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Kao introduces baby diapers in Chinese market

24 Jan '13

3 min read

Kao Corporation started marketing disposable diapers for babies, Merries Shun Shuang Tou Qi (extra dry), from January 2013 in China. The conventional Merries series marketed in China was exported from Japan. However, to allow more consumers in a broader area to use the product, Merries Shun Shuang Tou Qi is now produced at a new plant in Hefei City, Anhui Province, China completed in August 2012.

Kao aims at contributing to the "enrichment of lives of people globally" by providing products in the fields of cleanliness, beauty, and health, as well as pursuing profitable growth on a global basis. Specifically, positioning China as the market most important, the Company is promoting reinforcement of production and distribution systems to encourage more consumers to use Kao products, while expanding product line-ups for a bracket in which large growth is expected. Furthermore, for products marketed overseas as well, Kao takes a consumer-oriented perspective to discover genuine local needs, to which the Company matches its own creative seeds to develop innovative products.

Since its launch in Japan in 1983, the Merries baby diaper series has undergone repeated product improvement focusing on being "gentle to baby skin." Kao has exported the brand produced and marketed in Japan to the Chinese market since December 2009, and Merries has received strong support from Chinese consumers for being "gentle to baby skin."

In the process of developing Merries Shun Shuang Tou Qi, considering how to contribute to Chinese consumers as the top priority, Kao visited households repeatedly to carry out thorough consumer surveys of local people's awareness and usage of diapers. Accordingly, it was revealed that for baby diapers, Chinese customers tend to dislike the condition of "hot, damp air being trapped" and "urine remaining on baby skin"; and it was confirmed that they focus on "dryness of baby's buttocks" brought about by "breathability" and "absorbability."

In its pursuit of such functions required by Chinese consumers, Kao has specially designed the product shape and inner structures, while retaining favorable aspects of the conventional Merries series exported from Japan. In Merries Shun Shuang Tou Qi, newly developed "convex-concave surface materials" to minimize contact to the skin and "Side Elastic Panels" that are superior in elasticity and breathability are employed.

Kao continues to strive toward contributing to the "enrichment of lives of people globally" and further pursues Yoki-Monozukuri1 to meet the needs of local consumers in each country and region.

1 Kao defines "Yoki-Monozukuri" as "a strong commitment by all members to provide products and brands of excellent value for consumer satisfaction." In Japanese, "Yoki" literally means "good or excellent," "Monozukuri" means "development and manufacturing of products."

Product features
-Convex-concave surface materials
-Employment of "Side Elastic Panels" superior in elasticity and breathability.

Kao creates high-value-added products to help consumers around the world enrich their everyday lives. Over 20 leading brands such as Asience, Attack, Bioré, Goldwell, Jergens, John Frieda, Kanebo, Laurier, Merries and Molton Brown are part of the lives of people in Asia, Oceania, North America and Europe and help generate about 1,200 billion yen (about $US13 billion) in annual sales. Kao employs about 35,000 people worldwide and has more than 120 years of history in innovation.

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