The adult diaper market - France

1.2 A growing global market

The global adult diaper market is valued by transparencymarketresearch at $**.* billion in ****. According to the same source, it should grow at a CAGR of *.*% between **** and ****.

evolution of the global adult diaper market World, ****-****, in billions of dollars CAGR=*.*% Source: ****

The graph below shows the evolution of sales of baby diapers and adult incontinence products. It can be seen that sales of incontinence products are evolving much faster than those of baby diapers, which saw a drop in growth between **** and ****, from +*.*% to +*.*%. Sales of incontinence products, on the other hand, have been growing steadily, hovering around +*.*% since ****.

sales trends for baby and adult diapers World, ****-****, in Source: ****

1.3 In France, competition drives up adult diaper sales

A growing market

According to a LSA Conso article published in ****, the size of the mass-market incontinence products market is ***.* million euros, up *% in value terms on ****.

In addition, another LSA Conso article reveals that, in ****, the mass retail market (***) grew by *% in value and *.*% in volume to reach ** million units sold.

evolution of the size of the incontinence market in supermarkets France, ****-****, in millions of euros Source: ****

While this market size does not take into account the pharmacy sales segment, which is a substantial part of the market, it is nonetheless an excellent indicator for approaching market trends.

Growth factors

Several factors are responsible for this growth. Firstly, the aging population is less and less subject to the incontinence taboo. Admittedly, incontinence is still omnipresent, and curbs a demand that represents almost *% of the French population, but the diversity of the offer and ingenious communication strategies seem to be gradually overcoming it.

Competition between the two leading brands, Tena and Always, is also stimulating growth. As the range diversifies, consumers are increasingly finding their way around.

1.4 International trade in adult diapers

The Harmonized Customs System provides access to French imports and exports of adult diapers. The chart below is based on code ******** entitled "Hygienic articles, e.g. incontinence articles (***)" .

Balance of trade in sanitary products including adult diapers France, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

With the exception of ****, France's foreign trade balance for this type of product is in deficit. Exports are tending to fall, while imports appear to be more variable. The COVID-** crisis has had no real impact on French foreign trade in this type of item.

The Customs website also provides a breakdown of these flows by supplier and customer countries.

Imports of adult diapers France, ****, in Source: ****

The main importing countries for French hygiene products such as incontinence products are Germany and Belgium, with **% and **% respectively. The United Kingdom completes the podium with **% of French exports.

The main customer countries for French exports are detailed below.

Adult diaper exports France, ****, in Source: ****

Likewise, France's supplier countries are all members of the European Union. In first place are the Netherlands, followed by Germany and Belgium. Foreign trade in hygienic products such as incontinence products therefore takes place mainly within the European market.

2.1 Typology of incontinence sufferers

If urinary incontinence and anal incontinence are grouped together, *.* million people are affected by this disease[***]. In fact, *.* million people are affected by urinary incontinence and * million by anal incontinence. However, counting is a tricky business, and varies widely depending on the honesty of respondents (***).

Urinary incontinence

In women, the prevalence of urinary incontinence increases with age; according to Sphère-santé, **% of women aged ** to ** suffer from incontinence, **% of women aged ** to ** and **% of women over **. Three-quarters of urinary incontinence sufferers are women. [***] According to Ameli, even */* of women over ** are affected.

For men, the figures are lower. Only *% to *% of men over ** are affected by urinary incontinence, a proportion which rises to **% over **. [***] Prostatic pathologies, such as prostate cancer, are a key trigger of urinary leakage in men. In France, some **,*** prostates are removed due to cancer, with around **% of men experiencing persistent incontinence problems (***) following the operation. * to *% of patients would even require surgery to control these urinary problems.

This prevalence in women is due to anatomical differences between the two sexes: the length of the urethra is longer in men than in women, the male prostate gland acts as an obstruction to urine flow at the base of ...

2.2 Macro-economic indicators linked to urinary problems

Several factors have been identified as contributing to bladder weakness, including old age, pregnancy and the prevalence of prostate disorders.

Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy

There are two ways of calculating life expectancy.

Firstly, "classical" life expectancy is calculated at birth as the average age of death for people in a given geographical area. In ****, in mainland France, this life expectancy is **.* years for men and **.* years for women. [***]

Next, life expectancy at age ** corresponds to the average additional period of life after the age of **. In ****, it was **.* years for men and **.* years for women (***). This age increased by six months for women between **** and ****, and by ** months for men over the same period, before both falling in ****, surely due to the COVID-** crisis. [***]

Additional life expectancy at age ** France, ****-****, in years Source: ****

The health expectancy indicator (***) measures the number of years a person of a given age is expected to live, free of serious or moderate health problems. The notion of health problem for Eurostat's HLY survey reflects a disability dimension and is based on a self-assessment question.

Life expectancy in good health France, ****-****, in years Source: ****

The graph above shows that life expectancy in good ...

