Huggies The strategy to win the strategic newborn segment in Vietnam

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TRNG I HC M TP. HCM
HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITE LIBRE DE BRUXELLES
SOLVAYS BRUSSELS SCHOOL
ECONOMIC & MANAGEMENT
MMA6
PHAM THI THUY HANG
LUU THI HANH

Master Project of MASTER IN MARKETING AND ADVERTISING
Tutor’s Name: SERGE BYWALSKI



THE STRATEGY TO WIN
THE STRATEGIC NEWBORN SEGMENT
IN VIETNAM


HO CHI MINH CITY
[2013]

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We - the authors Pham Thi Thuy Hang and Luu Thi Hanh – confirm that we
worked on this master thesis by ourselves with materials retrieved from either
public sources or Huggies’. This paper was exclusively made for the completion of
Master of Marketing and Advertising of Solvays Brussels School. No substance
was used or would be for any other purpose.

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We would like to express our appreciation to the tutor Serge Bywalski for his
guidance on this master final project as well as to all the professors who have
taught us in MMA6.

[Pham Thi Thuy Hang]: A deep thanks to my parent for their simply
unconditional love and supports

[Luu Thi Hanh]: Great thanks to Mom & Dad for their encouragement along the
way!

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ABSTRACT

Entering Vietnam market in 2000, Huggies has been very successful as a market
leader in baby diapers category with an extremely strong growth every year. In
2008 while most of the businesses suffered from the global economic crisis,
Huggies made an impressive record that grew 100% sales volume and value
versus 2007. In 2009, with the launch of Huggies® Dry Pants – convenient and
affordable diapers pants – Huggies became the baby diapers brand which had the
biggest portfolio offering full of choices for Vietnamese consumers, leaving its
competitors far behind with a dominating leadership at more than 40% market
volume share in total baby diapers category (TNS Baby Panel Q3 2009). Yet, the
situation has changed. In two recent years with the very fierce competition from
both international and local competitors such as Bobby (DianaUnicharm) and
Pampers (P&G), Huggies has been loosing its leadership to Bobby, 32.4% vs.
44.2% volume share respectively (ACN Retail Audit MAT Sep 2012).

One critical fact is that Bobby has been led the market dominantly for years in the
newborn segment with 87% volume share (ACN Retail Audit MAT Sep 2012) and
its success in this entry segment actually has played a very strategic role in
recruiting new users as well as to its current leadership in total diapers category.

Huggies also joined the newborn playground after Bobby but after 5 years
launching the product, Huggies Nappy actually doesn’t have any big improvement.
On the contrary, Bobby Insert, which already has a dominant volume contribution,
keeps growing with a very good trend.

The purpose of this thesis is to formulate a right strategy for Huggies brand in the
newborn segment – the strategic point-of-entry segment of baby diapers category.
In order to achieve this, a deep analysis has been invested with the data supports
from desk, primary and secondary researches to really understand the internal
situation as well as the external (the market, the category, the segment and the
target consumer and the competitive scene) before coming to the full situation
analysis (SWOT and 6C). Finally a long-term marketing strategy is recommended
with the treatments for the basic 4Ps and a detailed actionable plan for the year
2013.






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TABLE OF CONTENT
Page
LIST OF SYMBOLS & ABBREVIATIONS
7
LIST OF CHARTS & PICTURES
8
PART I: DESCRIPTION
10

1. The Landscape Overview
10
2. Huggies Newborn Case Description
13
PART II: SITUATION REVIEW & ANALYSIS
25
1. Target Customer Analysis
25
2. Huggie Nappy Performance Review
29
3. Competitor Analysis
33
4. Environment & Category Analysis
39
5. SWOT Analysis
44
6. 6C Analysis
44
7. Chapter Conclusion
46
PART III: STRATEGY & ACTION-PLAN RECOMMENDATION
48
1. Brand 5-Year Vision/Mission (2013-2015)
48
2. Short-Term & Long-Term Business Goals
49
3. Marketing Strategy (Strategy Axes & 4P Strategy)
50
4. Action Plan
55

