ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BABY DIAPERS: Market analysis, technologies and trends

Owing primarily to declining birth rates, the baby diaper market is going through a period of stagnation in North America and Europe, where consumer awareness and market saturation are at an all-time high. However, it is not all doom and gloom, as demand for Disposable Hygiene products is gaining momentum in developing countries in Asia and on the African continent, where rapid urbanization is driving progress.

Despite the increase in demand in some countries, Euromonitor recorded a drop in the overall volumes of baby pants and baby open products sold over the past three years. Nevertheless, the market segment was valued at 47.3 billion dollars in 2022, making it a very lucrative opportunity for brands and manufacturers in the Disposable Hygiene industry.1

In addition, two key trends have stood out this year: consumer awareness and price sensitivity 1 In 2023, consumers are looking for products from sustainable materials that guarantee them convenience of use (in terms of shape and design), an afordable yet premium ft and excellent performance. To meet these consumer needs, manufacturers are looking for baby diaper machines that give them a competitive edge.

GDM’s solutions for Baby Diapers segment

In recent years, product developments have taken the form of machine upgrades that prevent leakages, improve performance and reduce thickness. To achieve the latter, eforts have focused primarily on the absorbent core of diaper products. GDM has engineered the Core Plus solution that allows manufacturers to stand out from the crowd. This new technology thins down the absorbent core, improving product performance, ft and wearability while keeping costs to a minimum. Thanks to this new solution, the products produced by GDM’s baby diaper manufacturing machines guarantee:

• a core weight variation vs the target weight of diapers of less than 1.5%.

• improved core integrity, thanks to the redistribution and combination of SAP and fuf to ensure a better liquid spread and protection against leakage.

• the prevention of sagging, thanks to a reduction in the quantity of fuf used in baby diapers and the even distribution of weight.

And if all that wasn’t enough, Core Plus technology implicates the use of 40% fewer core materials, allowing manufacturers to save up to 800k € a year (internal estimation).

A closer look at GDM’s babypant and open diaper machines

GDM’s machinery portfolio benefts customers across several Disposable Hygiene segments, but nowhere is this better demonstrated than GDM’s baby pant and baby open portfolio, where two machines in particular can guarantee manufacturers premium quality, ease of use and sustainable products.

The BP6-Red baby pants manufacturing machine produces premium-quality, H-type baby pants. This fully automatic machine is equipped with the technology to produce Core Plus, thus allowing manufacturers to reduce the sagginess and bulkiness of baby diapers. GDM’s innovative BP6 baby pant machine boasts an intuitive and easy-to-use interface and excellent benefts in terms of operations and handling. Moreover, the BP6 production machine guarantees energy savings of up to 30% thanks to its improved ability to control and tension raw materials; it also streamlines production and product costs by leveraging cuttingedge technical solutions.

Meanwhile, the B8-W Grey is a highspeed baby open diaper manufacturing machine that guarantees fexibility and a fast changeover when manufacturing products with front and rear wings.

Upgrade Kits: the smart way to improve your existing production lines

The Disposable Hygiene market is showing promising signs of growth in both volume and value across all segments, with Adult Inco, Baby Pants and Sanitary Napkins leading the way.2

The past two years have seen a faster increase in value compared to volume, mainly due to higher prices. However, experts predict that prices will continue to increase over the next fve years, driven by infation, raw material shortages, and the introduction of new premium products.

The Baby Open and Lady Sanitary Protection segments, being the more mature, are the most critical contributors to the Disposable Hygiene market in terms of volume, and unit prices.