Industry Scenario and Market Trend about Healthcare & Hygiene Factors in Baby Care Segment

Post completing his Master degree in International Business from US, Mayank has joined his father business and taken Millenium Baby Care to a new height. Today, the company is a well-know brand for diapers and napkins and doing business in over 15 Indian states and still growing.

There has been an unprecedented growth in the market for baby care products in India over the past decade. A lot of factors have contributed in this growth, but the driving forces behind it include a fast growing middle class, increased consumer awareness, higher disposable income, advent of nuclear families and notably, the increased focus of multinational companies in rural markets. Companies are constantly introducing new and advanced products in the market to keep the customers’ attention and make sure not to lose them out to competition.

With India being the second most populated country in the world, it is still amongst few of the least penetrated markets when it comes to baby products. India has the highest population of children who fall in the age bracket of zero to five years and yet the consumption per capita of baby products in India is much lower when compared to countries like China, Indonesia or even Pakistan and Bangladesh.

How’s the industry growing?
•The consumption of baby products is increasing continually with the family size getting smaller. Parents try to give maximum care and facilities to their kids.
•The births per year in India account to 20 percent of the world’s births per year. This makes India the fastest growing market for baby products
•As more and more women enter the job market, it impacts the baby care industry in two ways; first being the children being taken care either by nannies, or day care homes wherein the consumption of baby products such as diapers, creams, ready baby food goes up.
•As both the parents start working, the disposable income in the family goes up, the parents start looking at giving the best care to their children thereby increasing the demand for these products.
•High urbanization has played a vital role in making the parents aware about numerous baby products and their usage. Take for example baby diapers and wet wipes; they were considered a luxury until recently. But with more and more people moving to the cities and seeing their colleagues using these products extensively rather than occasionally like in villages; their demand has been going up at with the disposable hygiene industry growing at about a CAGR of over 19 percent.

Market Trend
•One peculiar thing about the Indian market is the difference in the buying behaviors of North Indian and South Indian parents. It has been noticed that the North and North Eastern parents are more open to trying new

and less heard of brands for their kids and they do not limit themselves to branded products. On the other hand, consumers of most southern parts of India prefer buying branded products and they are willing to even pay a premium for the same.

•Customers are not bothered enough on the manufacturer of the product. What they see is the brand name under which the product is sold. More and more companies are looking at getting the production outsourced so that they can put their focus on their strong point i.e. marketing and brand building. Such partnerships enable cost savings in production and help in continuous innovations.

Baby care market in India is one among the fastest growing industries in India and the people who get their calculations right, are sure to get a big pie of this market.

Industry Scenario
Many international players have stepped foot in the Indian baby care market. A lot of local established companies as well as new companies have also put their products in the market by means of either own production or by OEM. Take for example wet wipes. The same company manufactures wet wipes for companies like Meemee, Himalaya, Big Bazaar, Puretta, Florite and many more.

The growth of Amazon and Flipkart in the Indian economy has drastically impacted the buying behavior of customers in the baby care segment. These companies have deep pockets and work with the main focus on customer acquisition and increasing revenue, which leaves the push for profit in the backseat. Customers end up getting great deals because of the fight between the e-Com giants to give the best deals and acquire maximum customers.

e-Commerce has become a boon towards helping new brands reach the target customers without spending extensively on building a supply chain network and the hassle of getting their products delivered to various wholesalers/Retailers across the country (something that has been a stronghold of long established players and MNCs). e-Commerce has further helped companies bypass this tedious process and let the new brands place themselves alongside established brands on the same platform.

Of course brand loyalty matters while making these purchases, but the cost benefit, or product superiority is meant to pay off in the long run. Many new domestic entrepreneurs are entering into the Indian market recognizing the huge potential that lies ahead in the Indian baby care segment.

Conclusion
The current economic scenario in India is a time of immense wealth creation and wealth disruption. Those who have settled in their comfort zone miss out on the vast opportunities that lie ahead. The others, who have dared to venture into the unknown, stand to significantly benefit from the ever-growing demand of the educated Indian consumer. Baby care market in India is one among the fastest growing industries in India and the people who get their calculations right, are sure to get a big pie of this market.