REFERENCES
59
APPENDIX 1
60
APPENDIX 2
61
APPENDIX 3
62


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LIST OF SYMBOLS & ABBREVIATIONS

 DD = Disposable Diaper
 NP = Nappy Pad (Insert)
 DP = Diaper Pants
 MAT = Moving Annual Total
 YTD = Year To Date
 Q1 = Quarter 1
 Q2 = Quarter 2
 Q3 = Quarter 3
 Q4 = Quarter 4
 POSM = Point Of Sales Material
 PR = Public Relation
 HCMC = Ho Chi Minh City
 HN = Hanoi
 4 Key Cities = Cantho, Danang, Nha Trang, Hai Phong
 GT = General Trade channel
 MT = Modern Trade Channel

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LIST OF CHARTS & PICTURES

CHART LIST
Chart 1
Baby Diaper Volume/Value Contribution By Type
Chart 2
Baby Diaper Volume/Value Share By Manufacturer
Chart 3
Volume Share By Type By Brand
Chart 4
Switching 1
st
Brand Rate
Chart 5
Huggies Nappy Product Portfolio
Chart 6

Nappy Pad/Insert Volume Share 2011
Chart 7
Nappy Pad Volume Trend By Brand
Chart 8
Nappy Pad Value Share Trend 2011
Chart 9
Huggies & Bobby Insert Performance HCMC 2011
Chart 10
Huggies & Bobby Insert Performance HANOI 2011
Chart 11
Huggies & Bobby Insert Performance 4 CITIES 2011
Chart 12
Insert Product Packcount Performance
Chart 13
Insert Volume Share By Channel June 2012
Chart 14
Insert Numeric Distribution By Brand
Chart 15
Hospital Presence
Chart 16
Brand Differentiation Profile 2011
Chart 17
FMCG Market Dynamics Q2 2012
Chart 18
FMCG Volume & Value Growth Q2 2012
Chart 19
Baby Categories Growth Q2 2012
Chart 20
Advertising Spending % Change
Chart 21

Asia Top Internet Countries
Chart 22
Devices Used For Connecting

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Chart 23
Baby Diaper Purchase Channel
Chart 24
Huggies Nappy 2013 Investment Recommendation
TABLE LIST
Table 1
Baby Insert 2011 Price Index
PICTURE LIST
Picture 1
Huggies Nappy PrintAd 2008
Picture 2
Huggies Nappy Product Transforming
Picture 3
Bobby PrintAd 2010
Picture 4
Bobby Loyalty Consumer Promotion Announcement

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PART I:
DESCRIPTION

1. THE LANDSCAPE

With the population of nearly 88 million people and the average annual birth rate at
1.7% - meaning around 1.5 million new babies are born every year - (Source:
Vietnam General Statistics 2011), Vietnam is a really big market for any baby care
product. Among baby-care categories, Baby Diaper is the star that has enjoyed
the fastest volume and value growth rate in Vietnam in the last 3 years at 28% and
14% respectively. The category now accounts for nearly 20% of moms’ total
spending for their babies (Kantar World Panel MAT Q2’12). It also has a very high
penetration nearly 90% and greater of usage over the years from 1.8 to 2.2
pieces/day in the period 2007-2012 (Kantar World Panel MAT Q2’12).
The Diaper Category in Vietnam currently has 2 segments with 3 types of diaper
products for baby as below.













