Who is who in baby diapers?
By Carlos RicherRicher Investment SA de CVDiaper Consulting Services, Diaper Testing Lab, Diaper Factory Audits, Benchmarking, Appraisals, R&D, Expert Witness, New Diaper Factories.
Who is who in baby Diapers?
No simple answer (none that I know).
I will attempt to provide a step by step guideline.
The objective is not to give you an answer but to help you find your own.
We may not agree on which is the very best but at least we are going to be very close.
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Different Perspectives
The point of view of the end user. The point of view of the large trader. The point of view of the
manufacturer.
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USA 2009 Guatemala 2009
Pampers Cruiser USA 2009
Pom Pom Guatemala 2009
Brazil Summer 2009
Argentina Summer 2009
African Diapers Summer 2009
Different Segments
Depending on market maturity you can sub divide the market in 3 to 5 segments, I prefer to use only 4:
Tier 1 Economy Tier 2 Value. Tier 3 Premium. Tier 4 Supreme.
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Choosing the brands to test
Tiers and Profits. Lower profits lower Tiers.
To select brands according to specific Tiers, always use the point of view of the consumer.
Compare prices from the same kind of store.
Select the brands according to your perspective.
Consumers: based on avaiability Traders: based on competitive price and
importation. Manufacturers: based on local and
international competitors, even if they are not head to head today.
Mexican Baby Diaper Brands(arranged by tier segment)
Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4
Mexican diapers Tier 3, July2009
Kiddies 2009 BB Tips 2009 Suavelastic Max 2009 Total Dry 2009
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How many samples you need to test?
You need only 25 diapers per brand to perform all tests.
You need to make sure the samples represent the market.
How can you make sure? Why is this important?
National brands .vs. Small manufacturers. Good enough: Buy 5 bags (from 5 differnt
stores). Best but too expensive: Select one diaper
from 25 bags.
What size to choose? Unfortunately not all brands are consitent
along all sizes. If you can accept the assumption that they are
consistent, then you should test the size with the highest volume of sales, usually Medium or Large.
What needs to be tested?
1- Diaper Construction Craftsmanship (all 25).
2- The absorbent pad system (10 of 25).
3- The fastening system (5 of 25).4- The containment system (5 of 25).5- Comfort and Luxury (5 but none is
damaged).6- Cost of manufacturing (only for
traders and manufacturerers).
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1- Diaper Craftsmanship.
This is one of the most important categories to test and amazingly you do not even need a lab to do it.
The idea is to perform a visual audit on all samples.
My proposal is to classify the diapers in 4 groups: No defects. The samples look perfect to the
naked eye. Minor Defects. Only a manufacturer can
detect. Major Defects. The consumer will detect it. Critical Defects. Impossible or too risky to
use the diaper.
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1- Diaper Craftsmanship.
Use a formula to convert all defects into a number that represents the quality of craftsmanship of the diapers.
Suggested formula: 1 Critial Defect = 10 Major Defects 1 Major Defect = 10 Minor Defects. 1 Minor Defect = 1 point in the scale of 100.
Craftsmanship= 100 - Minor Defects – Major Defects * 10
If a Critical Defect is found then the result is Zero.
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1- Diaper Craftsmanship (examples)
You inspect your 25 diapers that represent the whole market and find the following: all diapers have No Defects. Then in this case the result is 100
You inspect another brand with 25 diapers and you find 15 Minor Defects, 1 Major Defect, and 9 diapers with No Defects. The result is (100- 15 – 10)= 75
After inspecting another brand you find 1 critical defect and 10 minor defects. The result is Zero.
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Examples of Minor Defects:
Tape folding angle (for example: less than 25 degrees)
Backsheet folded edges (less than 20 mm in total).
ADL is out of position but still inside absorbent pad.
3D pad knife cut is out of registration. Leg cuff height (less than 15 mm). C Folding or Bi fold out of position (less
than 30 mm) Top sheet does not match backsheet with
an excess of more than 15 mm.
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Guatemala 2009
KC, Brazil
Morocco Aug, 2009
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ADL Patch
Pad Knife Registration
Mexico, June 2009
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Venezuela May 2009
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KC, Huggies Pure and Natural USA Sep 2009
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Examples of Major Defects:
Tape folding angle (for example more than 25 degrees)
Leg cuffs stay down and wont open. A missing leg cuff on either side. An exposed drop of glue (but less than 5
mm) A small window without fluff within the
pad. Leg gathers or leg cuffs without elastics.Richer
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Examples of Critical Defects:
A small hole on the backsheet. A piece of leg trimming still attached. One tape or both are missing. No frontal tape. Exposed pulp due to nonwoven rupture. Open ends exposing the pulp. Presence of fungus or spores or any other
kind of biological contaminants.
