Disposable wipes: a global report: personal wipes drive global growth while household wipes suffer at the hands of private label

Household & Personal Products Industry, April, 2009 by Magdalena Kondej

During 2008, Procter & Gamble improved its offering by merging some of its leading brands. Mr Clean all-purpose wipes and Swiffer floor wipes were combined with the Febreze air care brand into a wipe infused with a clean rather than chemical scent. U.S. manufacturer Clorox used a new material for its all-purpose cleaning wipes that provided the wipe with greater texture, strength and absorbency. Meanwhile, Reckitt Benckiser added Lysol Dual Action Disinfecting Wipes to its all-purpose cleaning wipes product portfolio, with one textured side for scrubbing and one smooth side for wiping.

Emerging Markets Offer Hope

While growth in the mature markets of the West is feeling the impact of the economic downturn, the emerging markets continue to offer hope, and personal care wipes have made strong inroads in developing markets. At a country level, China, Brazil and Russia all witnessed encouraging growth in 2008, largely driven by baby wipes and now claim a significant proportion of the market, proving the launch of Kleenex Shujie baby wipes in late 2007 in China was a timely move. On a regional level, Eastern Europe and Latin America both saw strong growth in 2008, again on the back of baby wipes.

Although household care wipes have a negligible presence in emerging markets, where they are generally too expensive for consumers to consider, they have made some impact. Eastern Europe and Latin America posted value growth rates of 23% and 13% in 2008 respectively, with steady gains expected to continue. However, this is from a very small base, and household care wipes will continue to suffer globally because of their limited presence in the BRIC countries in particular.

Environmentally-Friendly Products Get the Green Light

While the current financial climate may have put consumer concerns about the environment on the back burner, once the global economy recovers, factors such as sustainability and biodegradability, particularly in throwaway products such as wipes, will play a growing role in consumer purchase decisions and manufacturers with environmentally-friendly wipes already on the shelves will be in a position to benefit. Within household care, manufacturers have begun to make inroads into wipes that are flushable and biodegradable. Clorox, for example, recently launched a biodegradable wipe in its Green Works range in the U.S., while San Francisco-based Method launched a multi-purpose wipe made of bamboo in late 2008, and more products in this vein are expected to follow.

Wipes Sector Offers Markedly Different Potential

Globally, Euromonitor International predicts that wipes will grow 11% by 2013, with markedly different performances from household care wipes and personal care wipes, which are predicted to achieve overall growth of 4% and 15% respectively.

The household care wipes category has been plagued recently by lack of the next big blockbuster product. Almost a decade after all-purpose wipes hit the shelves and seven years after Procter & Gamble launched Swiffer, no new product has had the same level of impact. While volume sales growth is likely to remain positive, the lack of any real innovation means value sales are likely to suffer as private label takes a bigger share.