 Newborn Segment: the segment of babies from 0 to 3 months old. Due to
some skin-health perceptions about newborn babies’ sensitive skin and the hot
weather in Vietnam, majority of 65% Vietnamese moms use Nappy Pad (NP)
for their 0-6 months babies. Some moms use Disposable Diaper (DD) size NB
or S for their newborn babies.
 Older Segment: the segment of babies from 4 months and upwards. 2 types

of diaper product being used are Disposable Diaper (DD) and Diaper Pants
(DP). There are various sizes to choose from M to XXL depending on weight of
baby.
NEWBORN SEGMENT (0-3 months)




NP = Nappy Pads
DD = Disposable Diaper
DP = Diaper Pants

OLDER SEGMENT (4 months upward)

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DD is still contributing the most in both volume and value share of the total
category while NP and DP have exchanged the 2
nd
and 3
rd
ranking when moving
from volume to value share (Please refer to Chart 1).

[Chart 1 – Baby Diaper Volume/Value Contribution By Type]
(Source: AC Nielsen Baby Diaper Retail Audit YTD Sep’12)


Baby Diaper category in Vietnam is still very concentrated among the 3 big players
which are contributing 95% total volume share of the market: Huggies (Kimberly-

Clark), Bobby (DianaUnicharm) and Pampers (Procter & Gamble) (Please refer to
Chart 2). Diana with Bobby brand used to be a local company but in November
2011 this company was acquired 95% stakes by Unicharm – the leading company
in Japan in Baby & Child Care and Feminine Care categories with the famous
brands Sofy and MamyPoko.

[Chart 2 – Baby Diaper Volume/Value Share By Manufacturer]
(Source: AC Nielsen Baby Diapers Retail Audit MAT Sep’12)

27%
51%
22%
BABY DIAPER VOLUME SHARE
NAPPY PAD
(INSERT)
DISPOSABLE
DIAPER
DIAPER PANTS
11%
55%
34%
BABY DIAPER VALUE
SHARE
NAPPY PAD
(INSERT)
DISPOSABLE
DIAPER
DIAPER PANTS
44%
33%

18%
5%
VOLUME SHARE BY
MANUFACTURER
DIANA-
UNICHARM
KIMBERLY-
CLARK
P&G
OTHERS
38%
36%
19%
7%
VALUE SHARE BY
MANUFACTURER
DIANA-
UNICHARM
KIMBERLY-
CLARK
P&G
OTHERS

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Present from 2000 in Vietnam, Huggies has been very successful as a market
leader in baby diapers category with a strong growth every year. In 2008 while
most of the businesses suffered from the global economic crisis, Huggies made an
impressive record that grew 100% sales volume and value versus 2007. In 2009,
with the launch of Huggies® Dry Pants – convenient and affordable diapers pants

– Huggies became the first baby diapers brand which had the biggest portfolio
offering full of choices for Vietnamese consumers, leaving its competitors behind
with a dominating leadership at more than 40% market volume share in total baby
diapers category (Source: TNS Baby Panel Q3 2009).
Yet, the situation has changed. In two recent years with the very fierce competition
from Bobby (DianaUnicharm) and Pampers (P&G), Huggies has been loosing its
leadership to Bobby, 32.4% vs. 44.2% volume share respectively (Source: ACN
Retail Audit MAT Sep 2012).
Among the BIG 3, Bobby and Huggies have the fullest product offerings all 3 types
of diaper in 2 segments mentioned above while Pampers is only offering DD.
Bobby has been the extremely dominant leader in newborn segment with nearly
90% volume share of NP product and is threatening Huggies’ leader position in the
older segment (Please refer to Chart 3). Bobby is becoming a tougher and tougher
competitor having local flexibility, market insights and now better investment
resources after the acquisition.

[Chart 3 – Volume Share By Type By Brand]
(Source: AC Nielsen Baby Diapers Retail Audit MAT Sep’12)


The media investment of diaper category has increased continuously and
significantly every year since 2008 and it was already over 5 million dollars in
2011. YTD Sep 2012 media investment increased +49% vs. last year’s same
period. Television has been the key medium with 97% budget contibution and
87.6%
25.3%
43.4%
12.3%
35.6%
53.5%

0.0%
31.2%
0.0%
0.0%
7.9%
3.1%
NP
DD
DP
VOLUME SHARE BY TYPE BY
BRAND
OTHERS P&G HUGGIES BOBBY

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Huggies dominated the media spending in the category with 44% share of
spending, followed by Pampers.