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1- Diaper Craftsmanship (process control)
Weight variation can be another manifestation.
This is typically due to lack of process control originated by the equipment or by the people.
Most times it can be explained by a variation on the amount of fluff (dirty drum pockets, etc).
Other times is due to variation of SAP between diaper to diaper (volumetric .vs. gravimetric).
Depending on the origin is the dimension of the problem (more critical if it is due to SAP).
Lack of Process Control
Standard Deviation (Total Weight)
Craftsmanship
Less than 0.5 grams Excellent
Between 0.5 to 1.0 grams Regular
Between 1.0 to 1.5 grams Not so good
More than 1.5 grams Bad
More than 2.0 grams Terrible
Is it because of fluff or SAP?
1 gram of fluff holds about one third of the free swell urine capacity that is typical SAP.
1 gram of fluff holds less than 1/15 of the retentive capacity of the typical SAPs.
For this reason looking at variations on centrifugal retentive capacity can give us an excellent idea if the weight variation is due to the fluff or to the SAP.
Lack of Process Control
Standard Deviation (Ret. Capacity) Centrifugal Capacity
Craftsmanship
Less than 10 ml Excellent
Between 10 to 20 ml Regular
Between 20 to 30 ml Bad
More than 30 ml Terrible
2- The absorbent pad system
Often considered the heart of the diaper. Has to work in harmony with the overall
design. It is conformed by:
The absorbent pad (a mix of SAP and Celulose).
A pad wrapping material (tissue or light weight Spunbond).
Hot melt adhesive (for integrity) Curly Fiber (P&G, Ontex, etc.) ADL patch (high loft nonwovens used for
liquid acquisition)
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Huggies Pure Natural
HEB Supreme Fit
W. Confort Stretch
Premium
Pampers Baby Dry
Huggies Supreme Nat.
Fit
Baby HEB Luvs Huggies Little
Movers
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
ADL Usage USA Diapers 2009 (GSM)G
r/M
2
Different kinds of carriers
Why is it used ? Discrete pad formation (No carrier?) Tissue or Spunbond ? In USA almost everyone use
Nonwoven In Colombia nonwoven is also
preferred; in Mexico is split (by KC and P&G); in Ecuador, Venezuela, in Mercosur, Africa and India tissue is preferred.
Top/ Bottom/ Fully Wrapped?
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2- The absorbent pad system
In order to test which diaper has the best absorbent pad system, we need to test: Total free swell capacity (using saline solution at
0.9% and 23 C). Centrifugal or retentive capacity (or absorbency
under load). Strike trough times (also called liquid penetration
times). Wicking speed at 90 and/or 45 degrees. Pad Symmetry and 3D core indexes.
Of course many more sophisticated tests can be done, these are the tests you can do with a low budget. Not even the best of dynamic tests can compare against the actual testing with real babies.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Symmetry= (1+3+5) .vs. (2+4+6)3D Index= (average(1,2,3,4)/average (5,6))
Huggies Dry Comfort
Cuddlers Pampers Active Baby
Basic by Huggies
-10%
-5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Core Symmetry Index South Africa July 2009Ideal = 0%
Core
Sym
metr
y I
ndex (
%)
-10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Core 3-D IndexPad Core front side weight versus back, USA 2009
3D
Ab
sorb
en
t C
ore
In
dex
Huggies Dry Comfort
Cuddlers Pampers Active Baby
Basic by Huggies
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Total Capacity (grams) A.U.L. 2.5 KPam
l
South Africa July 2009
Huggies Dry Comfort
Cuddlers Pampers Active Baby
Basic by Huggies
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80ST 1 (sec) ST 2 (sec) ST 3 (sec)
Secon
ds
100 ml insults @ 23 oC Saline 0.9%
South Africa July 2009
Huggies Dry Comfort
Cuddlers Pampers Active Baby
Basic by Huggies
0
2
4
6
8
Rewet 2 (grams) Rewet 3 (grams)g
ram
s
3-The fastening System From the point of view of diaper performance we
need to know the diaper fits the right waist range of babies and that it will stay in place.
