Innovation in the period care products market continues to be strong as new fibers, new formats and new brands launch around the globe. Even as the major multinational players like Procter & Gamble and Kimberly-Clark continue to hold a lion’s share of the market, these new smaller brands have found success by launching online through direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels and later developing omnichannel strategies by taking up space on shelves in retailers like Target and CVS.

According to Caro Bush, research analyst for Euromonitor International, the menstrual care market has been an exciting and innovative space. “Historically, this has been a category that has remained stagnant in terms of new formats, alternative material utilization and novel marketing efforts; however, now, great effort has been put forth to reinvigorate menstrual care and cater to the needs of the modern-day menstruator,” she says. “Innovation continues to keep stride with the broad shift towards clean, plant-based wellness, as manifested in products featuring 100% organic cotton, hemp and seaweed as raw materials. Improved product design that ensures more efficient, lasting, fitted, yet thinner, more comfort-assuring protection for active and night sleep occasions is also notable in R&D efforts.”

The question is, are consumers willing to try all these new options? While almost one-third of U.S. consumers are concerned about their current financial situation (Euromonitor Voice of the Consumer Lifestyle Survey 2023) and worries of the future economy has caused consumers to cut back spending in many categories, Bush says menstrual care has stayed resilient with an increased focused on cost-benefit ratio. “That is, education around the long-term economic benefit of reusable options and health benefit of natural products has allowed more premium offerings to keep pace, amid a high inflationary environment and persisting cost of living crisis,” she explains.

Consumers are willing to try new brands, and Bush says this has been a more recent development amid the renaissance of menstrual care. “Great innovation in terms of formats, materials and consumer education have breathed life into the previously under-innovated category,” she explains. “With increasing educational resources, as well as increasing acceptance of period discussion on social media channels, consumers are eager for more options in menstrual care and its adjacencies (intimate washes/wipes/sexual wellness/period-centered skin care). They have a better understanding of their menstrual needs and the products, ingredients and practices that can help them to maintain a healthy body, as well as prevent infections or irritations from occurring.”

Good for Earth, Good for You

Finding alternatives to petroleum-based plastics in feminine hygiene products has continued to be a goal of manufacturers and brands in recent years, in response to governmental directives seeking to reduce or ban plastics in certain products, as well as consumers’ desire for plant-based materials, which many consider healthier and better for their bodies and the environment.

One company showing its innovative prowess in the eco-friendly category is Vyld (pronounced “wild”), which has developed a plant-based tampon derived from seaweed. Ines Schiller, founder and CEO of Vyld, has been working on the development of 100% biodegradable seaweed-based tampons, which she calls “kelpons,” since 2021. A trained neuroscientist and philosopher, Schiller has also worked as a film producer and scriptwriter for her own company. At a certain point, she felt the urge to do more in the real world outside of the film industry and went to South Africa to become a certified marine guide.

“This is the moment where I came across seaweed in very much detail and I really understood the importance of it for the marine ecosystem and how versatile it is,” she recalls. “We know we can eat seaweed—it’s a superfood, it’s healthy—but there’s so much more you can do with it. This idea that we can grow something in the ocean that actually gives back to the ocean while growing it—and then we can also produce healthy products from it, that was really the initial idea.”

Besides the food industry, seaweed is also used widely in medical applications. “That’s when I realized we already know it’s safe because it’s already used in these really sensitive areas,” she says.

According to Schiller, seaweed comes with the exact properties needed for period products. “It’s healthy and it’s naturally absorbent,” she says. “The period product world and the seaweed industry are very far away from each other, but I think it is very important that someone is doing the job that we’re doing at the moment. There are also other startups working on seaweed-based products, but it’s only us for period products to bridge that gap and act as a translator between them.”

To get the fiber, there is an extraction process that gives the company one of the polymers that they can then use to spin the fibers, in a similar fashion to how viscose is formed, and they can adjust the fiber properties. Also, because the fiber has a white or beige color naturally, it doesn’t need to be bleached. Moreover, because the whole seaweed biomass isn’t used, there aren’t issues with heavy metals or iodine, aspects that are typically relevant for food applications.

