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Disposable Paper Products Market Report
Key Note Publications Ltd, Jan 2002
The market for disposable paper products, as covered by this Key Note Market Report, consists of disposable tissue products, disposable nappies and sanitary protection products. In 2001, the largest sector of the market was disposable tissue products, with sales of toilet tissue accounting for the largest subsector within the disposable tissue products market.
The UK disposable paper products market is mature and demand is virtually finite, determined to a large extent by the size and composition of the population. Manufacturers concentrate their efforts on product innovation to stimulate demand. Own-label brands are strong in most sectors and are no longer confined to basic economy lines. There are strong brands in each of the sectors and household penetration levels in the UK are high. There is also considerable opportunity for manufacturers to increase sales in overseas markets, such as South America and Asia.
The most significant recent change in the industry's competitive structure was in late 2000, when Georgia-Pacific Corporation acquired Fort James Corporation. Georgia-Pacific, along with other US companies, The Procter and Gamble Company and Kimberly-Clark Corporation, dominate the global market. A principal European competitor is Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA) of Sweden. Each of these companies has leading brands in the sector, which they support with high levels of advertising. Some also supply grocery own-label brands. This is a lucrative niche market as the manufacturer avoids the promotion of goods, leaving it instead to the retailer (SCA, for example, makes Shades, Asda's own-label toilet tissue). In addition to traditional television and newspaper advertising, many high-profile brands, such as Pampers, have dedicated websites. These not only give the opportunity to increase sales by, for example, promoting different variants for specific occasions and ages, but also give the manufacturers some invaluable feedback from their products' end-users.
Unfortunately, both the manufacture and disposal of disposable paper products is environmentally unfriendly. There is also reason to question the effects that their use may have on personal health. Groups such as the Women's Environmental Network (WEN), are exerting growing pressure for a return to more traditional products, notably fabric nappies. Not surprisingly, the industry disputes that the use of, for example, disposable nappies is any more harmful to the environment than reusable nappies, taking into account the detergents, water and energy needed in washing. However, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recently upheld a complaint against Procter and Gamble's claim that neither type of nappy is superior from an environmental point of view. The ASA ruled that Procter and Gamble's claims were simply one side of an ongoing argument.
Annual growth in the value of retail sales of disposable paper products is not anticipated to exceed 3% between 2002 and 2006.
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