(Source: TNS Inforsys YTD Sep’12)


2. HUGGIES NEWBORN CASE DESCRIPTION

Different from other countries, Vietnamese moms have been using nappy pad
(insert) – like a feminine pad in bigger size – for their newborn babies due to the
following insights:

 Skin-health Perception: Moms’
primary concern about newborn

babies’ sensitive skin – they believe
that DD is too stuffy for a newborn.
 “Value-for-Money”: an infant has
pee-pee very often (every 3 hours)
so it’s not practical to use DD.
Newborn babies also do not move
much in the first 3 months so NP is
“good enough” to use.


This product prototype actually was the combination of traditional cloth diaper and
disposable diaper to anwser to Vietnamese consumers’ insights. Although having
less value per piece than DD (a piece of DD is 2-2.5 times more expensive than a
piece of NP in average) and contributing only 11% in total baby diaper value
share, nappy pad has been playing a more and more strategic role towards the
whole baby diapers category in Vietnam because:
HUGGIES,
44%
BOBBY,
26%
PAMPERS,
29%
Share of Spend YTD Sep’12
24%
26%
26%
20%
16%
11%
12%

3%-
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 YTD Sep
2011
YTD Sep
2012
RADIO
PRESS
TV
+49%
$0.8Mil $0.9Mil $1.6Mil $2.1Mil $3.5Mil $5.2 Mil $3.2 Mil $4.8Mil
Media Spend
+10%
+69%
+65%
+33%
+52%

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 NP is the first diaper product used by majority of 65% Vietnamese moms for
their newborn babies.
 And 61% of them are still using their 1
st
brand used most often since
newborn (Please refer to Chart 4)

[Chart 4 – Switching 1
st
Brand Rate]
(Source: Baby Diaper Usage & Attitude Study 2012)

In Vietnam, Bobby is the player who first launched nappy pad ten years ago and
has been the dominant leader in this segment with 87% volume share (Source:
ACN Retail Audit MAT Sep 2012). Its success in this entry segment actually has
played a very strategic role in recruiting and retaining users for the brand in the
older segment.
Entering Vietnam as an international leader in baby diaper category from 2000,
Huggies did not really care about this “local” product prototype at first. All the
marketing efforts were put on disposable diaper segment. That was totally
understandable because the value gained from selling 1 piece of disposable
diaper is 2.5 higher than 1 piece of nappy pad. However, with the continuous
volume growth at 30% every year and the proven strategic role of recruiting “new
users” to the category, the importance of nappy pad was regconized and Huggies
could not stay out of this “local game” any more.
The first Huggies Nappy Pad was launched in 2008 with almost the same product
prototype and equal product performance with Bobby Insert at that time. The key
difference was the communication approach. Huggies first used emotional
message for this very functional and basic segment – “With Huggies Nappy, enjoy
the very first precious moments with your newborn baby”. This actually came from
the target moms’ insight that without using nappy/insert for their newborn babies
they will be busy all the time with baby’s pee-pee, cleaning-up and washing jobs
and they don’t have time for the most important thing that is playing with their
babies in the very first precious months.

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The first launch comprised various supporting activities to promote the very first
nappy product of Huggies to Vietnamese consumers such as print ad, digital

marketing, hospital mass sampling and consumer promotions. It gained for
Huggies Nappy nearly 20% volume share in the nappy segment after one year but
its volume share was on a downtrend after that due to Huggies’ lacking focus on
this segment: no any “new news” to the market and little marketing investment in
2009 and 2010.