Currently running consumer trials for the kelpons, Vyld hopes to launch on the market by sometime next year. The company is also working on other products as part of its vision of a “regenerative algaeverse.” It is currently running a baby diaper project, and adult incontinence care is of interest to the company because of the high volumes and waste. “Everything you can imagine at this point being cotton or viscose can be made with our fibers,” Schiller says.

Meanwhile, pelzGROUP, along with partners Kelheim Fibres and Sandler, has developed a plastic-free panty liner under its Cosmea brand.

The idea to develop a plastic-free panty liner evolved from pelzGROUP’s effort building the Cosmea brand as a sustainable and truly natural product more and more customers are looking for, and differentiating from a lot of green washing confusing consumers, according to Henning Röttger, head of business development, pelzGROUP. “As the European Single Use Plastic Directive has set a clear guideline which products have to be labeled as ‘product contains plastic,’ we took this as a guideline to design a plastic free product. As a smaller player in the hygiene industry, we believe in the concept of open innovation with selected suppliers whom we consider as partners. This team has been openly sharing product requirements as well as raw-material and nonwoven processing options allowing us to come up with a new product concept meeting the requirements for a product which can be called plastic-free according to the European Single Use Plastic Directive.”

To develop the product, pelzGROUP has taken advantage of a new class of cellulosic fibers under the Olea name, which was developed by Kelheim Fibres. “As natural fibers like cotton are hydrophilic, it is difficult to design nonwoven materials made of such fibers meeting the requirements of a good topsheet and backsheet material,” Röttger explains. “The Olea fibers, which are 100% plant-based, now provide hydrophobic (water repellent) properties which we can combine with hydrophilic cellulosic fibers to design topsheet and backsheet materials with the same excellent functionality of nonwovens made of synthetic polymers. Here, Sandler as a nonwoven producer has contributed adding the specific nonwovens structures to the fibers resulting in the excellent performance of these materials which we have combined with a plastic-free absorbent layer to a plastic-free panty liner.”

PelzGROUP is in the process of building additional capacity to allow it to introduce the new plastic-free panty liner as part of its Cosmea product line in early to mid 2024.

For Rif care, hemp is the fiber of choice for its line of period care products. The company, which launched a line of sanitary pads last year, recently added tampons and reusable period underwear to its lineup.

Made with organic cotton, Rif care’s new tampons feature a non-shed nonwoven security veil on the outside to prevent fibers from shedding inside the body. The brand is currently working on developing this part of the product using hemp fibers. Meanwhile, Rif care’s Period Leakproof Underwear PFA-Free is made with a custom natural fiber blend of regenerative hemp fiber, organic cotton, and Tencel (Eucalyptus) fibers.

Val Emanuel, Rif care’s founder and CEO, says the brand plans to continue to try to make its products with more and more hemp fiber. In the pads, hemp is currently only in the topsheet, but the brand is also working on getting hemp into the inside of the pads and finding a stable supplier for hemp-pulp.

Italian period product manufacturer Corman, the maker of Organyc period products, also continues to focus on innovation. “We’re constantly looking at the trifecta of product improvement, which is: How do you improve performance? How do you reduce cost? How do you create better value for the consumer?” says Jim Ebel, executive vice president – Global Marketing, Corman.

An example of this, he says, is what they call Organyc 2.0, which is an enhancement to the absorbency and dryness of the product in its pads, so it’s cleaner, drier, more absorbent, yet thinner. On top of this, Corman hasn’t had to sacrifice any of the characteristics of 100% certified organic cotton inside and out. The enhanced Organyc products are available in the U.S. and will expand around the world. Consumers will notice a call-out on the packaging detailing that the products are now even cleaner and drier, according to Ebel.

Another new addition to Corman’s portfolio is the first-ever biodegradable and compostable plastic tampon applicator that was made in collaboration with Slovenia-based company Tosama.

After 10 years of research, Tosama’s and Corman’s R&D teams developed a technology that uses the waste products of wheat, corn and sugar cane, to transform it into a moldable biomass plastic. This new bioplastic can be injection molded at high speeds to create a plastic tampon applicator that is not only great for the planet but great for women too.

