Rural penetration drives growth for feminine hygiene products

NEW DELHI: Feminine hygiene, largely an urban-led category in India, is finding its next leg of growth in rural markets, where penetration is rising rapidly and bringing more households into the category.Rural penetration for feminine hygiene products surged from 28% (MAT June 2022) to nearly 42% over four years (MAT June 2026). During the same period, penetration in urban markets increased from 61% to a little over 65%, data culled by TOI from Wordpanel by Numerator (formerly Kantar) said.Overall, the category is driven bytraditional sanitary napkins, while tampons and panty liners make up less than 1% of all the category shoppers.