[Picture 1 – Huggies Nappy PrintAd 2008]
(Source: Huggies)

In September 2011, Huggies Nappy was relaunched with a significant product
improvement and more serious marketing investment. The new Huggies Nappy
product had a new “V” shape fitting more between baby’s legs and longer and
stronger tape keeping the insert stay in place which help prevent urine leakage
better (Please refer to Picture 2). As usual, Huggies Nappy still offers two sizes of
insert for newborn babies: NB1 for babies under 1 month and NB2 for babies from
1 to 3 months. There are two packcounts for each size in the product portfolio
(Please refer to Chart 5).




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[Picture 2 – Huggies Nappy Product Transforming]
(Source: Huggies)

[Chart 5 – Huggies Nappy Product Portfolio]
(Source: Huggies)










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 OBJECTIVES: to differentiate the product offering from competition and
revitalize Huggies nappy pad business, drive brand share in the newborn
segment by recruiting new users and then to solidify the base for Huggies
as a whole by retaining users for older segments.
 COMMUNICATION STRATEGY: shift from emotional to functional
approach to strongly communicate about the new product revolution of
Huggies Nappy “V-shape giving better fit and leakage protection”.
 ACTIVITY: This relaunch involved various activities divided into three
phases that were turning around the product revolution of Huggies Nappy –
“V” shape giving better fit and better leakage protection. The integrated
campaign happened from September to December 2011 with the module
as below. This was actually the biggest campaign ever supporting to
Huggies Nappy involving both above-the-line and below-the-line activities.

RE-LAUNCH MODULE
Phase 1
INSPIRE
New Huggies Nappy is
the best fit between
your baby’s legs
INSPIRE interests
around the new
contour design
PrintAd/POSM/
PR

Hospital Prenatal
Clinic Tour

Sep 2011
Phase 2
DEMONSTRATE
New Huggies Nappy’s
better fit means better
leakage protection
DESMOTRATE the new
product differences by
encourage to TRY IT
YOURSELF
Digital/ PR

Consultation/Dry Demo

Oct 2011
Phase 3
MOTIVATE
New Huggies Nappy’s
better fit means better
leakage protection
MOTIVATE moms to
share the news to their
friends

Digital/ PR
Mass Sampling/ Gift
Redemption

Dec 2011
KEY MESSAGE

ROLE
AT L
BTL
TIMING

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Further details of this campaign can be found below:
PRINTAD
Message:
This is the nappy baby would
design for himself if he could

Sub Head:
New Huggies Nappy - Better
fit, better leakage protection
Airing Timing:
Sep-Nov 2011
Magazine/Newspapers Titles:
The Gioi Phu Nu, Tiep Thi Gia
Dinh, Hanh Phuc Gia Dinh, …
Scope:
4 key cities focus: HCMC,
Hanoi, Danang, Cantho


POSM













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PUBLIC RELATION

An integrated PR campaign involved traditional media and online media, both
celebrity and expert endorsement in each phase with details as below.
Phase 1
 Trigger interest around the new
product innovation and attract
attention from first moms and
moms-to-be.
 Deeply educate consumers about
the contour design and its
relevance to newborns (product
features)
 Position the new Huggies Nappy
as a revolutionary product for
newborn  Build authority for
Huggies as a brand that
understands the needs of first-time
moms
 Call to action about online contest
and free sampling for trial
Phase 2
 Increase awareness of the
“Huggies Nappy Challenges”
contest as well as the brand
 Call for participation to the nappy
challenge
Phase 3
 Amplify the result of the campaign
and reinforce product benefits
 Motivate women to share the news
about new Huggies Nappy

innovation
* Publications: Both online and off-line
publications such as Hanh Phuc Gia
Dinh, The Gioi Phu Nu, Tiep Thi Gia
Dinh, Me Yeu Be, Phu Nu Thanh pho,
Phu Nu Thu Do, Phu Nu Ap Bac, Gia
Dinh Tre (Print) & Dantri, eva,
ngoisao.net, 24h (online)



