In the past two years, in order to stand out in the fierce market competition, product selling point differentiation and functional value innovation have always been the direction that major diaper brands have been working hard for. However, from the currentdevelopment status of the industry, the diaper market has seen a decrease in innovation and slow product iteration, which is the norm. A senior brand owner with many years of experience in the maternal and child channel once said bluntly: "To put it bluntly, diapers are to solve the problems of red buttocks and urine leakage. Regarding these two pain points, some ordinary things are difficult to break through the existing industry ceiling, and there is not much advanced sense of technology."
Against this background, more and more leading diaper brands have begun to take a different approach, rolling into the supply chain field, choosing to cooperate with upstream suppliers in "reverse supply chain customization" to gain greater competitive advantages.
Is reverse customized supply chain becoming a trend in the diaper industry?
What is a "reverse customized supply chain"? Specifically, it starts with the brand side, and works together with upstream partners, giant raw material suppliers, etc. on forward-looking materials, technologies and product development to explore the possibility of exclusive and customized products.
In fact, many leading diaper brands have always had close contacts with leading raw material suppliers. According to Babycare in past interviews, it has reached strategic cooperation with 6 international giants including Henkel of Germany and Dow Chemical of the United States, co-researching and co-creating on the raw material side, and at the same time conducting centralized procurement of raw materials.
After experiencing waves of raw material price increases and accelerated industry reshuffles, many leading brands have deepened this awareness and hope to establish closer ties with leading raw material suppliers in the early stages of research and development.
Caredel has worked closely with BASF in the field of polymers to launch a new series of Xiaoliangfeng products. It is reported that this diaper strictly selects 3 new instant absorption factors, equipped with the 7th generation flexible absorbent core 600ml instant absorption and leak prevention, which can absorb 25 times its own weight of urine.
Babycare also announced a strategic partnership with two global material science companies, Eastman and Avery Dennison. The former focuses on specialty materials, while the latter is a leading supplier of viscose products. In addition, Babycare also launched its first diaper specifically for newborns, with a bottom film made of a new waterproof and breathable material that weighs only 2 grams, is thin, soft and "breathable".
BASF, Sumitomo, Henkel... Which leading raw material suppliers are highly respected?
Why are many leading diaper brands determined to focus on the "reverse customized supply chain" instead of introducing new production lines? In the past two years, the diaper industry has been full of uncertainties such as raw material price increases and large customers canceling orders. Some factories even have insufficient capacity utilization. Whether the brand has built its own factory or has a cooperative manufacturer, it will be more cautious in the face of the high-risk behavior of purchasing a new production line, which means a large amount of capital investment and a long payback period. Cooperating with upstream suppliers with rich experience and mature technology not only avoids some industry risks, but also helps to create differentiated explosive products. For leading raw material suppliers, the process of developing cutting-edge raw material technology and launching it for application will also be smoother, which is actually a win-win situation for both parties.
At the same time, we can find that in the process of "reverse supply chain customization", the leading raw material suppliers that brands choose to cooperate with are mostly foreign-funded enterprises. Taking SAP (polymer water-absorbent resin), an important raw material for the core of diapers, as an example, the leading suppliers of SAP raw materials in the current market mainly include BASF of Germany, Japan Catalyst, Mitsui Chemicals of Japan, Sumitomo of Japan, etc. Among Babycare's "Three Countries and Six Enterprises Diapers", its SAP raw material supply comes from two major suppliers, BASF of Germany and Sumitomo of Japan.
Although domestic raw material suppliers have gradually emerged in the past two years, such as the hot melt adhesive supplier Jujiao Co., Ltd., which went public last year, and established cooperative relations with well-known health care companies such as Kimberly-Clark, Procter & Gamble, and Hengan. But it has to be admitted that diapers, as petroleum derivatives, are closely related to the chemical industry, and foreign countries have a first-mover advantage in this field. Therefore, compared with foreign raw material suppliers with deep R&D accumulation, domestic raw material suppliers still have a large gap in production supply, scientific research technology, and industry reputation. Especially in the development and application of product innovation functions, the latter is obviously more powerful. For example, Henkel, an adhesive giant favored by many diaper brands, is well-known in the fields of odorless adhesive development and intelligent solutions for diapers.
Is reverse customized supply chain a solution or just a gimmick?
Looking to the future, is "reverse supply chain customization" a new way out for brand growth or a gimmick? In the view of Weipin Business Intelligence, the development and application of new materials and new technologies by the leading diaper brands in "reverse supply chain customization" are obviously worthy of recognition, and they also have a greater chance of winning in the future.
On the one hand, with the continuous grading of maternal and infant consumption, user needs are becoming more refined, so brands need to find opportunities in the refined track. This demand is reflected in the product level, and vague concepts or slogans alone are obviously not feasible. Taking the popular large-size pull-up pants as an example, if the product is only adjusted in size and the rest is no different from the basic product, users often will not buy it. Where brands need to work hard is to make more targeted designs around the pain points of obese babies and older babies, such as lighter and more close-fitting surface layers and waistlines that are not tight compared to ordinary baby styles, more instantaneous effects and absorbent cores that are easy to walk without lumps, and fading urine indicators that help babies do toilet training, etc., all of which require the support of new materials and new technologies.
On the other hand, the current efforts in "reverse supply chain customization" are mainly made by the leading diaper brands. They have sufficient funds and professional and experienced upstream partners. They have the ability and confidence to invest energy and costs to break through R&D bottlenecks and production process problems, and apply more cutting-edge and efficient technological achievements to products, thereby solving user pain points, achieving growth, and distancing themselves from other brands in the industry.