Aging populations and rising obesity across much of the developed world are causing a surge in incontinence products.
From the U.S. to Australia to Germany, people are increasingly becoming more obese, and older. Aging and obesity are directly linked to incontinence. While losing one’s hair, memory, and teeth can be distressing, peeing one’s pants adds an entirely new embarrassing aspect to aging.
The sale for incontinence products rose globally by 8.1 percent, to the tune of $7.2 billion dollars in 2015, reports the Financial Times. Within the European market, sales rose by $1.6 billion and in African sales rose by $92.2 million.
Gustavo Calvo Paz, head of Kimberly-Clark’s European, African, and Middle Eastern markets, has said that, “the scale of incontinence and range [of types of it] are poorly understood, and it is an issue that will grow.
“Incontinence is a physical and emotional condition, and it impacts people in both ways.” He is correct, psychologists have noted that, “depression and decreased quality of life have been found to co-occur in the person struggling with incontinence.”
The incontinence market for Kimberly-Clark is set to “double the pace of its other products,” but it faces fierce competition from other firms, according to FT.
Persistent Market Research has also found this to be the case. Its research found that incontinence products are “growing at a faster pace,” and “increasing awareness and acceptance of incontinence products” has driven some of the surge in the market. Research found that around 33 percent of women and 10 percent of men suffer from incontinence in their lifetime.
Conventional sales–going to the store to purchase goods–are not expected to be the primary platform for the sale of incontinence products. Instead, sales are expected to be almost entirely online. Domtar, a paper product manufacturer in Canada, recently purchased a “tiny US direct-to-consumer producer” of incontinence products called Home Delivery Incontinence Supplies.
Selling these products online provides consumers privacy, respect, and a way to eschew the stigma of standing in-line at a grocery store with a pack of adult diapers. Companies have picked up on this trend, with one producer making a line of incontinence lingerie.
Experts note that Japan, with the biggest share of elderly as a percentage of the population, is expected to be the largest market for incontinence products globally.
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