element to it - some women consider it taboo to use tampons or menstrual cups and are advised to use them after getting married. Lest the menstrual product accidentally ruptures the women’s hymen. There are both multinational and Indian companies who are attempting to make women’s menstrual cycles a little easier.

Being eco friendly is an important consideration for consumers too - creating room for companies such as The Woman’s Company, Azah, and Noraa to grow.

Indian companies like Nua, Sanfe, Sirona, Peesafe, Carmesi manufacture and sell cramp relief patches, pimple patches, intimate cleansers. These companies also offer nutritional supplements for better overall health and offer razors for hair removal solutions.

Being eco friendly is an important consideration for consumers too - creating room for companies such as The Woman’s Company, Azah, and Noraa to grow.

The channels of distribution of these products are evolving too. A woman no longer needs to make a trip to the pharmacy/supermarket/grocery store to buy her pads. She has the option of ordering the products from an online retailer like Amazon or Flipkart or to save the hassle of making the purchase by signing up for a subscription box. Companies like Nua, Lemme Be, Laiqa, Pinq and The Pink Box offer this service so that the pads are delivered to the customer’s doorstep on a monthly basis.

Nameeta Saigal, head of marketing, Nua reveals that the most popular products in Nua's portfolio are the rash-free sanitary pads, cramp comfort heat patch and a product from its skincare range - the acne healing patch. Sirona’s CEO and co-founder Deep Bajaj mentions that Sirona’s most popular products are its menstrual cups, period pain relief patches, PeeBuddy and hair removal products.

Saigal says that women’s health is finally gaining importance and taboo topics such as menstrual health, sexual health, maternal health, menopause, etc are being talked about more freely.

“For decades, the Sanitary Pad has been the most important solution of a woman’s period care journey. However, with rising consciousness on holistic wellness, it’s no more about managing just the period. This includes, solutions for period pain, PMS, period hygiene products such as intimate wash, period tracking apps and more. That’s why at Nua, we offer a bouquet of solutions not just from a product perspective but also informational content via our social media, newsletters, blogs for holistic period management and care,” she explains.

“A woman uses 16,000 pads in her menstrual lifetime. These go to the landfill, and each pad takes over 500 years to decompose. Unlike the times of yesterday when women would restrict mobility during periods, the woman of today does not let periods stop her from contributing to the workforce and living her life,” says Sirona’s Bajaj.

Nua’s USP is that a woman can customise these packs according to their flow - heavy, medium, light and choose an auto-repeat plan that delivers the pads to the doorstep.

"Having sports celebrities, actors and influencers share their experience, can also influence the decisions and behaviour. This is also a category where consumers are value conscious. A monthly outlay is involved, for a large part of their lives. Hence, offers, discounts and value packs do drive the purchase behaviour,” says Nisha Sampath, managing partner at Bright Angles Consulting and a brand marketing consultant with 20-plus years of experience.

“What has led to this is nothing but the rise of female technology and the she-economy through which our nation is witnessing the growth of various brands like ours. These brands are attempting to raise awareness through science-backed products and technology-led services to address women’s healthcare needs. With increasing participation of women in the workforce and subsequently rising income levels, women have now started prioritising their every day care and wellness needs,” she explains.

Saigal reveals that the Global Fem-tech market is pegged to grow at about 1.2 trillion dollars out of which India is a 25 billion dollar market. “For a country of 15% of the world's population, Fem-tech as a 25-30 billion dollar market is a big opportunity with massive growth potential. The future for Fem-tech startups is promising as research reports suggest that this market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 13% between 2022-2026,” she states.

Bajaj agrees that the woman of today is financially independent, has access to information. He adds that previously women were conditioned to adjust to whatever was available. However, Nua’s Saigal mentions that consumers in Tier I cities enjoy better access to information and products than in Tier II and III cities. However, she adds that thanks to the pandemic, and the growth of e-commerce, there’s been accelerated adoption in almost every category - even more so in the domain of health and wellness.

Sampath points out that taboos are greater in smaller towns versus cities, but online availability is a great leveller. “Women in small towns are as curious and keen to experiment as those in big cities, but lack access and opportunities. What we see is that in small towns, women will often discuss and pool in with their friends to try something new together, thus sharing the risk of the purchase,” she says.

“Women have not really been told much about their periods - and men around them know even less. What has brought about a change in behaviour, is the access to information. More medical professionals and influencers are talking about periods.There are youtubers abroad and in india who address young girls, sharing 'period hacks', explaining how to deal with PMS etc. This normalises the conversation around this topic,” Sampath explains.

“With time and age, girls find ambassadors of change, and through work, friends or internet - if one person takes the plunge to different period practices like using cups or reusable pads for sustainable, economic menstruation, the others get the confidence to switch,” says Bajaj.

“At Nua, a significant proportion of sales for our wellness products come from metropolitan cities, which is almost 60%. The remaining 40% is from the non-metropolitan cities, which basically include Tier 1, Level 2, and Level 3 cities,” she says.

Sirona’s Bajaj quotes a Reportlinker report to state that out of the 355 million menstruating women in India, hardly 23% of them use sanitary products. Out of this number, 95% is dominated by pads and the rest 5% use tampons, menstrual cups and discs. Around 355 million women in India menstruate.

Talking about the Tier II and III audience is showing increasing awareness of new products - but factors that bring about change in adopting new products varies for different consumers. “While some are driven by economic viability, others are driven by convenience, comfort and sustainability,” he says.

Saigal reveals that menstrual products is a habit-driven routine category and that for most women - the first brand they buy is the brand they use for a long time. “Purchases mostly happen in auto-pilot mode, and its quite tough for a challenger brand to gain market share,” she says.

Sampath says that girls today are open exploring the choices of products available to them, experimenting and trying different brands. “Earlier, we would buy sanitary napkins wrapped in a paper or packed in a black bag and we would never even see the packaging, variant etc. Today, online availability of products has also been a game changer, as women have privacy to read and absorb information at leisure.

This has led to consumer education about differentiating attributes like 'organic', 'natural' 'sensitive' or 'rash free’,” she says.

Bajaj adds that the new age women are open to change and trying products that offer comfort and sustainability. “With time and age, girls find ambassadors of change, and through work, friends or internet - if one person takes the plunge to different period practices like using cups or reusable pads for sustainable, economic menstruation, the others get the confidence to switch,” says Bajaj.

Saigal says that the market leaders in this category have a tendency to bucket all women as a tribe of unstoppable alpha women, raring to go on the most athletic of activities during their periods, in their whitest of trousers. “Nua decided to create a brand story based in reality – having real conversations and solving real period problems. The #GoWithYourFlow campaign was designed to normalise these conversations,” she adds.

Bajaj however, says that there is still some apprehension about open communication in this category and that there are challenges in verbal and visual communication of menstrual products on certain platforms.

When girls have questions about their periods, they tend to turn to the internet. “When brands design messaging, its important that they are cognisant of this fact and their information and messaging needs to be authentic. Communications in this category need to address men too, as their understanding, empathy and support is needed to create social change,” says Sampath.