Driving Absorbent Hygiene Product Innovation: Consumer Desires, Market Dynamics & Sustainability Solutions
At 2024 Hygienix, being held November 18-21, 2024 at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel in Nashville, TN, industry leaders will be sharing the future of consumer trends. Learn about what is shaping purchasing behaviors across the generations; discover the key factors that are influencing global markets; hear about opportunities in up-and-coming markets like pet care and wound care; and explore the latest insights in regulatory and legislative activities.
“For anyone involved in the hygiene or personal care product space the INDA’s preeminent Hygienix Conference is a must attend event,” emphasizes Tony Fragnito, President & CEO of INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry. “In addition to in-depth training opportunities, product and material innovations and compliance and regulatory updates, this event brings the major players in the industry together for business development and networking opportunities.”
Discussions on discovery and innovation include:
- Price Tiering – Value vs. Cost-Consciousness
- Shipping & Trade Impacts
- FemTech – Consumer Insights & Mobile App Technology
- Period Poverty
- Pet Care – Markets Worth Watching
- Adult Care Innovations & Treatments
- UN Plastics Treaty
- PFAS Regulations
Furthermore, the Hygienix Expo attracts top tier companies showcase their innovations during the open networking event. Emerging companies have launched their brands at the expo, and take advantage of the “lightning talks,” where they can share their innovative ideas with the industry. The Hygienix Innovation Award®, which is announced at Hygienix, supports these efforts with an opportunity to apply for the coveted award acknowledges the top innovation of the year.
Participation at Hygienix also affords an opportunity to take a deep dive into education in the pre-show workshops. “In addition to two and a half days of talks covering market trends, advances in materials, shifts in the regulatory landscape, and avenues to achieve more sustainable hygiene products,” says Matt O’Sickey, PhD, Director of Education & Technical Affairs at INDA, “Hygienix also includes three workshops on Monday afternoon before the welcome reception. These workshops cover absorbent system design and the specific challenges and opportunities in adult incontinent products, the changing landscape in menstrual care products, and an overview of the baby and infant care market provided by Diaper Testing International. These workshops and other INDA provided absorbent hygiene training events have helped kickstart the entrepreneurial efforts of new producers of absorbent products. It’s truly been a tale of going from the classroom to store shelves.”
To kick off the event, a discussion on the shifting sands of the hygiene world is explored. “I am honored to be moderating the opening session of Hygienix 2024, the first steps into our two- and half-day journey,” says Nick Carter, Head of Innovation at Gottlieb Binder GmbH & Co. KG. “This session ensures that conference attendees are well grounded in the overall status of the ever-evolving Hygiene industry in North America, while building a backdrop of how other key geographic markets are approaching absorbent hygiene product performance linked to sustainability enhancements. By the end of the session, we will have set a framework of topics that each of the following talks will then further expand upon and develop.”
The event is crafted to ignite aspirations and goals for the industry, tempered with working examples of progress. “The goal we set for Hygienix 2024 is to deliver an agenda of forward-leaning perspectives and technologies that are balanced with practical, ‘here and now’ examples of commercial implementation,” Carter continues. The schedule includes speakers who will be sharing their real-world practices in advancing the absorbent hygiene product industry. “The intent is that attendees will return to their companies after the conference with expanded market understanding combined with actionable content that is both relevant and realistic.”
Panels and Sessions to Note
Tuesday, November 19
“The Sun Never Sets on the Hygiene World,” with moderator Nick Carter, Head of Innovation, Gottlieb Binder GmbH & Co:
- Shifting Sands in the Global Economy for Absorbent Hygiene Products, with Pricie Hanna, Managing Partner, Price Hanna Consultants LLC
- Latest Development of Disposable Hygiene Products Industry in China, with Ashley Wang, Deputy Executive Chief Editor of Tissue Paper & Disposable Products Magazine and China National Pulp and Paper Research Institute Co., Ltd., China National Household Paper Industry Association (CNHPIA)
- The Intersection of Nonwovens, Sustainability, and the Environment: An African Perspective, with Raymond Chimhandamba, Director, Handas Consulting
“What’s Keeping Us Up at Night,” with moderator Kyra Dorsey, Ph.D., Principal, Glory Group LLC:
- The United Nations Global Plastics Treaty: Looking at the Potential for Global Plastics Policies, with Wes Fisher, Director of Government Relations, INDA
- Business Not as Usual – The Impact of Reusables on the Absorbent Hygiene Market, with Matt O’Sickey, Ph.D., Director of Education & Technical Affairs, INDA
“The Four Rs in AHP Design: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle & Recover,” with moderator DeeAnn Nelson, Ph.D., Senior Innovation Manager, Front-End Nonwovens Innovation, Avgol Nonwovens:
- Capitalizing on Capabilities to Support the Shifting Hygiene Industry, with Jelle Westerterp, Category Leader Global Hygiene, Glatfelter
- Utilization in Hygienic Incontinence Articles, with Chris Nelson, Business Development Manager, Curt G. Joa, Inc.