“Tosama is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of tampons. And while creating 100% certified organic cotton tampons was achieved many years ago, achieving the same level of sustainability with a plastic applicator presented a challenge,” says Mojca Šimnic Šolinc, director of Tosama. “In business it’s ideal to move fast, but when creating something totally new and so important to the earth, applying patience and partnership is the key. We’re proud of the fact that Tosama and Corman research and development teams are the first to find a breakthrough and commercialize this important idea.”

Previously, Corman had been marketing a 90% biodegradable tampon applicator, made of bioplastic, for many years, which Ebel says was quite successful, particularly in the U.S. where applicator tampons are popular. “Tosama and Corman have been working together for about a decade, and sometimes you have to wait for technology to catch up to your ideas, and this was a case of that. Working in partnership with Tosama, our R&D people made the breakthrough to have a 100% biodegradable tampon applicator made of bioplastic. It’s made of waste product—stuff that would be thrown away anyway—corn, wheat and other ingredients, and they were able to figure out how to use that and construct it into an applicator that gives women the benefit of the smooth applicator and smooth insertion but is also biodegradable, so now it’s 100%.”

In addition to the new applicator, the tampon, made of 100% organic cotton, as well as the packaging, are also biodegradable. Corman’s Organyc brand will be the first to offer the new biodegradable and compostable plastic applicator tampon, which is expected to be available to consumers soon.

Harper Hygienics, which first entered the feminine hygiene market in 2021 under the Cleanic brand, is also expanding its product offerings in the category.

By 2021, Cleanic had already established itself as a prominent personal hygiene brand in Poland. Throughout Cleanic’s history, Harper Hygienics has consistently expanded its product range, introducing new products such as cotton buds, makeup removal wipes, refreshing wipes, moist toilet tissue, and an entire line dedicated to baby care.

“Cleanic has always placed special emphasis on products designed for women, as our primary audience consists of women of all ages,” says Dmitrij Kostojanskij, CEO of Harper Hygienics S.A. “Through our dedicated efforts, which include constant monitoring of consumer needs and adaptation to the ever-evolving market conditions, Cleanic has achieved a remarkable brand recognition of over 90% in the domestic market.”

Introducing a line of period care products was a natural progression for the company, Kostojanskij adds. “We viewed it as the next logical step in the evolution of our leading brand. While feminine hygiene products were a new area of expertise for us, our R&D Department conducted comprehensive research to carefully plan and develop the Cleanic Naturals Organic Cotton pads.”

The decision to broaden its product range came about one and a half years after its pilot project launch. During this time, the company had an opportunity to assess the performance and demand for its initial line of Cleanic period care products. “We were genuinely pleased with the outcomes and had already formulated several innovative ideas for additional menstrual and intimate care products,” Kostojanskij explains.

Harper Hygienics simultaneously launched three product lines for mass distribution this year, each tailored to a specific audience.

Cleanic Pure Cotton pads offer both comfort and dependable leak protection. The appealing and innovative packaging design is intended to resonate with modern, active and confident women. Research conducted at the request of Harper Hygienics revealed that 95% of respondents confirmed the product’s effectiveness in preventing leaks, while 100% of respondents noted its gentle care for the skin.

Meanwhile, its new Cleanic Soft pads are designed for young, confident Generation Z women who are looking for novelties and want to stand out. According to the company, both day and night versions have a bright, well-recognized packaging design that draws attention, making the new pads extremely catchy for new buyers. The pads have a double absorbent layer that secures two times more absorbency than competitor products, as confirmed by laboratory tests.

“The primary mission of this product line is to challenge and eradicate the stigma associated with menstruation,” Kostojanskij says. “To support this goal, we have launched a dedicated social media campaign #ZeroWstydu (which translates to ‘Zero Shame’ in Polish) to encourage open conversations about menstruation and eliminate the stigma around it. We firmly believe there should be no shame associated with periods, and this campaign aims to foster a more open and accepting dialogue about menstruation.”

The company also recently launched its Naturals Hemp line, which features unique hemp fibers with natural antibacterial properties. Cleanic Naturals Hemp represents a premium addition to its Naturals product range. These new pads offer an excellent natural solution for those with sensitive skin. The company has also launched a unique social media campaign for this range, #MocHigienyZNatury (Polish for “The power of hygiene from nature”). According to research conducted on behalf of the company, a remarkable 90% of female respondents who tried these sanitary pads expressed their intention to continue using them in the future. Equally impressive, 90% confirmed that the pads were gentle on their skin, and 100% experienced no skin irritation.

