Exclusive: Patanjali to set foot in Rs 16,000-cr diaper and sanitary napkin market

After making a mark in edibles and beauty products, Patanjali has set its eyes on the diaper and sanitary napkin market in the country. The brand, helmed by yoga guru Baba Ramdev, will enter the market with both kids and adult diapers and affordable sanitary napkins in the first quarter of next financial year.

According to sources, Patanjali will enter the diaper category with pant-style diapers. Unicharm’s Mamy Poko Pants was the first player in the country to enter the market with pant-style diapers and later followed by Kimberly Clark and P&G. Today, the category is skewed towards the pant-style offerings, as it accounts for roughly 80 per cent of the overall segment.

S K Tijarawala

“This category is ruled by foreign multi-nationals. We want to ensure consumers get quality and low-cost products in this category, which will also be ‘swadeshi’,” said Patanjali spokesperson S K Tijarawala.

According to Tijarawala, diapers and sanitary napkins together will be a Rs 16,000-crore strong category by 2018-19.

“The growth rate is very high in the diaper and sanitary napkin category. Currently, the segment is growing at a rate of 150 per cent,” said Tijarawala. The company is eyeing to be the leader in the untapped adult diapers category.

 "The opportunity in adult diaper category is very big as even in rural areas, people are using it. Though affordability is a big issue in the adult diaper category, as senior citizens can’t afford to buy such expensive diapers. We're looking to address it through our economical pricing," he said.

Currently, P&G with its brand Pampers holds 50 per cent of the market share in the kids' diaper category. Friends Adult Diapers is the biggest player in the adult diaper category nationally and holds a market share of about 68 per cent.

The kids' diaper will be launched under Patanjali’s Shishu Care brand. Launched by Patanjali to stake its claim on the Rs 2,000-billion baby care category, currently, Shishu Care has products in sub categories such as oil, shampoo, soaps and powder.

While sanitary napkins have a penetration of only 20 per cent in India, the penetration of disposable diapers is less than 2 per cent in the country. "People are increasingly getting hygiene conscious. With families getting limited to one or at max two children, the parents are not ready to compromise on the health and hygiene issues. Even the rural folks are using diapers," he said.

Tijarawala said they will announce their foray into the diaper and sanitary napkin category through a mega launch in February-March next year.

Patanjali Ayurved, which was set up in 2006, has grown at a phenomenal pace in last six years. From being a Rs 453-crore brand in 2012, it was grown more than tenfold with a revenue of Rs 10,561 crore in FY17.

For the current financial year, it has set an ambitious sales target of Rs 20,000 crore. The brand recently launched its range of products in the snacks category.

Patanjali's growth story

The consumer goods products upstart will soon start manufacturing solar panels as well in its Greater Noida plant. Patanjali is also launching products in the dairy and apparels category. 

Acharya Balkrishna, Managing Director, Patanjali Ayurved had recently said the company was looking to invest Rs 5000 crore in setting up factories and food parks across the country.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com