Project 1

PROJECT: AIMU’S SANITARY PADS

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Product Service Description

The brand ‘Always”, which is owned by Procter & Gamble is launching a new product in

the market which will be called “Aimi’s sanitary pads” in the female menstrual hygiene

category. These sanitary pads will be manufactured from banana fibers, which are cheap and also

very sustainable. There are many reasons why Always’ has considered manufacturing pads from

banana fibers, which would not only be inexpensive but would also be biodegradable as well

Figure 2: The manufacturing process of banana fiber sanitary pads

Source: (Onur Yaprak, 2011)

The manufacturing of “Aimu’s sanitary pads” will start with the use of a banana fiber pulp layer

on the inside and the outside as well, which will be biodegradable. The processing of these layers

will be done and then they will undergo certain stages where it would ensure that each of these

sanitary pads is sterilized. These sanitary pads will be then folded, and other adhesives and wings

will be attached to them to ensure proper and easy attachment to the undergarments. The banana

fiber pulp will be converted into a soft absorbent with the help of the patent-pending fiber

processing technology that will be used in Always manufacturing plants, and it would be made
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sure that the absorbent power of these sanitary pads could be made equal to those of the

conventionally sources cotton and bleached wood pulp. The processing of this new thin, soft

absorbent will then be processed to produce the proposed banana fiber sanitary pads which

would also be biodegradable. To manufacture these banana fiber sanitary pads and also to save

additional costs and expenses, it is proposed that ‘Always’ should source and manufacture these

sanitary pads locally in different countries.

Market Analysis

It is anticipated that the international sanitary market is expected to grow to an estimated

amount of 28 billion dollars by 2030. The market was estimated to be 20.5 billion dollars in 2018

which is a tremendous increase.

Figure 1: Estimated market value of female sanitary pads (from year 2018-2022)
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("Sanitary pads: market value worldwide 2018 | Statista", 2022)

Female health and female hygiene are becoming big concerns and this is one of the major

reasons why the demand for sanitary products and pads that are biodegradable and good for

female health has increased but currently, there is no brand that is offering sanitary pads that are

not made of bleached wood pulp and cotton and this is one major reason why releasing “Aimu’s

sanitary pads’ in the international market and local market would allow us to become the only

brand that offers compostable and biodegradable sanitary pads that do not cause any infections in

female and can be used by sensitive females as well.

Key competitors

Since the market is new and there is no brand that is manufacturing pads from banana

fibers in the international market, hence the brand does not have any key competitors at the

moment.

Opportunities and Issues

Opportunities

It must be kept into consideration that the use of banana fibers for the manufacturing of

sanitary pads would allow “Always” to use less fertilizer, water, and land since it is an agro-

waste. Research conducted on this topic shows that banana fiber grows using 10 times less

fertilizer than cotton and 8 times less water than cotton (Padam, et al., 2012). Therefore, the use

of “Aimi’s sanitary pads” will also contribute to a reduction in agro-waste as well as the

elimination of menstrual waste from the environment. This would provide immense
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opportunities for the brand as it would allow them to reduce their carbon footprint on the planet,

and this would also serve as a foundation for attracting new customers to the brand as they will

be impressed by this CSR initiative taken by the brand.

Issues

Some of the issues or threats that can be faced by the brand in the future include the

introduction of the same product from upcoming distributors. On the other hand, talking about

female menstruation and female menstrual products such as sanitary pads are still considered

taboo in many rural areas and Islamic countries, which will make promotion and targeting a bit

difficult. Moreover, the female hygiene product market is very cluttered with the presence of big

and strong names such as Stayfree, Primojiy, and Maxim hygiene among others. Since it is a

new product that is based on a new concept, it would be quite difficult to attract women to use

these sanitary pads as most of them have been using commercially made sanitary pads since

childhood. The initial marketing of these sanitary pads would cost a lot at first, and this would

also cause hurdles in setting a low price for these sanitary pads. Another issue is that it would be

difficult for the brand to acquire banana fibers in regions that are not suitable for the growth of

banana trees, and it means that the brand would have to rely on different suppliers to meet their

demand instead of the local suppliers of the region.