“Market research shows that consumers increasingly give preference to products featuring natural ingredients,” says Kostojanskij. “We firmly believe this trend will continue to gain momentum in the future. That is why we consider this an ideal moment to implement and invest in innovative, sustainable solutions like hemp fiber-based products.”

Reusables Are In

With a traditional sanitary pad taking an estimated 500 to 800 years to decompose in a landfill, a portion of consumers are beginning to show more interest in using reusable products. Although still small share of the period care products market overall, the use of reusable products such as cups, discs and period pants/underwear is expected to grow in the years ahead.

Reusable products are gaining traction especially among the older Gen Z and Millennial cohort, according to Bush of Euromonitor. “Currently, this is a smaller, but passionate, user base that remains yet fully penetrated. Product launches in 2022 such as apparel firm Hanes’ launch of accessibly priced Comfort, Period. underwear, and Thinx’s debut of an underwear line for teens both demonstrate the desire to further penetrate the younger cohort with cost efficiency in mind.” 

Further, formats such as overnight reusable underwear are attractive offerings that act as complements to disposable product usage, she adds. “Meaning, consumers may utilize disposable options during the day, due to the necessity of frequent changes; yet they may opt for a reusable underwear option at night, because of fit to the body during sleep, as well as elastic protection on the sides of the underwear. It is expected that reusable formats, particularly the underwear format, will continue to gain share in coming years.”

Pricie Hanna, managing partner of Price Hanna Consultants, is witnessing the same trend. “People have developed a lot of hybrid practices, such as wearing reusable period pants with disposable pads when they’re out of the home, or just out for a short period of time,” she says. “I do see a barrier in schools and in work. People don’t want to have to deal with what they’re going to do with a soiled reusable when they’re away from the home for six to 10 hours. The idea of using a pant-type product on the heaviest days, especially overnight, has really gained traction. That’s probably the highest usage of reusables as well.”

Brand leaders are also making sure they are offering an option in the period pants category, whether they’re disposable or reusable. “They’re offering disposable options, but if it’s hybrid usage where people are using them at nighttime or while they’re at home, why not do it with a washable product?” she says.

Rif care’s reusable underwear can absorb two regular tampons or two pads worth of fluid. “I’m someone who is a super heavy bleeder, so this was really important for me because it doesn’t matter what product it is; if I’m going out of the house for eight hours, I always need back up protection,” Emanuel says.

Emanuel couldn’t find anything on the market that didn’t feel diaper-like when it came to reusable period underwear, and another concern was that a lot of brands have made them with materials that she believes aren’t so great. “There are companies that have come out with organic cotton ones, and those are cool, but we wanted to make something that was kind of in between, where it still has the high performance of what some of the nylon and polyester ones have done but is also made with hemp. As much as we love disposables, we see a huge opportunity in reusables because of the success that we’ve had so far.”

Larger multinational brands are also betting on the success of reusable period underwear. Early last year, Kimberly-Clark, maker of U by Kotex disposable period care products, purchased a majority stake in Thinx, a maker of reusable period and incontinence underwear, while hygiene and health company Essity acquired the Canadian company Knix Wear Inc. and the Australian company Modibodi, both leading providers of leakproof apparel for periods and incontinence.

“The competitors in their own ways are trying to get as much experience and learning as they can for the reusables; that’s why Kimberly-Clark bought Thinx, and Essity bought two companies. Not because they necessarily want to give up on their disposable products, but because they want the whole portfolio of options, let the consumers decide and watch closely,” says Hanna.

Astrid Schenk-Almagro, global brand director Feminine Care at Essity, says with the strategic acquisitions of Knix and Modibodi, Essity has become the global market leader within leakproof apparel, which is the fastest growing product segment in intimate hygiene.