To know these parameters you need to test:
Max and Min waist circonference. Tape Peel force (using its full width). Tape shear force (using its full width). Relative dimensions between lateral and frontal
tape. Stretch Force, both before and after the oven test.
Chiquitines
Freskolin)Jueguitos
Huggies
Guatemala 2009
Hook and Loop at 125 X Hook and Loop at 500 XHuggies
Hooks used on Huggies
Loop at embossing
Freskolin Locked Loop
Hooks with less density of hooksused on Freskolin Brand
Hook & Loop used onJueguitos and ChiquitinesSold in Guatemala in 2009
Pom Pom G 2009
Baby Genius G 2009
Freskolin XG 2009
Chiquitines G 2009
Jueguitos G 2009
Huggies Classic XG
2009
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2
Tape Peel Force (Newton's), Guatemala 2009F
orc
e i
n N
ew
ton
's
Required Peel Forces
Diaper Size Min. Peel Force in Newtons
Newborn and Small
> 0.40 N
Medium >0.50 NLarge >0.55 N
X Large >0.60 NTry not to exceed 2 Newtons
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Huggies Dry Comfort
Cuddlers Pampers Active Baby
Basic by Huggies
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Lateral Tape (mm) Frontal Tape (mm)m
m
Pom Pom G 2009
Baby Genius G 2009
Freskolin XG 2009
Chiquitines G 2009
Jueguitos G 2009
Huggies Classic XG
2009
340
365
390
415
440
465
490
515
540
Max. Waist Range (mm)
Min.Waste Range (mm)
4-The Containment System
We want to make sure the diaper is capable of holding the storage of liquids under pressure without leaking to the outside.
To know this you need to test: The performance of the leg cuffs. Elastic stretch and resistance to the oven test. The size of the open channels. The pinhole test to avoid leakage trough the
backsheet.
Open Channels at leg cuff ends
Report of Laboratory results Tests: Leg Cuff Barrier Performance, Seconds before a leakage
Date: 7/21/09 Country: South Africa Medium
Reported By: C. Richer
Brand Huggies Cuddlers Pampers Basic by
Seconds before Leak Dry Comfort Maxi Active Baby Huggies Sample 1 (Right) 13.3 30.0 30.0 30.0 Sample 1 (Left) 5.2 30.0 30.0 6.2 Sample 1 (Right) 2.4 30.0 30.0 30.0 Sample 1 (Left) 5.5 23.2 30.0 24.3 Sample 1 (Right) 13.3 16.4 30.0 30.0 Sample 1 (Left) 4.1 30.0 30.0 30.0 Sample 1 (Right) 11.3 30.0 30.0 30.0 Sample 1 (Left) 4.6 19.5 30.0 18.9 Average Time (right) 10.0 26.6 30.0 30.0 Average Time (left) 4.9 25.7 30.0 19.9 Observations FAIL FAIL OK OK FAIL FAIL OK FAIL
5-Comfort and Luxury
It is the most subjective chapter of our diaper classification process.
Becuase it has little or nothing to do with performance but a lot to do with consumer preference.
Some things to look for: Use of cloth like backsheet or plain film. Use of registered or random printed tapes and frontal. Use of easy recognizable cartoon characters, such as Disney,
Sesame St, versus the Peabody Ducks or any other Ugly Duckling Design.
Use of special skin topical lotions or perfumes. Ecological claims.
Use a focus group…… or at least a group of friends.
6-Cost of manufacturing
Comparing diaper performance without comparing manfacturing costs is like driving a car at night without the headights. You will crash.
How do you estimate diaper manufacturing cost? Find out the exact usage of each diaper element
(reverse engineering). Multiply each element by its individual raw material
cost. SAP and pulp in the mix can be easily calculated in a
very exact way using the total pad weight, the free swell and centrifugal retention, and the performance of a sample of SAP extracted from the diaper.
