Adult diaper sales are far more higher than children diapers sold in Japan and this is why:-
Japan is now arguably the oldest country in the world. It wasn’t like you could see it while walking around Tokyo, or the countryside (at least, not in most places). But there was one easy way to spot the shift. Just turn on the TV and it’s likely you’d spot something like the following scene: three ladies of a certain age, sightseeing and strolling, arm in arm, down a city street, dressed in pastel jackets. But one of them seems to be distracted — worried about something.
Hiromi Yamaguchi, a research analyst with Euromonitor International, a global market research firm, translated the scene, explaining “she is more of looking for toilets rather than enjoying the time with her friends.”
Japan’s fast-ageing population is leading to the development of a new local business opportunity – the adult diapers market.
Two Japanese paper companies – Daio and Nippon Paper–are expanding their manufacturing facilities for what are politely called “incontinence products” due to an increase in demand, the local press reports.
The adult diapers market is expected to surpass the baby diapers one by 2020, experts say. The adult diaper market is growing at 6-10 per cent every year, and already pulls in Y140 billion ($1.4 billion) by catering to Japan’s elderly population- it has the highest percentage of over-65s in the world, making up more than 20 per cent of the population, according to the international press.
Adult diapers in Japan sell 2.5 times more the baby diapers, resulting in higher profit margins that create an attractive business. Adult diapers are also bought by hospitals and nursing homes.
Sweden’s SCA, the world’s biggest hygiene product maker, recently sent a sample of its adult diapers to every Swedish man over 55 years of age. The initiative was followed by angry phone calls from men who were perhaps not quite reconciled to needing the company’s products someday.