How this product fits the market

The commercial sanitary pads market is filled with both local and international brands

that manufacture sanitary pads from bleached wood pulp and cotton which is found to cause a

number of urinary infections, urinary tract infections, and also menstrual tract infections in a

female who use them on a frequent basis. Aimu’s sanitary pads will be made using banana fibers
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which means that they will be super gentle on the skin, and hence they will not cause any

irritation on the skin or the delicate vaginal area as compared to commercial sanitary pads that

are made from using bleached wood pulp and cotton. Moreover, the use of banana fibers as

absorbent layers instead of bleached cotton or wood pulp will help in preventing the incidence of

different kinds of infections that are related to female physiology, and it would also help in

maintaining good menstrual hygiene during the female cycle.

On the other hand, the main market that would be targeted is college and university-going

girls and working women who belong to poor and lower-middle-class families who can’t afford

to buy sanitary pads every month due to the high costs that are associated with them. As these

sanitary pads will be made from banana fibers, so they would not require manufacturing at a

large scale, and hence they can be made available to a wider public at a much lower rate. These

sanitary pads would be named “Aimu’s sanitary pads” and they would serve as an excellent

alternative to the present commercial non-biodegradable sanitary pads that are widely available

in the market. The main mission of “Aimu’s sanitary pads” is to replace the chemical-laden and

non-compostable sanitary pads that are manufactured by a large number of international brands

that manufacture and sell female sanitary pads with an initiative that is both environments

friendly and sustainable as well.

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

The four various elements on which market segmentation focuses are demographic,

geographic, psychographic, and behavioral.

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Geographic segmentation

In terms of geographical segmentation, ‘Always’ will target rural areas where lack of

education has caused women to adopt unhygienic menstrual conditions. By launching its product

in these areas and locations, it can tap into a market that is untouched by the influence of other

multinational companies, and it can do that by offering them sanitary pads that are not only good

for their health but also light on their pocket as well. Moreover, the geographic segmentation of

the Always company seeks to divide the market into several geographical units, such as cities,

regions, and neighborhoods. While it may also concentrate on cities and suburbs to ensure a

nationwide product delivery network.

Demographic segmentation

It is a market segmentation technique where the target market of an organization is

segmented by different variables like gender, age, income, etc (Rutledge and Callahan, 1970).

Based on demographics, ‘Always’ will target women who belong to the age group of 14-35 as

this age group includes girls and women who fall into the category of childbearing women. The

brand will also target girls who go to colleges, universities, and schools, as well as women who

earn a living by working a 9-5 job as these girls and women, are evaluated to constitute the

largest market for the purchase of female sanitary pads and female menstrual hygiene products

(Sivakami et al., 2018).

Psychographic segmentation

Another reason for targeting this age group and demographic is that women who fall into

this age group are highly conscious about the impact of their choices on the environment and are

evaluated to take part in some kind of climate change campaigns or conversations either in real

life or media (Sivakami et al., 2018). Their involvement in these social media groups and
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conversations is enough to ensure the success of banana fiber sanitary pads in the market. Also,

the girls and women who belong to this age group have at least developed some kind of urinary

tract or other menstrual tract infections so educating women about the harmful and dangerous

effects of commercially made sanitary pads will both influence and motivate them to purchase

Aimu’s sanitary pads from ‘Always’.

Targeting

The brand “Always” always had an excellent targeting strategy and that is the major

reason why it is one of the topmost female hygiene brands in the market; it is not just because of

its global presence in the market, but also because of the various items they offer (van Eijk et al.,

2021). In the case of the new proposed initiative, there is a specific need as well as necessity to

serve a wide range of clients, from the lower to the middle-income class, and average to the elite.

The company’s primary target market is customers between the ages of 10 and 25, with a

secondary market comprising women between the ages of 25 and 40. The company is aiming for

a market that wants a less expensive pad that is also easily affordable but sustainable at the same

time as well.

Value proposition

Formation of a new positioning strategy while keeping the specifications of its new

products in mind will allow ‘Always’ to be the first choice of a brand that individuals will select

while looking for high-quality sanitary pads.