2.3 Disorders related to wearing adult diapers

In December ****, IFOP conducted a survey of French people on their perception of incontinence. We'll look at the results below.

Do you consider incontinence a taboo subject? France, December ****, in Source: ****

Incontinence is frequently regarded as a taboo subject, with **% of respondents to the IFOP survey considering it to be rather taboo, or even completely taboo. However, **% of French people consider it not to be taboo at all, and **% not at all. We can therefore imagine that companies in the sector, as well as public authorities, have every interest in raising awareness on the subject, in order to make it less and less taboo.

In your family, friends or professional circle, do you know people affected by urinary incontinence? France, December ****, in % Source: ****

**% of survey respondents say they don't know anyone in their circle affected by incontinence. However, given the proportion of French people affected by this phenomenon, we can imagine that this is essentially due to the fact that the main people concerned don't talk about it. Nonetheless, there remains a relatively high proportion of respondents who know at least one person in their circle affected by incontinence.

Which of the following benefits could you expect from a technology ...

2.4 Comfort and absorption come first

As all the online comparators point out, this product is still taboo, and for many people suffering from incontinence, taking the step of buying protection is quite difficult. That's why the challenge for brands is to succeed in consolidating this growing demand, so that it actually becomes a purchase. Indeed, the sector's main challenge is to succeed in provoking purchases, notably by demystifying the issue and lifting the taboo surrounding bladder weakness.Demand therefore needs to be reassured. Here are the criteria that emerge from comparisons, and which seem to be of the utmost importance to consumers:

Absorption

This is obviously the consumer's first criterion: bladder weakness is above all a source of great discomfort, the sensation of being wet is humiliating, and the customer wants to avoid it by purchasing. Absorption capacity varies with each diaper and each urinary problem.

Comfort

Protection must be comfortable to wear. This may seem obvious, but customers want to be free from incontinence, and an uncomfortable diaper will remind them of their disability as they move around. in this respect, size is of prime importance, and the offer must meet a varied demand in terms of sizes, so that customers can find the one ...

3.1 A highly concentrated market

Few companies are present in the French adult diaper market. Essity, Procter and Gamble, Hartmann, Kimberley-Clark and Ontex are the four main companies in this market, each with their own brand. [***]

Essity;

Essity owns the Tena® brand , global and French market leader, with **.*% of the French market by value in ****, [***]

Procter and Gamble;

Tena's main competitor on the French market is PG's Always® brand , which had a **% share of the French market in value terms in ****, with sales up **.*% [***]

Hartmann;

Hartmann is a group with sales of *.** billion euros in ****. With its Molicare® brand, it is also a major player in the adult diaper market. The company specializes in the manufacture of medical products and services, notably in the following segments: incontinence, wound care, first aid diagnostics, and operating room equipment. In ****, in France, Hartmann had *,*** employees and recorded sales of €***.* million. The Hygiene and Incontinence segment accounted for **.*% of sales in ****, or *** million euros in France. [***]

Kimberley-Clark;

This is the world's leading producer of wadding and cellulose, two of the main components of adult and children's diapers. The company also generates a significant proportion of its sales from incontinence products, since **% of its revenues come from personal hygiene products. By ...

3.2 Value chain

Manufacturers of major brands

Most of the companies mentioned above (***) have their own production facilities, particularly in France.

Hartmann, for example, produces over *** million adult diapers at its plant in Lièpvre in the Haut-Rhin region of France. The site employs around *** people. Ontex, meanwhile, manufactures its incontinence products in Dourges in Pas-de-Calais at its plant, which opened in December **** and produces up to *** million pieces a year.

Most adult diapers are made from cellulose wadding. [***]. The latter is obtained from paper pulp and forms the absorbent part of the diaper. Absorbent beads complete the bottom of the diaper to ensure a watertight seal. The manufacture of an adult diaper is then completed with elastics, plastic or paper strips and top or bottom sails

Private label manufacturers

Some companies produce exclusively for B*B. In France, the leader in this segment is AMD: this French company was founded in **** by Philippe Pagès and Frédérick Réquier. It expects to achieve sales of €*** million by ****, selling all types of adult diapers. The young company has won the adult diaper market at AP-HP (***). [***].

Indirect competition

Beyond the different varieties of adult diapers (***) and other accessories, such as :

Penis pouches, for ...

3.3 Risks related to diaper composition

The health issue

One survey after another warns of the dangers of disposable diapers, and parents are becoming increasingly alarmed. All reveal the presence of toxic residues and worrying quantities of allergenic, reprotoxic and carcinogenic substances. In particular, a report by the French agencyAnses has established that several regulatory levels of chemical substances are exceeded in baby diapers, which can prove dangerous for babies.

As a result, some parents are reconsidering their habits. The first publication by ** Millions de consommateurs in **** had contributed to the downturn in the market, which fell from *** million euros in **** to *** million euros in ****. [***]

The environmental challenge

In France, *.* billion diapers are thrown away every year, representing ***,*** tonnes of waste that is proving complicated to process.