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DIGITAL
Phase 1
Huggies set up a YouTube page (
& a brand microsite ( and produce the first video -
a branded video which will provide general knowledge about changing nappy and
teaching mom how to select the best one for their baby, ie best fit between legs,
length and softness.
 Involve influencers to provoke online conversations towards Huggies video.
• Raise awareness for new Huggies Nappy
• Provide useful content for moms to understand nappy clearly and do better
jobs for their babies
• Stimulate online conversations towards new video and new products

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Phase 2
Huggies challenge moms to try new Huggies Nappy to experience the “Better fit
for better leakage protection”


Phase 3
• Amplify the challenges towards mums to raise interests
• Stimulate online forums to spread out the campaign and results




I want to try it out to see this gives my
baby the best solution – Better-fit-
with-no-drip
1
Upon signing up, she will get 1-
week nappy supply for free
I want to share my experience with
others after using Huggies Nappy for 1
week to give feedback to first-time
moms
2
Upon sharing her experience
online, she will get a free cute
gift for her baby

I want to share my experience about

taking care of my angel in video
format for others to see and learn.
Also, I want to show off my cute baby!
3
If her video is one of the top 3
views in Youtube, she will win
her baby another bigger prize!

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ACTIVATION
The activation was run in 4 key cities and key channels such as Maternity Hospital
(12 hospitals), Clinic (52 clinics), Supermarket (10 supermarkets) & GT Retailers
(52 shops) with details as follows:




After 3 months of the relaunching campaign, all the activities were smoothly
executed and got a quite good response from target audiences with some specific
measurable figures below.
 DIGITAL: the digital campaign involved online activities such as online
sampling, product trial and review and the contest “Taking Care Of Your
Angel With Huggies Nappy” and got following results:
1
MATERNITY
HOSPITAL
• Q&A game on
Galaxy tab
• Watch demo clip

• Consultant in real
product (V-shape)
• Leaflet/ lucky draw
• Sampling
2
CLINIC
• Watch demo clip
• Consultant in real
product (V-shape)
• Leaflet
• Sampling

3
SUPERMARKET
• Warm up
• Product game
• Consultant in real
product (V-shape)
• Gift
• Leaflet
• Gift Redemption
4
GT RETAILERS
• Consultant in real
product (V-shape)
• Leaflet
• Gift Redemption


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o Brand Microsite ( got nearly 3,000
successful product request via email registration and 395 product
reviews.
o YouTube Page (

209 videos submitted and 79 ones qualified to be published. There
were 36,000 video views & 24 subscribers in total after 2 months of
the campaign.
 ACTIVATION:
o 46,000 samples of new Huggies Nappy were delivered to target
moms at supermarkets and hospitals.
o 109% volume sales were achieved during activation and gift
redemption program at supermarket and GT retailers.
Also, this relaunch brought a positive short-term pick-up in terms of volume share
for the brand right after the campaign began in August and September 2011
(Please refer to Chart 6).

[Chart 6 – Nappy Pad/Insert Volume Share 2011]
(Source: AC Nielsen Baby Diapers Retail Audit Dec’11)


However, when looking at the long-term volume trend, Huggies Nappy actually
doesn’t have any big improvement since 2010. On the contrary, Bobby Insert,
which already has a dominant volume contribution, keeps growing with a very
good trend (Please refer to Chart 6).
It’s obviously now that newborn segment is very strategic and owning this segment
is a “must-do” action for Huggies in both recruiting new users to the brand and
retaining those users in later stages/segments, which after all can help Huggies
86.8

86.5
86.4
89.3
89.0
87.6
90.0
85.8
84.7
85.9
83.9
87.7
11.9
12.5
13.1
10.2
10.3
11.8
10.0
13.9
15.0
14.0
16.1
12.3
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0

70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Bobby Insert
Huggies Insert

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protects the leading position in older product segments of disposable diaper and
diaper pants.
Further review and deeper assessment as well as analysis will be brought up in
the next parts of this project step by step to investigate where the issues stay and
to finally recommend how Huggies can really redefine and win this newborn
segment in Vietnam.

