Feminine Hygiene

The feminine hygiene market has been defined as comprising two categories: feminine protection and intimate care. The feminine protection category includes sanitary napkins/liners and tampons. The intimate care category consists of vaginal treatment, personal lubricants, other feminine hygiene/medicated treatments, and douches.

Intimate care has a larger consumer base, as it caters to diverse needs of women across all age groups.

In fact, an aging population is a large driver for products such as personal lubricants. Another factor at work here is shift toward awareness and openness regarding once taboo topics and embarrassing products, on the part of both marketers and consumers. Thus, this is an exciting category with an immense potential for growth.

Women and marketers are both increasingly open to discussions about the human body and its special needs. A survey conducted by Combe, Inc.’s Vagisil Women's Health CenterSM found that about 43% women are comfortable discussing their genital issues as well as comfortable with referring to the genital area as ‘vagina’. This is good news for new product development, as it makes the marketing conversation with the consumer easier. Marketers no longer need tiptoe around delicate topics and products that may have once seemed outrageous are no longer so.

Baby boomers are changing the shape of the feminine hygiene market. Even though a large number of baby boomers are entering the menopause stage, they are also creating new avenues for marketers. Their large disposable income and the drive to stay youthful offers marketers tremendous potential and variety in addressing their functional and emotional needs, especially as they become familiar with inconveniences and maladies due to aging, such as light incontinence, vaginal dryness, increased the risk of infections due to dryness, sweating, and hot flashes.