X (a) + Y(b) = 450 a=14.5 c=1.7 X (c) + Y(d) = 375 b=31.5 d=23.5 X=19.7 Y=8.36 SAP
SAP Fluff
Country: ANGOLA, 2009 Tests: Total Overall
Dimensions
BRAND Tender Care Baby Love Suave My Baby Dina PlusSize M M M M MTotal Diaper Width. 310 330 325 296 308Diaper width at diaper's crotch 223 236 232 223 224Total Diaper Chassis With Ears 305 340 313 310 315Maximum Waist Circumference 528 556 536 494 508Minimum Waist Circumference 362 378 366 328 366Total Diaper Length 500 452 454 444 463Use of Clothlike (Yes/No) No Yes No No NoUse of Printed Backsheet No No No No NoSynchronized Printing (Yes/No) No No No No NoPad Width 110 114 110 130 110Pad Length 412 379 371 377 380Pad width at pad's crotch 110 95 110 112 83Height of Leg Cuffs 29 30 41 27 30Folded Edge Nnwn at leg cuff 20 14 15 12 7No. of Spandex at Cuff per side 2 2 2 0 1No. of Synthetic Rubber at Cuff 0 0 0 2 0Open Ends at Tack Down 31 21 15 20 17ADL Width 0 0 0 75 0ADL Length 0 0 0 170 0ADL (GSM) 0 0 0 20 0Frontal Tape Width 40 39 36 38 36Frontal Tape Length 224 198 224 217 200BOPP or Mechanical BOPP MECH. BOPP BOPP BOPPSelf adhesive or In Line YES YES YES YES YESUse of Synchronized Printing NO NO NO NO NOLateral Tape width 23 26 28 24 25Hook width if used 0 26 X 11 0 0 0Lateral Tape total Length 59 54 59 59 59No of Spandex Elastics at Leg per side 3 3 3 0 3No. of Synthetic Rubber at Leg 0 0 0 2 0Waist Elastic Width 0 18 0 0 0Waist Elastic Length 0 143 0 0 0
Use of Carrier (Up/Bottom/Full Wrap) Wrapped Wrapped Wrapped Wrapped UpperCarrier Material (Tissue or Nonwoven) Tissue Tissue Tissue Tissue Tissue
RAW MATERIALS REFERENCE COSTS (Jan 2009) USD
CELULOSE ($/Ton) 810CARRIER (m2) 0.03LEG CUFF NONWOVEN PHOBIC ($/M2) 0.03CENTRAL NONWOVEN PHILIC ($/MT2) 0.04POLY FILM ($/KG) 2.3HOT MELT ADHESIVE ($/KG) 2.6BOPP FASTENING TAPE 54 mm. ($/M2) 0.64BOPP RELEASE TAPE 48 mm. ($/M2) 0.72BOPP FRONTAL TAPE ADHESIVE ($/MT2) 0.31LEG AND CUFF ELASTIC SPANDEX ($/KG) 9.2WAIST ELASTIC ($/MT2) 0.39S. A . P. ($/KG) 2.25CLOTH LIKE BACKSHEET 27 grams ($/M2) 0.08MECHANICAL FRONTAL LOOP ($/M2) 1.21MECHANICAL LATERAL HOOK TAPE PRE COMBINED ($/M2) 2.54MECHANICAL ELASTIC LATERAL HOOK TAPE PRE COMBINED ($/M2) 3.28ADL ($/M2) 40 gsm 0.14
BOPP FINGER TAB 0.85
Manufacturing Cost
Example of potential raw material costs for Tier 3: Sample A= 0.086 USD Sample B= 0.083 USD Sample C= 0.084 USD Sample D= 0.089 USD
A new machine upgrade does not look so expensive anymore.
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Not the same if you are B and better than the rest, or D and the worst in your tier.
Putting it all together Following the suggested guidline you
will know by now which diaper is the best in every one of the six measured dimensions.
How to add them all together to find the best?
Craftsmanship; Absorbet system together with Containment; Luxury items; Fastening system.
Use of mannequin tests. Consumer tests .vs. Laboratory tests.
Conclusions You need to know where you stand in terms of
diaper performance but also in terms of costs, use trends when possible.
You need to know your weaknesses, strengths, risks and oportunities before you can suggest product design improvements that make sense.
Dont be affraid to invest in machine upgrades when needed; it may be too late once you are forced to do it.
If you have a lower performing product with a higher unit cost, look for an urgent solution. If you cant find it ask for help.
If you are beyond help, I can help you sell your old equipment.
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Thank YouQuestions?
By Carlos RicherRicher Investment SA de CVDiaper Consulting [email protected]
Factory AuditsFeasibility StudiesBenchmark ReportsTechnical SupportMachine AppraisalsInsurance ClaimsExpert Witness
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