Innovation of the Feminine Napkin

Table of Contents

   List of Pictures……………………………………………….2.

   List of Tables and Charts……………………………………2.        

Introduction…………………………………………………..3.

   Influence………………………………………………………3.

The invention of the sanitary pad…………………………...3.

Innovation…………………………………………………….3.

The first world war – Kotex…………………………………4.

The 1920’s to the 1960’s – competition……………………..5.

        The 1960’s environmental movement – niche market…….8.

        The 1980’s – Always…………………………………………9.

        1997 – AFEM failure………………………………….…….11.

        The market today……………………………………….…..12.

        Conclusion…………………………………………………..13.

        References…………………………………………………...14.

   Bibliography………………………………………………...15.

List of Pictures

Figure 1. Curadsby Kotex

Figure 2.  Modess in 1927, in America

Figure 3. Stayfree Maxipad

Figure 5. Washable sanitary napkin

Figure 7. Industrial drawing of patent application US5662639A - winged pad

Figure8.  Padette

List of Tables and Charts

Figure 4. Product lifecycle of Modess and Stayfree

Figure 6. Formula for market share calculation

Figure 9. S Curve

Figure 10. Ansoff Matrix

1.0 Introduction

Humans throughout history have had to cope with the menstruating woman and currently there are a variety of products from which women can choose: sanitary pads, panty liners, tampons, and menstrual cups. The ease of access to these and the development of an industry specific to women and their needs at this time have allowed women to walk out of their cloistered ‘red tents’.  This has resulted in a liberating effect on the feminine population.

The objective of this assignment is to critique the way the sanitary pad has altered over time in order to suit the changing needs of the market using the concepts of the Marketing Design and Innovation module.

1.1Influence

The author has chosen to write about the consumer shopping product, sanitary pads because, menstruation whether it is a bane or a blessing is integral to the author’s experience as a woman.

1.2 The invention of the sanitary pad

The invention of the sanitary pad could easily be when the first woman started menstruating. It is however noted that tribal women all over the world often used pads made of soft wool, paper, moss, animal skins and grass and there are many references of various ways that these makeshift pads were fashioned to absorb menstrual flow.