Paper Possibilities
The U.S. household paper products market experienced moderate growth between 2007 and 2012, rising 9 percent to $16.9 billion during the period, according to “Household Paper Products — US,” a February 2013 report from global market research firm Mintel. And the category is expected to continue making slow, steady gains, with Mintel forecasting an 8 percent rise between 2012 and 2017 to $18.3 billion.
Trends with traction
Store brand paper products tend to follow the lead of their national brand counterparts, lagging behind by about six months. So given that several national brands reduced their sheet count across various paper products subcategories earlier this year, retailers likely will start doing the same with their private label counterparts before the year is finished, says Daniel David, executive vice president with Medford, N.Y.-based Global Tissue Group.
“Or in order to differentiate themselves from the national brands with regards to the amount of product, they will have a callout on packaging … indicating that they have more sheets or bigger sheets” than the national brands’ counterparts, he states.
Aside from adjusting sheet count and size, retailers also could differentiate their paper products through packaging. David notes that his company has developed two industry firsts to help retailers do so: glow-in-the-dark tissue boxes and boxes incorporating a hologram-like design made from poly films that create a reflective surface.
Trends on the horizon
In 2014, the paper products market could see strong innovation specifically in the paper towel subcategory. According to “Category Insight: Paper Products,” a March 2013 Mintel report, innovations here could focus on incorporating cleaning solutions within the paper or developing more specialized lines for particular surfaces.
Looking at the bath tissue category, David says he expects retailers to follow several national brands and introduce private label products made with through-air-dried (TAD) technology. Unlike conventional paper-making technology, TAD technology creates a thicker, more absorbent and softer sheet by using hot air.
“It’s been limited over the past few years, but as more and more paper manufacturers put up TAD machines, there will be additional capacity for bath to compete against the national brands on TAD,” he explains.
David also says he’s interested to see if retailers will change the sheet counts and sizes of their private label bath tissue in 2014. Several national brands did this in 2013 — for example, the Sparkle brand.
“Sparkle really took a drastic change in their sheet sizes to completely differentiate themselves — their Pick-a-Size towels went from an 11-by-5.5 to an 11-by-7,” he says. “And there’s nobody else doing a 7-inch sheet. The standard towel is an 8.8-inch sheet, and the Bounty Select-a-Size is a 6-inch sheet, so they’ve kind of gone somewhere in between.”
Turning to packaging, several U.S. national brands developed new formats to expand usage and drive growth of facial tissue, the March 2013 Mintel report states. Examples include Viva On-the-Go Napkins and the Puffs Car Cup. These developments could inspire retailers in the own-brand space.
“Packaging that promotes portability or new placement can be a way for brands to extend their reach into new usage occasions,” the report says.