Wipes in Saudi Arabia

PRE-COVID-19 PERFORMANCE

Personal wipes maintains the strongest growth, but all wipes categories continue to gain traction in line with changing lifestyles in 2019

Baby wipes continued to be the main growth driver within wipes in 2019, as consumers use the product for multiple purposes and consider such wipes to be convenient and more user friendly because of their chemical and fragrance-free properties. The second largest category, cosmetic wipes, continued to see strong growth as well, in line with an increasing number of women working outside the home and rising disposable income.

Both international and domestic brands focus on adding value such as higher water concentration in baby wipes and 100% viscose facial cleansing wipes

Both international and domestic brands had strength in wipes in 2019, with international brands more focused on premium products and on baby wipes due to close bonding with nappies/diapers/pants, while domestic players focused on other categories, such as cosmetic wipes. Among the new, value-added products introduced to provide more diverse offerings in Saudi Arabia were 100% viscose multiple-usage facial cleansing wipes from the domestic brand B&D and Baby Cottontouch wipes from Johnson’s Baby.

Greater penetration of wipes in the marketplace boosts growth of wipes in 2019

Growth of personal wipes is attributed to greater penetration of wipes in the marketplace. Such products are now widely available through modern trade channels.

2020 AND BEYOND

COVID-19 impact

Overall value sales of wipes are now expected to grow by 5% in 2019 constant value terms in 2020 in light of the impact of COVID-19. This compares to a 4% rise forecast in 2019 constant value terms in our 2020 edition of tissue and hygiene published in February 2020 (pre-COVID-19).

Affected products within wipes

While value growth of baby wipes was starting to slow down towards the latter part of the review period, its sales have always been strong, and since COVID-19 began to impact the country in March the category is now seeing a higher uptick in value growth. Some of the increase may be because parents with babies are staying home at all times, resulting in higher use of baby wipes for regular changes, but it also may be due to consumers using baby wipes for a plethora of other uses.

Recovery and opportunities

While some wipes categories have seen rising demand from the COVID-19 pandemic, most are not expected to see a significant long-term impact, although all-purpose cleaning, general-purpose wipes and antibacterial wipes in general may benefit from a stronger focus on hygiene that is expected to be ongoing. Value growth of facial cleansing wipes is expected to pick up once women start resuming their social and business lives, and remain steady.

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