How will you face when your body is out of control?

Childbirth, accidents, and aging can all cause incontinence and deprive an adult of the most basic control over the body.

  Data show that in 2019, the market size of adult incontinence products reached 9.390 billion yuan, an increase of 33.60% compared to 2018.

At present, more than 400 companies across the country are targeting the business opportunities, and among the top ten in the adult incontinence industry in China, five companies are all located in Hangzhou.

  Qianjiang Evening News·Hours reporters focused on leading diaper manufacturers in Hangzhou, and continued to visit diaper users to see how to help users eliminate their worries.

  Our reporter Zhang Rong

Buyers are extremely sensitive to prices, but they tend to overlook safety issues

  Zhejiang Zhenqi Nursing Products Co., Ltd. is one of the earliest companies involved in the field of adult diapers in China.

In 2004, the company's business was only for overseas markets, and its products were mainly sold in Europe, America and Japan.

  "At that time, it was difficult to promote this product in China. Many people had never heard of adult diapers." Chairman Yu Feiying recalled.

It was not until four years later that domestic consumers gradually emerged, and Zhen Qi immediately opened the domestic market.

With the increasingly aging society, in recent years, the sales of Zhenqi adult diapers have increased by 30% in China.

  But in Yu Feiying's view, the peak is far from coming. "Now, there are more than 40 million people with incontinence in China. The market penetration rate of adult diapers is less than 8%, and the market penetration rate of baby diapers has reached 67%."

  Unlike baby diapers that focus on safety and sanitation and pursue refined and high-quality baby diapers, Yu Feiying found that when consumers choose adult diapers, they are more inclined to buy low-priced products. “Many people’s buying habit is to use the best for children. Yes, it's almost enough for the elderly. They are extremely sensitive to the price of adult diapers, but they tend to overlook safety issues."

  It’s not difficult to understand this central state. “After all, baby diapers mean new life. You know that they can be used for up to three years. And adult diapers, you can’t predict when you will buy them.” Statistics show that in China, the average time that the elderly stay in bed has reached nearly 9 years. year.

Therefore, although the average production cost of a piece of adult diapers is higher than that of baby diapers, the price is still lower than that of baby diapers.

The monthly cost of using adult diapers is about 300 to 450 yuan

  At present, the price of single-piece adult diapers produced by some domestic paper companies is between 3 and 4 yuan; while the prices of products produced by professional adult diapers are more between 1 and 3 yuan.

  In the face of diapers, although some elderly people have taken the first step of acceptance, they are often reluctant to use them out of the idea of ​​saving.

An 85-year-old couple once lived in a public nursing home in Hangzhou.

In order to save money, grandpa insisted on using only one or two diapers for his wife a day.

At the beginning of this year, grandma passed away unfortunately, and the entire closet was filled with diapers before she could use it.

  In more families, some people will pad diapers in diapers, so that only diapers that cost only about one yuan will be replaced; some will directly pad towels and wash them repeatedly; others will dry and wash diapers and use them repeatedly...

  As a person with spinal cord injury, 58-year-old Zhang Jianwen has been using diapers for ten years.

At the age of 30, he accidentally fell from the roof and was paraplegic from a high position. He was sitting in a wheelchair all day long with a urine bottle in his crotch. The odor on his body once trapped him at home.

  It wasn't until 2011 that diapers appeared in his life for the first time before he really went out.

In 2014, Zhang Jianwen developed the first "Database of Spinal Cord Injuries" in China-the management system of spinal cord injuries in Fuyang District, Hangzhou.

Most people with spinal cord injury have incontinence. Zhang Jianwen noticed that at that time, among the more than 400 people with spinal cord injury in Fuyang, very few people used diapers.

  At the end of 2014, Zhang Jianwen founded the Public Welfare Service Center under the Blue Sky in Fuyang District, Hangzhou. After that, relying on social donations and corporate donations, the "Under the Blue Sky Public Welfare Service Center" began to distribute some diapers for free for people with spinal cord injuries in Fuyang District.

However, Zhang Jianwen is still full of worries, “These injured friends are low-income households. Once the donation is stopped, many people may not continue to use diapers.” Based on four to five tablets a day, the monthly cost of using adult diapers is about 300 yuan to 450 yuan.

  In Shanghai, the community "Relief for the Elderly with Severe Dementia in Difficulties" project has been in operation for 12 years. It provides nursing supplies worth nearly 2,000 yuan per year, including adult diapers, Disposable diapers and nursing pads for beds, etc.

The reporter learned that Zhejiang has not yet issued relevant policies.

 Let the incontinent get more dignity, the future of the product is very broad

  Now, stores that sell diapers online will receive message reminders from buyers from time to time, “Don’t mark adult diapers on the packaging.”

  "Popularization, scientific use, and privacy protection." Yu Feiying said that in Japan, Europe and the United States, where the market is more mature, diaper products have a rich form. Some diapers are almost the same as underwear in appearance and body feel.

  "If diapers are like underwear, would you still feel ashamed to use them?" Yu Feiying believes that this is the product direction that the entire industry needs to think about-making diapers lighter and more breathable. It can relieve the user's psychological burden, allowing more people to face aging and incontinence with more dignity.

  As a producer in the field of diapers, Yu Feiying believes that in the future, adult diapers will receive more intense attention like baby diapers.

  "Just like old people need to use crutches to assist walking, diapers are an auxiliary product for excretion. Although it is relatively private, it cannot be replaced." Yu Feiying predicts that after 2025, the demand for adult diapers will really begin to highlight.

  Reporter Zhang Rong