There are other low-cost sanitary pads on the market however, they are not at a standard that can compete with global brands. (The Economist, 2013) Multinational companies such as Procter & Gamble are present in big towns and cities across India however, there are still only 25% of women using these global products. (The Economist, 2013) Whisper from Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care Ltd and Stayfree from Johnson & Johnson (India) Ltd are well known in rural and semi-urban areas of the country but are considered expensive compared to the traditional substitutes. These companies continued to build their campaigns around women’s empowerment and removing social taboos relating to menstrual hygiene to increase acceptance of their products (Tissue and Hygiene in India, 2016).
In terms of reusable sanitary protection products, there is no mention of such companies currently serving the Indian market in any database. The only mention of reusable items stated the homemade cotton-based substitutes for sanitary pads are the main competitive for disposable products. These items are often unsanitary and poorly cleaned which result in dangerous sanitary conditions for women using this method. Therefore, Lunapads can capitalize on this opportunity in the market to serve the women using poor methods of reusable sanitary protection and offer them valuable products that serve their needs at a reasonable price.
Product Potential
The potential for Lunapads reusable cotton pads is enormous as the market stands today. Since the use of homemade cotton products and the use of cloths is declining in India, Lunapads offers a valuable product to the consumers. If Lunapads is able to get to market before the major competitors are able to offer a reusable option, the potential for growth is very extremely favourable. Approximately 355 million women and girls in India are currently in need of sanitary protection products and 88% of women in India use homemade reusable products as a method to manage their menstruation (Geertz, 2016). Combatting this issue with reusable products from Lunapads will offer significant growth potential for them in this market.
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Market Characteristics Continued