Result of contact with kimberly-clark re diaper petiton

[sociologygeek]

Kimberly clark told me that despite the nearly 4,000 singuatures on my change.org pettion, they don't accept ouside ideas for new products, because they have their own marketing team.This is bullcrap. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if 4,000 people say that we need bigger diapers available in stores than pampers 7, then that indicates a huge untapped market. I might take matters into my own hands and research how to start a diaper company and find people with business start up expereince and people willing to invest in the business in exchange for a shere of tne profits. So anyone on this board knowelgable in diaper manufacturing or business, marketing or accouting?

[MSUSpartan]

They will tell you that regardless of whether or they think your idea has merit, and whether they may pursue your idea.

It's a matter of protecting their IP. They won't credit anyone else for any idea because then you might have claim to it legally. They will always claim they don't get ideas from external sources.

[sociologygeek]

I'm not interested in intellectual property rights. I just want to see familes and children taken care of by getting what they need.

[MSUSpartan]

Yes, but they are, and they aren't going to take you at your word. You brought it to your attention, and they may act on it, but they are never going to admit, one way or the other, if your petition influenced them. It's the same pubic answer, regardless of what they do internally.

[HumanFly]

I've seen size 8 Pampers for sale in UK supermarkets, for children 17kg or 37lb upwards. The packet shows a girl who looks at least four, which makes the name "baby dry" a bit odd as kids that age often hate being called babies.

Edited: further research shows that this is the same size that was being marketed as 6+ a few years ago, so they're fiddling the sizes rather than selling bigger nappies (which would mostly be worn by kids who are incontinent because of disability).

In any case, giving an idea to a company gives them the opportunity to take it and give no credit.

[Don]

There are youth diapers out there. I have a special needs son that used to wear Abena brand youth products. They’re just not sold in most stores. You have to order them from pharmacies or online retailers because the market may not be large enough for grocery stores and such to carry them. It has to be economical and make financial sense to the retailer to carry said products on their shelves. The Store manager will ask herself/himself if they carry the larger products for older youth as described if they’ll be able to move enough product to justify the means. Or will the inventory sit on the shelf and rot. Excess inventory is expensive to carry. The algorithm’s for demand planning can be rather complicated and there are many questions that need to be answered before a retailer goes all in. Losing money is bad for business. Also, there are many diaperbanks out there. I think I read on north shores blog once that they frequently donate to them. Also, if you come up with an idea that has not yet been fulfilled, apply for a patent. Then you own it. I don’t believe you can do this with youth diapers as you’d have to find something that sets your idea apart from every other manufacturer. What makes your product/idea different? Otherwise, as noted above, other companies can capitalize off your ideas. I can understand where KC is coming from. It may not be in their models to offer such product. If they feel that niche is not something they want to get involved in then so be it. Their general target market seems to be centered around lighter incontinence products that they can sell cheap to as wide a population as possible. And they’re pretty good at it and move a billion dollar business. Their name is synonymous with adult incontinence products. Depends. Instantly recognizable. That’s exactly what they want. They essentially own their market. They are not out to compete with companies like Abena. Abena, Molicare...all the brands many of us rely on are a whole different target. Different niche. People who suffer from major continence issues and heavy bladder and bowel leakage probably aren’t looking to KC. That’s not the way the company appears to be going. There are other companies that are more interested in the products we rely on and for the most part meet our needs. You just generally have to purchase them from other vendors than your local grocery store here in the states.

[Noe]

So, I understand that many in this forum have had negative experiences with KC products. But from my point of view, Depends work very well for guys who have mild to moderate incontinence, as I do. There is a reason that this product is available in every Target, Walmart, and pharmacy in the U.S. For many men, it works pretty well.

[sociologygeek]

I see what you guys are saying. I can tell you that if there WERE reasonably priced pullups for special needs childrnen, they would fly off the shelves if the parents I've talked to were were all residents of the same town with its own walmart.

[realworldic]

So, I understand that many in this forum have had negative experiences with KC products. But from my point of view, Depends work very well for guys who have mild to moderate incontinence, as I do. There is a reason that this product is available in every Target, Walmart, and pharmacy in the U.S. For many men, it works pretty well.

you are very correct! Depend products work well for many people if they didn't work at all they would be out of business! I think the big issue is for the people with heavy incontinence and how the brands market the products, many people develop incontinence and often times the first thing they do is go to a local store and purchase something which typically says "MAXIMUM protection" or similar and they think to themselves "this should work" but in reality the "maximum" means little and the product is only good for light to moderate leakage but the packaging says nothing about what the real level of protection it offers.. for people that don't have light to moderate incontinence this always ends up with an embarrassing leak or some situation where the person losses faith, dignity, and hope. this causes more shut-in mentality and makes people afraid to go out and live life. what the products need to do is market the products in realistic ways so people KNOW if a product might work for them. The use of the words Super, super Plus, maximum, Ultra, Super Ultra maximum heavy duty etc they always mean very little.

[Padded53]

I know that until my incontinence got to the moderate level I was pretty happy with Depends and Certainty store brands. I had no idea that much better products even existed. It wasn't until my incontinence got worse that I went looking for, and found, a couple of "Diaper" websites and learned about the premium products that were available. Now that I have a fairly extensive knowledge of what is available, and armed with the many invaluable tips I've learned on ISC, it has made things so much easier to choose the right protection for a given or anticipated situation.

Here's the thing though, it would take a multi-million dollar advertising campaign from someone like Northshore Care Supply (NCS) to get the word out about these better products. It might pay off, but it would be huge gamble for a company like NCS. That said I'm really surprised that the big diaper makers (Depends, etc.) that could afford that kind of marketing don't come out with a truly premium line of diapers. Obviously they have the ability to make, or out source, premium diapers so I suspect that there is probably some other (marketing?) reason that they don't do it. A massive campaign like that would also help to reduce the diaper stigma. My guess is that it's a purely profit driven decision, not that I understand it. I know that many people would rather order their diapers online and I understand that. However in my case I wouldn't have any problem, and would in fact prefer, to be able to go to the local WalMart, drugstore, or medical supply and pickup a pack or case of BetterDry or Abena L4's.