Earlier this week, Essity entered into a deal to acquire Edgewell Personal Care’s feminine care business in a move that expands its reach in the feminine hygiene market to the U.S. where it already operates a sizable adult incontinence business and participates in the reusable feminine hygiene market with its Knix brand.

The scope of the $340 million deal includes Carefree panty liners, Stayfree feminine pads and o.b. and Playtex tampons. All but the Playtex brand, which is global, are exclusive to North America and some Caribbean markets.

 “We have a lot of room for growth in North America and this is one of the biggest opportunities to get there,” says Thiago Icassati, North American Vice President Sales & Marketing for  Consumer Goods, Essity. “The intimate hygiene category in the U.S. is the biggest in the world. That is why we are acquiring brands that have a lot of presence in the market.”

Essity entered the North American adult incontinence market in 1997 when it purchased the Serenity brand from Johnson & Johnson. That brand was eventually folded into Essity’s Tena global incontinence brand. The Stockholm, Sweden-based company had been eyeing entry into the North American fem hy market as part of a company-wide growth strategy and was weighing two options— launching its existing brands or acquiring new ones. The Edgewell brands were the perfect point of entry for the company.

“Launching our own brands is always an option but that takes time—to establish customer awareness and trade loyalty,” Icassati says., “These brands have a lot of loyalty in the U.S.  We believe they have the potential to grow in the long term as we add value and innovation to the products.”

Currently, Carefree holds the no. 2 position share in the U.S. pantyliner market while Playtex wavers between second and third place in tampons.  Stayfree has a  slightly weaker position, but Essity believes it can bring a lot of knowledge to the brand because of its strength in menstrual pads.  As the market leading applicator-free tampon, o.b. is a niche brand with a strong and loyal followers.

With a number one or two position in 90% of the feminine care markets it plays in, Essity knows something about brand building. Before the Edgewell deal, the Swedish hygiene brand did its homework on consumer habits in the North American feminine hygiene market. It found that the Edgewell brands were strong and held a lot of consumer loyalty.

A Tradition in Feminine Hygiene

For more nearly eight decades, the Edgewell feminine care brands have been catering to the needs of women with a variety of product formats and can be credited with a number of market-changing innovations.

Stayfree pads were launched in 1969 and featured the market’s first adhesive pads, replacing cumbersome elastic safety belts or safety pins. This pad was seen a major leap forward in comfort and convenience, and the product quickly gained popularity, leading to other companies following suit. Playtex tampons were launched in 1947 as a main competitor to Tampax tampons. In 1962, it incorporated the market’s first plastic applicator—seen as a more comfortable option to cardboard. Carefree entered the market in 1976 and o.b. was invented in Germany in 1950 before being sold to Johnson & Johnson. J&J sold the North American rights to Stayfree, Carefree and o.b. and Playex’s global business to Edgewell (formerly Energizer brands) in 2013.

In recent years, Edgewell has lessened its focus on fem care, instead concentrating on brands like Schlick and Billie in its wet shave business and Banana Boat and Hawaiian tropics in the sun and skin care segment. In fiscal 2024, its femcare business sales decreased 8.9% to $283 million as growth in tampons could not offset declines in sanitary pads and panty liners. Organic segment profit decreased 46.6%

“By selling our Feminine Care business to Essity, we are sharpening our focus on our core categories, strengthening our financial position, and positioning Edgewell for sustainable, long-term growth,” says Edgewell President and CEO Rod Little. “This is a win for our shareholders who will benefit from a more agile and focused company; for our customers, who will continue to receive innovative products and dedicated service; and for our employees, who will have new opportunities for growth and success with Essity, a global leader in health and hygiene.”

For Essity, the first priority is to grow the business, according to Icassati.

“We don’t want to disrupt anything until we understand it,” he says. “We see the strength of the brands are still there but they need some type of innovation. For Edgewell, feminine hygiene was not a core category; for us, it is and we have the ability to invest in innovation and discover, from a global standpoint,  what can we bring to those brands.”