Disposable diapers account for **% of household waste from households with children aged *-*. On average, a baby uses between * and * diapers a day. This means that, from birth to the age of two and a half, a child needs almost *,*** diapers, which, according to Planétoscope, corresponds to over a tonne of waste per child. And this waste is particularly polluting: in a landfill, diapers take almost *** years to decompose. [***]

So, in response to the considerable waste generated by disposable ...

4.1 Product ranges

The sphere-sante.com website, a specialist in treatments, solutions and advice for urinary disorders, offers the following range of adult diapers:

Absorbent briefs, which can be worn like panties or briefs to absorb leaks; Complete diapers, also known as adult diapers. The full-face diaper is fastened with two adhesives on the sides, and is suitable for moderate to heavy incontinence; Anatomical protectors, or anatomical diapers, are diapers held in place by a mesh panty; Belted protectors, or belted diapers, are fitted with a belt and have an absorption rate equivalent to a full diaper absorption rate equivalent to a full diaper; Men's shells, or incontinence briefs, are worn like conventional briefs; Straight incontinence pads are generally used in addition to full-face diapers;

4.2 Prices

By distributor

Prices on the sphere-santé.com website are shown in the table below.

The other product ranges also vary between the same price brackets, with the exception of straight protectors, which are slightly less expensive per unit.

However, there are far fewer different varieties of the latter products. Between ** and ** different products can be found for absorbent briefs, nappies and anatomical pads, compared with ** to ** different varieties for belted pads, men's shells and straight pads.

On e-commerce sites such as amazon.co.uk, you'll find more anatomical pads, sometimes sold in packs. These are less expensive individually, with entry-level prices of around ** cents each in this category.

Consumer Price Index

The Insee consumer price index for class **.*.*.* is as follows - Body hygiene, wellness and beauty products, which includes adult diapers, is shown in the chart below:

Consumer price index for personal hygiene, wellness and beauty products France, ****-****, in index Source: ****

Prices for this product class therefore vary little. However, from **** onwards, there will be a relatively substantial rise, which will continue into ****. Thereason for this is the inflation that has taken hold in the country this year, impacting most products, and thus apparently body care, wellness and beauty ...

4.3 Supply trends

As previously mentioned, ANSES, the French national agency for food, environment and occupational health and safety, has issued a report on the importance of environmental considerations in the manufacture of adult diapers. This report, which in its **** edition highlighted the presence of hazardous substances in products, shows a notable change in its **** edition[***]

In the midst of a diversification strategy, suppliers have seized on these fundamental changes to turn them into a strong commercial argument. According to LSA Conso, manufacturers are clearly showing their green credentials. Always and Tena have both always and Tena have both opted for a more natural offering, to appeal to female consumers in particular. A strategy that seems to be bearing fruit, if we observe the very positive evolution of the market.

for example, Tena® is committed to environmental initiatives by limiting its waste production. Other brands, such as Abena®, are also making commitments.To date,Abena is the only European manufacturer of single-use personal hygiene products to have obtained an eco-label for all products in its incontinence range (***).

Other forms of service are also emerging in the diaper market. There are, for example, rental services for washable diapers, washed in dry cleaners and delivered to ...

5.1 Social security and mutual insurance reimbursements

Reimbursements for urinary protection

The Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie may reimburse all or part of the purchase of urinary protection in the case of chronic illness or to keep hospitalized patients at home. [***].

The Caisse d'Assurance Retraite et de la Santé au Travail (***), which depends on the beneficiary's income.

Finally, mutual insurance companies may also reimburse the purchase of adult diapers.

Reimbursement of other solutions

When it comes to alternative solutions to urinary and/or fecal incontinence, perineal reeducation is reimbursed by the French social security system.is reimbursed by social security when prescribed by a doctor and carried out by a physiotherapist or midwife. Anti-incontinence drugs are partially reimbursed, with reimbursement rates varying widely from one product to another. Finally, incontinence equipment such as catheters are reimbursed at ***% by social security in cases of serious pathology, and at **% otherwise. [***]

5.2 Production standards

Manufacturers of adult diapers must comply with the European Union's REACH regulation. This requires companies to manage the risks associated with the use of chemical substances in the creation of the product, or the presence of such substances in the article sold. Companies must declare chemical substances in the product design.

The standards applicable to all hygiene products also apply to adult diapers. With this in mind, the composition of the product must be displayed on the packaging and safety measures [***].

6.1 Segmentation

• Essity
• Ontex
• Kimberly-Clark
• Hartmann
• Abena
• Coloplast
• Sanygia
• Triple W (DFree)
• Incontinence Protection
• AMD
• Carrefour Groupe
• Intermarché ITM Les Mousquetaires
• Lidl France
• E.Leclerc
• Casino Groupe
• Wuka Wear
• Petites Culottées
• Dans Ma Culotte
• Love & Green
• Riccobono Groupe Lenglet Imprimeur