- Synergy of Components – Upstream Advancements Offering Downstream Sustainability Opportunities, with Nick Carter, Head of Innovation, Gottlieb Binder GmbH & Co. KG
Wednesday, November 20
“It’s Not a Stretch to Have a Fully Sustainable Product,” with moderator Vinit Singh, Ph.D., Global Innovation Segment Manager, Glatfelter Sontara Old Hickory, Inc.:
- Shifting to Sustainability: Natural Fibers in Diapers and the Rise of Eco Brands, with Richard Knowlson, Principal, RPK Consulting
- Connecting Consumer Insights with AHPs: Designing Elastics & Naturality, with Marcel Gruendken, Ph.D, Senior Manager EMEA, MD&TS, R&D and Regulatory Affairs, Kuraray Europe GmbH
- From Farm to Fiber: Developing Elastane with 70% Renewable Content, with Melissa Stewart, Ph.D., Vice President – Product Management, The LYCRA Company
“We’ve Got Skin in This Game,” with moderator Pavan Maheswaram, Ph.D., Market & Product Development Manager – Fibers, Americhem, Inc.:
- The Menopausal Skin Microbiome – What Do You Need to Know? Kristin Neumann, M.D., CEO, MyMicrobiome GmbH
- Functional Substrates to Preserve Skin Microbiome Carmine Cimini, Chief Technology & Sustainability Officer, Texol S.R.L.
“Treatment Advancements & the True Cost of Incontinence,” with moderator Jim Robinson, Principal, Absorbent Hygiene Insights, LLC:
- Latest Medical & Surgical Treatment for Incontinence, with Diane Newman, DNP, Adjunct Professor Of Urology In Surgery, University Of Pennsylvania, Division Of Urology
- The High Cost of Adult Incontinence, with Andrew Stocking, Ph.D., CEO, Principle Business Enterprises
“There’s an App for That, with moderator Heidi Beatty, Chief Executive Officer, Crown Abbey, LLC:
- Nonwoven Period Care Products and an AI-backed Mobile Application to Diagnose Heavy Menstrual Bleeding, with Justyna Strzeszynska, Founder & CEO, Joii Ltd.
- There’s an App for That! The New World of Incontinence Tech, with Rachel Braun Scherl, Managing Partner, Entrepreneur, SPARK Solutions For Growth
Thursday, November 21:
“Sustainable Solutions: Innovations in Bio-Based SAP,” with moderator Matt O’Sickey, Ph.D., Director of Education & Technical Affairs, INDA:
- Exploring the Performance of Polyaspartic Acid Super-absorbents in Hygiene Products, with Jim Robinson, Principal, Absorbent Hygiene Insights, LLC
- Comprehensive Sustainability in Hygiene Products: Exploring Biodegradable Alternatives and Circular Economy, with David Choi, Vice President – Marketing, SK Leaveo
- The Final Frontier: A Bio-Based Source for Super Absorbents, with Louis Chapdelaine, Director of Consumer Products Development, ZymoChem
Each evening reception allows for networking around tabletop displays of leading industry companies. Find the list of exhibitors at https://www.hygienix.org/exhibitors.html. Register at https://www.hygienix.org.
Hygienix™ Pre-Conference Workshop
Monday, November 18: Morning Session “Fundamentals of Absorption Systems and Opportunities in Adult Incontinence,” with moderator Jim Robinson, Principal, Absorbent Hygiene Insights, LLC
This unique workshop will provide attendees an overall view of the basic concepts of absorption systems used in disposable hygiene products, focusing on the components and interaction of the absorption system: SAP, fluff, adhesives, and acquisition layers. Attendees will have the opportunity to evaluate SAP absorption for different SAP’s, identify the presence of adhesives, and deconstruct and examine several hygiene products including infant, adult, and feminine hygiene products to increase their understanding of these systems.
Monday, November 18: Afternoon Session “Innovations in Menstrual Care,” with moderator Heidi
Beatty, Chief Executive Officer, Crown Abbey, LLC
This workshop will be a deep dive into period products, looking at the technologies as well as the change in attitudes that have driven the industry, to enable us develop better products for the future. Looking at this fascinating category from the eyes of product development, what can the past teach us about the future? Traditionally, it was challenging to innovate in a “silent” category, when no one wanted to talk about period products. For the future, how can the latest fibers, formats and consumer trends all fit together to build a product roadmap for your brand? Which products being used today are an echo from previous generations? …What we refer to as the “old-new.” Have we done enough to break down the taboos around periods, and what more can we do?
Monday, November 18: Late Afternoon Session “Baby and Infant Care Market Dynamics,” with moderator Natalia Richer, Market Research & AHP Consultant, Diaper Testing International
The Diaper Testing International team will be dissecting all diaper components from major leading US brands and share insights focusing on nonwoven GSM and trends, materials that contribute towards key performance metrics and overall aesthetics. In this one-hour webinar that team will share learnings between premium and value brands in the U.S., correlate to their experience with other markets and include an analysis on overnight products. Separate Fee.
