It’s easy to talk about Baby Boomers and how America is getting older, but nothing makes that demographic shift clearer than diaper sales. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that sales of diapers for adults with incontinence are rising much faster than diapers for babies.
Over the past 15 years, U.S. sales of incontinence products have roughly tripled to around $1.5 billion, according to market-research firms. Globally, sales of $7 billion are growing at a rate of around 8.4% annually, faster than other paper-based household products, according to Ali Dibadj of Bernstein Research. Mr. Dibadj estimates P&G should be able to garner over half a billion dollars in sales of incontinence products within a few years.
P&G, the maker Pampers and Luvs diapers, is expected to re-enter the North American market in the coming months, according to several retailers and analysts. Tom Wilson, who owns the Caregiver Partnership, a retailer of products for the elderly in Neenah, Wis., said the new P&G products may be rolled out under its Always feminine-care brand, suggesting the company will target mainly women, who make up the majority of incontinence sufferers.
The shift to an aging population is prompting companies to look for ways to retool their products and businesses to keep overall sales growing.
Jarden Corp., the maker of Nuk baby products, has started researching how some of the brand’s orthodontic and feeding devices like pacifiers and spill-resistant sippy cups could be adapted for elderly people with special needs.
“We’re looking to mine existing technologies to create new growth opportunities,” said Jim Lillie, CEO of Rye, N.Y.-based Jarden.
