With the changing demographic structure of Singapore, the tissue and hygiene market of the country is standing on the edge. The demographic profile of the country is continuously affecting nappies, diapers, pants, etc. market. Over the years, the declining birth rate and the changing trend of the nucleus family directly affecting the growth of such products. Whereas, feminine hygiene segment is the fastest growing segment amongst other products of hygiene market Toiletries and Toilet Paper is the largest segment of this industry with a market volume of US$ 117 million in 2018. The per person revenues of the industry generated revenue worth of US$ 55.72 in 2018.

Rising Demand for Eco-Friendly and Alternatives of Papers:

More and more companies have started supporting initiatives like reducing plastic bag use or doing away with packaging altogether. Companies are following such strategies to earn support from consumers and make good business sense. Cloversoft and NooTrees are trying to run a campaign where they are aiming to communicate with the health and safety benefits of bamboo and to communicate with the environmentally-conscious consumers to be a part of the eco-friendly group. Eco-friendly and sustainable products, such as bamboo retail tissue, considered in this group because it takes significantly less time to grow compared to wood pulp from trees.

80% of the Singaporean consumers are ready to ditch plastic from their daily use and 81% of consumers are willing to use more environmentally friendly substitutes instead. In 2015, after the withdrawal of Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) from major retailers played a major transformational role in the country and huge awareness amongst consumers spread in Singapore. Consumers are concern over the annual haze problems and negative impact on health led to retailers and consumers being more wary about the source of pulp and tissue products. Introduction to recycled hygiene paper in the market has created growth opportunities in the tissue and hygiene products market. Steady growth has been noticed in reusable options such as nappies/diapers/pants and sanitary protection categories.

Singaporean Tissue and Hygiene Market Moving Towards Premiumisation:

The tissue and hygiene industry is considered mature with consistently low volume growth in a developed economy like Singapore. Furthermore, the continuous low birth rate of the country is expected to have a negative impact on volume growth of categories with baby products. But with rising income levels of the Singaporean and greater demand for products that are suitable for a baby’s skin; the manufacturers are focussing on introducing baby diapers made from high-quality superabsorbent materials to increase their value growth. As the fertility rate is declining in the country so the concern is in high mode towards the products use for their children.

Korea and Japan are the manufacturer country of these premium range diapers. These countries are known for their stringent factory hygiene standards and high-quality raw materials. The top three companies for tissue and hygiene products in Singapore in value terms are Kimberly-Clark, Unicharm Corp and Procter & Gamble. These brands have successfully established strong brand awareness and reputation among consumers in terms of quality and efficacy of products in Singapore. Whereas, reusable feminine hygiene options include menstrual cups and cloth pads while reusable diaper options include nappies made out of cloth that can be washed; these products performance is terrible in the country. As these products are not easily available at shops and the customers are not well aware; also not so many online options are available to the customers.

Challenges in the Singapore Tissue and Hygiene Market:

Sustainability is becoming one of the biggest challenges for tissue manufacturers. The threat of global warming is increasing so the focus on sustainability and consumers, brands and governments are pressurizing on the use of natural products. Consumers are looking for sustainable products with high fibre sourcing, minimising water consumption, and reducing energy use during production. In 2017, eight companies were identified as tissue makers out of 35 companies audited by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Consumers are more aware of the use of unsustainable products and trying to become more environment-friendly and use only eco-friendly products.

The top environment priority is energy efficiency that can be realised in mills, which can save the yield cost and improved output simultaneously. In the making of such products of the tissue and hygiene market, the cost of pulp drying in their supply chain is way more than usual, which can be avoided with the use of integrated solar, hydro or other non-fossil fuel energy supplies. Other than that Through air dried (TAD) tissues poses a particular problem for the industry, that is it requires up to 3 times the energy per tonne. The government has created multiple challenges for the tissue and hygiene market by imposed stringent regulations pertaining to the proper disposal of wipes.

Opportunities in the Singaporean Tissue and Hygiene Market:

Spreading awareness can be a major opportunity for the brands in the Singapore region. Consumers in Singapore do not know well enough about the reusable feminine hygiene options, as it is only available on some online stores; at brick-and-mortar shops, it is not available easily. This segment of the industry is dire in Singapore; it is not as successful in Singapore as it is in Europe and North America. One of the main reasons for the growth of the hygiene and tissue market is the increase in demand for feminine hygiene products and recycled hygiene paper. The demand for the global tissue and hygiene market is boosting with the growing awareness regarding personal hygiene and through new product launches, various global market operating companies are focusing on business expansion in Singapore.

In this market, startups can easily enter the market with their unique innovation in technology where they can work for a renewable and natural source. The startups can create and spread awareness with their unique eco-friendly products, which they can make at nominal prices by exploring the industry at its best. A huge opportunity is waiting for the tissue and hygiene industry for the startups where eco-friendly products would be utilised at par. The rapid urbanization and industrialization in the developing economies, like Singapore, is fuelling the revenue growth of the global tissue and hygiene market in the world. To increase the expected market share in the global tissue and hygiene market structured investments in R&D is required.

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Tags: Craft Driven, Hygiene Industry, market research, Singapore Market Research, Singaporean Startups, Tissue & Hygiene Market