“Essity’s product range is designed to provide consumers with a variety of choices to meet their period care needs, so we offer both disposable and reusable products to cater to different consumer preferences,” she says. “Our reusable product line-up, which includes menstrual cups from the Libresse brand and leakproof apparel from Libresse, Knix and Modibodi, complements our disposable products such as pads, panty liners, tampons, and intimate soaps and wipes.”

Regarding growth expectations, Schenk-Almagro says there’s a growing trend towards sustainability and eco-friendliness in the period care industry. “As more consumers become environmentally conscious, it’s reasonable to anticipate continued growth in our reusable product line. This not only aligns with consumer preferences but also contributes to reducing the environmental impact of disposable products.”

On the substrate side, Technical Absorbents develops washable fabrics for reusable period and light incontinence products, including pads and pants. The company’s unique reusable fabrics contain its own super absorbent fibers (SAF), which can absorb up to 200 times their own weight in water.

“These truly super absorbent materials efficiently and effectively absorb aqueous fluids, e.g., water, saline, etc., even under load,” says Paul Rushton, commercial director, Technical Absorbents. “We have validated up to 50 washes at 60 degrees centigrade, within minimal absorbency loss. However, customers are encouraged to undertake their own testing as performance will vary depending on the final product construction.”

Technical Absorbents’ washable superabsorbent fabric innovation—all based on a highly engineered needlepunch construction—has been focused on its own customer/development feedback and soundbites from the market, Rushton adds. In addition to looking at speed to dry, the company’s latest innovations have focused on fabric construction, fiber blends and potential additional layers to remove production steps for its customers.

New Tampon Technology

Startup company Sequel, which has developed a helical (spiral) shaped tampon, has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), allowing the San Francisco, CA-based company to start marketing the product in the U.S. market. The tampon, which offers a patented leak-proof design, took four years for co-founders Amanda Calabrese and Greta Meyer to design. Approval from the FDA marks a critical step in enabling Sequel to bring its tampon–which is designed to be more comfortable and less prone to leakage–to market and reinvigorate a space that has been flooded with private label newcomers, but little product differentiation.

The Sequel Spiral Tampon features a proprietary spiral design that is engineered to be more fluid mechanically efficient, meaning it is designed to absorb more evenly and not leak before it’s full.

When designing the tampon, Meyer, the CEO of Sequel, said they noticed that all other tampon offerings had vertical channels, and that a lot of times the fluid gets funneled down the side of the tampon, which leads to bypass leakage, or what they call the red line effect. This happens when fluid goes around the tampon instead of getting absorbed by all the fibers, she explains.

“What we’ve done is incorporate a helical channel which is essentially designed to prevent that red line effect,” Meyer says. “The design is intended to prevent vertical movement and encourage horizontal movement which is therefore intended to improve comfort and the evenness of the absorption. When we think about the red line effect, if you think about one side [of the tampon] being red and the other side being white, that’s where a lot of discomfort comes, and when we’re thinking about what we want our products to achieve, the dispersion of the fluid is really intended to improve comfort as well because it will decrease dry spots.”

The company has been granted 11 patents in the U.S. and globally with seven additional patents pending internationally. It has developed a proprietary manufacturing method that enabled it to scale up quickly and transition from proof-of-concept manual manufacturing to automatic manufacturing.

As a part of the FDA clearance process, Sequel performed extensive testing and documentation of the safety and efficacy of the product, which validates the company’s confidence in the design of the Sequel Spiral Tampon.

“FDA clearance has been a long process for us, and we know that this is one of the largest barriers to entry for new products in this category,” Meyer says. “However, we understand the importance of these devices being held to the highest standards of safety and quality. We are proud of the work our team has done to reach this milestone for Sequel.”

Also boosting the brand, the Sequel Spiral Tampon was nominated for the 2023 Hygienix Innovation Award, which will be presented during the Hygienix Conference in New Orleans on Nov. 16.

“This industry has been so warmly welcoming to us, and we’ve loved collaborating with so many of the members including everywhere in the supply chain from the raw material supplier to our manufacturer, so we’re really very proud and excited to be recognized by the industry,” Meyer says.

To manufacture the product, Sequel has partnered with Albaad, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of feminine hygiene products and wet wipes. With the support of Albaad Fem Division’s production capabilities, Sequel plans to bring its first product to the feminine hygiene market early next year.