Women expect ‘lifestyle-centric’ menstrual products

This pushes brands to highlight comfort and health in menstrual care.

Expectations for menstrual care brands and products have shifted to more “lifestyle-centric, holistic wellness positions,” driving brands to prioritise health, comfort, and circularity, amongst others. 

“The combined effect of growing female empowerment activism, “down-there” de-stigmatization endeavours, and pandemic-fueled self-care awareness has contributed to the growing recognition of wellness as an inherently integrated multidimensional whole encompassing skin, body and mind,” said Liying Qian, Industry Manager for Tissue and Hygiene at Euromonitor International.

“This recognition has led to growing innovations and brand narratives in menstrual care emphasizing comfort, health and holistic care across their life occasions and stages,” Qian added.

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According to Euromonitor around 38% of female consumers in 2022 are turning to decorators or healthcare workers for women’s health treatment in general, lower than the 42% recorded in 2019. Many women are choosing a “wide lifestyle approach through supplementation, diet, and therapy to treat their health as a stand-alone or complementary to medical help.

Asia Pacific accounts for 70% of the annual consumption of menstrual care products in 2021, with over 15% of online sales coming from South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, and Taiwan. China meanwhile drives a third of the global menstrual care or sanitary protection product consumption in 2022.

It also found that 32% of female consumers globally actively participate in political and social issues, with a similar number choosing to buy from brands that share their beliefs and 26% boycotting those that do not.

“Key actions in the industry resonating with such consumer priority include plant-based clean sourcing, health-forward multifunctionality, empathetic and authentic marketing campaigns, and expansion into adjacent need states such as skin health, sexual wellness and gut health across women’s life stages,” Qian said.