[Chart 7 – Nappy Pad Volume Trend By Brand]
(Source: Kantar Worldpanel –Baby panel (Urban HCM+HN) – Total Insert – Rolling
Semesters – Volume sales ‘000 pcs)



The next chapter will be dedicated to a full situation review and analysis from
target consumers’ insights, brand Huggies’ current issues, competitor’s strengths
& weaknesses to the environment & babycare industry situation. Finally, a
summary 6C situation analysis can help to understand more Huggies Nappy’s
strengths and weaknesses and be a very critical “foods for thoughts” for the
following strategy and action recommendations in the last chapter.

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PART II:
REVIEW & ANALYSIS

1. TARGET AUDIENCE ANALYSIS
Before taking any further steps, it is really important to first understand who the
targets are and their insights - lifestyle, behaviour, usage & attitudes and brand
perceptions – to “touch” them at the right place and in the right time. Target
consumers of nappy pads are babies from 0 to 6 months but obviously they are
“passive” consumers and the “active” targets are actually their moms. The
following findings collected from the relevant researches will help to draw up the
full portrait of these targets and explore their insights about baby diapering,
especially in the newborn segment.

1.1 BABYCARE & DIAPERING INSIGHTS EXPLORATION

1.1.1 Research Design

1.1.1.1 Objectives:

 To define who are the core target audiences
 To explore their lifestyle and understand their media touch-points
 To clarify the category drivers and their purchase triggers as well as to
understand motivations, unmet needs and barriers towards newborn
diapering

1.1.1.2 Methodology:
Qualitative research – exploratory focus group discussions

1.1.1.3 Sample Size:
 Target Respondents: married women, 22-35 years old, ABC class, living in
HCMC & Hanoi - main decision-makers & purchasers of personal care
products for herself, her family and her baby. Mix of first-time moms with
babies under 1 year old and first-time prenant women in their 3
rd
trimester.
 6 respondents/group x 8 groups (4 in HCMC and 4 in Hanoi)

1.1.2 Key Findings

1.1.2.1 Babycare/Motherhood Experience
 The young target mothers show a tendency towards becoming more
progressive in parenting style. They want the baby to grow naturally through
touching, exploring, experiencing. They express more openness to new
things and desire to make different choices from the mothers before them.
This may be driven by high exposure to online sources. (i.e. online
parenting forums, video clips). As their knowledge builds, younger mothers

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recognize gaps between their baby-care needs and the previous
generations’ understanding and methods. This pushes them to seek
information on their own.
 First baby marks a big change to them and the transition to motherhood has
mix of positive and negative experiences:

POSITIVE (+)
NEGATIVE (-)
Happiness during the child’s progress
Isolation, lack of supports
Appreciation of the learnings from
motherhood
Repression from less/no me-time
Enjoyment in the new experience
Stressed and worried of a busier/more
demanding life ahead

Distress at not knowing what to do

Disorientation, lack of mental focus

 They have a clear need for support on guidance, advice and reassurance,
especially the first-time moms/moms-to-be.
 Sources of information and influencers: health experts, experienced
mother/relative/friends, TV programs, press, advertisements, online
parenting forums. They mostly rely on advices from experienced mothers
and healthcare professionals but the acess to professional is still very
limited.
 The most critical period of in their baby care journey is between the last
months of pregnancy and the very first months after birth delivery. This is

also the period they purchase personal care products for their coming
babies.

2yo Pregnancy Birth delivery 1yo 3yo 4yo
The last 2-3 months of
pregnancy has more
significance as this is
the time when they
start making a choice
of the products
Even more criticality
falls into this period
when they transition
from just ‘knowing’
about baby care to
actually ‘doing’ the job
From month 3 onwards,
mothers start getting used
to the job and settle down