Wipes in Peru

2021 DEVELOPMENTS

Demand for personal wipes improves in 2021 due to increasing mobility of consumers outside of the home

Impregnated wet wipes, driven by all purpose cleaning wipes, had recorded particularly dynamic growth in 2020, supporting impressive performances by Virutex and Clorox Toallitas Desinfectantes due to heightened hygiene routines in the home as a result of the pandemic. While recording further double-digit growth rates in 2021, overall sales remained low compared to the dominance of personal wipes in Peru, due to their higher than average unit price in comparison.

Dynamic landscape for wipes due to significant number of competitors

Wipes is a highly dynamic competitive landscape in Peru due to the high commercial activity of existing brands, especially leading global names such as Huggies. However, private label is becoming increasingly active, increasing volumes of imported products that have a significant presence at retailers’ points of sale.

E-commerce further penetrates wipes during pandemic, benefiting from offering complementary categories

E-commerce further penetrated tissue and hygiene during the pandemic and recorded significant growth for most product categories, including wipes. However, its overall share remained marginal in 2021 because many local consumers are only just starting to adopt online purchases.

PROSPECTS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Further sales growth for wipes driven by dynamism of brands

Wipes is predicted to record sustained growth over the forecast period due to the category’s low penetration in Peru. Therefore, it represents an important growth opportunity if players are able to attract new users while maintaining the interest of current consumers with innovation.

Solid growth predicted for baby wipes driven by value propositions and multifunctionality

Baby wipes is predicted to record further solid growth over the forecast period, supported by its functionality for hygiene-related tasks associated with babies and young children, driven not only by different brands, but also the variety of products on offer. In this sense, two main trends are identified in the development of these products; on the one hand, there are options that allow consumers to access more affordable unit prices due to the expanding offer of large packages consisting of 180, 184, 192, 240, and 720 units per pack, or promotions that offer cost savings such as three packs of baby wipes consisting of 50, 60 or 80 units for the price of two, or four packs for the price of three.

Baby wipes will continue to dominate sales, but specialist wipes are expected to attract consumers by highlighting benefits

Baby wipes will continue to dominate overall sales of the category in Peru over the forecast period, benefiting from high awareness amongst the local population, whilst being greatly associated as an important complement to nappies/diapers. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that local consumers are not only using this product for baby care purposes, but also for other uses such as facial cleansing, intimate hygiene, or other types of cleansing, because it is considered to be gentle as it has been designed for the proper care of delicate baby skin, and consequently baby wipes are perceived to be appropriate for other uses.