Sanitary Towel usage still low in Kenya despite campaigns

Kenya’s usage of sanitary towels is still way below the globally accepted limited, a fact attributed to the high cost of the kits and ballooning poverty levels.

Statistics indicate that the usage is growing marginally due to campaigns to reach poor Kenyan women and the government’s zero-rating of  import duty on the towels. Usage however remains at a paltry 30 percent.

With over 12 million menstruating females in Kenya, many women use cheaper options such as tissue paper, cotton wool and clothing to contain their menstrual flow exposing them to infections.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) one in 10 African adolescent girls in remote areas miss school during their menses and eventually drops out because of menstruation related issues.

“The low usage of pads is due to lack of awareness of sanitary pads and feminine hygiene education while in some areas menstrual health is considered taboo. However, with more players coming in to provide sanitary towels to needy girls we believe we will be able to increase usage,” said Ms. Victoria Kieti- Chesire, Always Sanitary Pads Brand Manager.

Despite the low market penetration, Kenyan women are better off than their Nigerian counterparts where the sanitary usage is at 8% of the total menstruating women population while Egypt leads with a 36% of market penetration. Currently, Kenya has a sanitary towel market potential of two billion shillings with only Sh 780 million exploited by all industry players.

Earlier this month, The Cabinet Secretary for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Jacob Kaimenyi said that the government will spend over KSh 200 million to reach 678,770 disadvantaged girls across the countries primary schools. Players in the sanitary towel industry expect that the government initiative will be able to open more avenues to create awareness hence usage among Kenyan girls and women.

“We believe that players in the industry will be able to gain traction as consumer awareness is increased and taboos are stamped out. At Always, we hope to utilize the internet to disperse feminine hygiene education and captivating advertisements to show the need for personal hygiene among young girls,” said Ms. Kieti.

A recent study by Consumer Insight showed that Always enjoyed an unprecedented 62% market share followed by Stay Free with a 9%. The study accredited Always consistent marketing formula that focused on the youth as its winning recipe. The brand market leadership is attributed to its strategy to providing feminine hygiene education and free samples to schools girls as a point of market entry.

The brand recently relaunched its Always Keeping Girls in School campaign setting aside millions of shillings to distribute free Always pads and underwear to 10,000 girls for a period of at least one year.

Always is one of Procter & Gamble’s flagship brands in the Kenyan market and it is marking its 20th anniversary in the market with a commitment to feminine health, market development and corporate social responsibility. The company has its sights on maintaining and growing the market leadership position through investing more resources in the sanitary towel segment and focusing on growing markets, improving mix, localizing production, and leveraging scale.