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4’Ps Marketing Mix

Products

These sanitary pads would be branded and packaged by using brown paper instead of

plastic packaging since it is being manufactured in order to reduce the harmful impact of

chemicals and toxins on the environment.

Price

‘Always’ will sell these sanitary pads that are made up of banana fibers at 2 dollars per

pack of 12, which will ensure that it’s within the reach of girls and women who are homeless, out

of jobs, on a tight household budget, college and university going women and also those that

don’t spend on sanitary pads due to their high costs for such low amount of pads in one packet.

Promotion

Always will also promote “Aimu’s sanitary pads” by visiting and arranging seminars in

universities, colleges, and telling students about the benefits of using the new biodegradable and

sustainable sanitary pads. In the rural areas, they will go to every house and provide them with

free packets of “Aimu’s Sanitary pads”. They will also make use of Television advertisements to

ensure that women who regularly watch tv shows can become aware of these new pads.

Place

‘Always’ will work in different cities to facilitate the ladies by providing the pads which

will then be easily available and less costly so that everyone will be able to buy them. The

company will also expand into different geographical locations especially Asian markets and

other developing countries to ensure that these sanitary pads are also made accessible to the

underprivileged women in these developing countries as well.

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Promotional Strategy

Always will promote its new product on social media platforms such as Facebook,

Twitter, and Instagram and it will also offer discounts to those who purchase the products in

bulk. Since the product is made for girls and women, so advertisements on social media

platforms would help the brand to attract them easily since girls and women of this age group are

more frequent social media users. Also, giving free sanitary pads to women in urban areas, rural

areas, colleges, and universities would serve as a great promotional strategy and will influence

them to buy these sanitary pads. The environmental friendliness of these pads would attract all

socially conscious customers and brands to embrace this product with high openness.

Distribution Strategy

This product would be distributed via retailers directly and also to distributors as well

who will sell it to other stores. It will also be sold online so that women can easily buy it by

going on the official website. Also, promotions and buy one get one free offer will run

continuously on the official website and social media pages of the brand to attract new

customers. This product would also be supplied to superstores and grocery stores because most

women are evaluated to shop for sanitary pads while buying other groceries and hence this

product would be placed on shelves that will be designed with vibrant colors to gain attention.
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References

Onur Yaprak, 2011. Improving the Lives of African Women: Procter & Gamble “No Check

No Stain” Campaign for Always Sanitary Pads. Advertising & Society Review, 11(4).

Padam, B., Tin, H., Chye, F. and Abdullah, M., 2012. Banana by-products: an under-utilized

renewable food biomass with great potential. Journal of Food Science and Technology,

51(12), pp.3527-3545.

Rutledge, D. and Callahan, T., 1970. Geo-Demographic Market Segmentation: An Application

in Marketing Management. Journal of Business Strategies, 9(2), pp.124-136.

Sivakami, M., Maria van Eijk, A., Thakur, H., Kakade, N., Patil, C., Shinde, S., Surani, N.,

Bauman, A., Zulaika, G., Kabir, Y., Dobhal, A., Singh, P., Tahiliani, B., Mason, L.,

Alexander, K., Thakkar, M., Laserson, K. and Phillips-Howard, P., 2018. Effect of

menstruation on girls and their schooling, and facilitators of menstrual hygiene

management in schools: surveys in government schools in three states in India,

2015. Journal of Global Health, 9(1).

Statista. 2022. Sanitary pads: market value worldwide 2018 | Statista. [online] Available at:

<https://www.statista.com/statistics/825098/global-market-value-of-sanitary-pads/

#:~:text=Global%20market%20value%20of%20sanitary%20pads
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%202018%2D2024&text=In%202018%2C%20the%20value%20of,28%20billion

%20dollars%20by%202022.> [Accessed 27 March 2022].

van Eijk, A., Jayasinghe, N., Zulaika, G., Mason, L., Sivakami, M., Unger, H. and Phillips-

Howard, P., 2021. Exploring menstrual products: A systematic review and meta-analysis

of reusable menstrual pads for public health internationally. PLOS ONE, 16(9),

p.e0257610.