A new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based market research firm, reveals that U.S. demand for wipes (both consumer and industrial markets) is expected to expand 3.6% per year through 2018 to $2.9 billion. Improving economic conditions will support increasing demand, and increased consumer spending will promote the use of higher value, more task-specific wipes. “The market will continue to see ongoing introductions of new or innovative wipes, although the number of product introductions is expected to slow due to the large variety of wipes already available on the market,” says analyst Katherine Brink.
The consumer wipes segment accounts for the larger share of overall wipes demand. Overall consumer gains will be restrained by the sluggish pace of the dominant and mature baby wipes segment, which accounted for 78% of the consumer market volume sales in 2013. In contrast, products such as personal hygiene and pre-moistened facial cleansing wipes are expected to see rapid gains. Growth in these segments will be fueled by rising market penetration as consumers increasingly incorporate these products into their routines. Advances will also be driven by consumers who will return to more expensive, task-specific wipes after they downgraded during the recession-plagued 2008-2013 period.
