Perhaps the biggest story in baby diapers during the past year is China. Not only do Chinese-made brands continue to appear on store shelves offering extremely soft, higher performing diapers at pretty attractive price points, but some of the world’s largest diaper producers are also testing the waters with Chinese-made products.

Late last year, it was revealed that the bumbum diaper brand, which launched exclusively in Target stores, was actually being manufactured in China by Procter & Gamble, the owner of the world’s largest diaper brand, Pampers. The diapers, which are soft, hypoallergenic and infused with aloe, aim to provide 12-hour protection without fragrances or parabens. They are priced 10 cents lower than Pampers Pure diapers and slightly below Millie Moon, another Chinese-made brand. 

Meanwhile, Kimberly-Clark reports that it partnered with its Chinese team to develop its latest value launch, Huggies Snug & Dry, to achieve advanced core technology and garment-like softness at a competitive price point. And, K-C executives have indicated that global partnerships like these will be relied upon for future diaper innovation.

Advancements in the Chinese diaper industry may be one of the biggest surprises the nonwovens industry has seen in the past decade. As international brands started entering China earlier this century, they initially entered with lower tier, value propositions, only to fail miserably, as Chinese consumers wanted the ultra-soft, premium diapers they had seen in Japan. It did not take long for locally-made companies to figure out how to make the premium products the local market craved.

Fast forward a few years later, and Chinese diaper supply is shaping the global market. Chinese diaper makers have figure out how to make premium diapers at value price points. Currently, four of the world’s 10 fastest growing diaper companies are based in China, and everyone doing business in diapers is looking at the market to figure out how they can replicate this success.

With two of the world’s largest diaper manufacturers dipping their toes into exporting diapers from China into North America (and possibly elsewhere) and relying on Chinese R&D to improve their products, it will be interesting to see how deep this country’s impact on the global market will get. Not too many years ago, it would have seemed unlikely that China would compete on anything but price. Today, pricing seems to be taking a backseat to innovation as diaper brands work hard to woo customers.