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HomeBusinessSixth Sense invests In India's Leading Diaper Player, Nobel Hygiene

Sixth Sense invests In India’s Leading Diaper Player, Nobel Hygiene

Nobel has been founded by a first-generation entrepreneur, Kamal Johari, in 1999. He has 25yrs+ experience in the diaper category and has been instrumental in creating the adult diaper category in the country

Nobel Hygiene (Nobel) operates in the US$860M Indian diaper industry space which is growing at a robust pace of 15%+. The category penetration remains extremely low in India with baby diapers at 7% and adult diapers at 3% (compared to 25% globally). Diaper as a category is amongst the few consumer categories that ensure frequency along with a long customer lifecycle (average 2 years for baby diapers and 10+ years for adult diapers). Nobel has been founded by a first-generation entrepreneur, Kamal Johari, in 1999. He has 25yrs+ experience in the diaper category and has been instrumental in creating the adult diaper category in the country.

Nobel dominates the adult diaper market with a ~50% market share with its brand – *“Friends”* and has sustained its leadership position in the segment for the last 12years. Further, the baby diaper segment which is dominated by MNCs (80%+ share) offers a huge opportunity for a home-grown domestic player. India has the world’s largest baby population at 26m babies per year, but the category penetration is at 7%. Nobel has leveraged its distribution and strong product know-how (from the adult diaper segment), to become the 4th largest player in the baby diaper segment with brands – *Teddy* and *Snuggy*.

The company is India’s first and only large-scale indigenous manufacturer of adult and baby diapers with 10 manufacturing lines currently and is expanding rapidly. Further, the company has built a robust distribution network, with a strong presence in general trade. Nobel currently reaches over 275k retail outlets and has a strong presence across offline Modern Trade and Digital formats.

Nikhil Vora, Founder & CEO of Sixth Sense Ventures said, “Nobel fits perfectly well into the Sixth Sense thesis of betting on first generation founders, pioneering products for the new age consumer, within the US$860m+ diaper segment. The Indian diaper industry offers a strong potential with penetration in single digits and the product promising frequency and a long consumer lifecycle (large and sticky category). Nobel has maintained its dominance in the adult diaper segment (~50% market share), and with domestic brands gaining preference we believe this leadership will be further strengthened. Within the baby diaper segment, we see strong potential for Nobel’s brands given the access to distribution. We see Nobel as a perfect opportunity to play the hygiene segment in India.”

Kamal Johari, Managing Director and CEO, Nobel Hygiene* said, “We are delighted that Sixth Sense Ventures have chosen to place their trust with us and we look forward to growing together with their team and Nikhil Vora. Being one of the finest analytical minds of the country, we were impressed with the speed with which he understood the business’ complexities, and took the decision to invest. With the per capita income of Indians climbing towards $3000, we expect a substantial jump in discretionary spends by Indians, which will result in substantial growth in the hygiene market also. With our current expansion in Halol (Gujarat), in conjunction with a slew of hires made in our leadership team, we are rightly placed to take advantage of this market expansion.”

**Sixth Sense has invested a total of ~ INR 95 crores in Nobel Hygiene: INR 28 crores from SSIO II*

Source: Business World

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