Soft paper, hard market
The market for facial tissues and napkins underwent significant changes in the past few years, shaped by consumer habits, sustainability requirements and the economic environment alike.
This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2024/10
Low purchasing sentiment
The two categories typically have a broad consumer base, as they have become everyday items in modern households.
Barbara Horváth, senior category manager at Essity Hungary Kft. reports that the facial tissue market contracted by 10.4% in value terms, while volume sales were close to stagnation at -0.6% in the first half of 2024.
“The pocket segment experienced the most significant decline in both value and volume, resulting in a further narrowing of the value gap with box products”,
she adds.
Essity Hungary Kft.’s 90-piece facial tissues are the most popular, especially the fragrance-free variant. This is followed by the premium, 4-ply, fragrance-free 10×9 and boxed Softis tissues.
“In our communication we are focusing on the benefits of Zewa 3-in-1. Our products are exceptionally soft, which is a primary consumer choice factor in this category”,
says Réka Forgách, brand manager of Essity Hungary Kft.
The influence of the inflationary environment has also affected essential product categories such as facial tissues. “In an improving European environment, the Hungarian consumer confidence index remains low, as reflected in a lower purchasing sentiment”, points out Viktória Pál, brand specialist of Vajda-Papír Kft.
Strong seasonal offering
Vajda-Papír Kft.’s popular large-format Ooops! Classic 90-piece facial tissues are available in many versions, from which the green tea fragrance variant is a big hit in drugstores. A favourite among paper napkins is the Ooops! Junior sub-brand. For summer barbecues the company recommends large Ooops! Everyday and Ristorante napkins. Their premium quality Grill napkins – with their distinctive grill utensils and summer fruit motifs – are a great addition to the seasonal product selection and fit in perfectly with the style of garden parties.
Gábor Vizur, category manager of Sofidel Hungary Kft. says demand for facial tissues is heavily influenced by the flu and allergy season – now almost all year round, but especially in the periods from October to February and June to August. Bulk paper tissues (90-100 pieces) account for the majority of the market, with the remainder coming from the 10×9 and boxed versions.
“A certain seasonality is also observed in the napkin category. High seasons include Christmas, the Easter period and summer barbecues”,
informs the category manager.
Growing sheet number
Sofidel Hungary Kft.’s portfolio of paper napkins and tissues underwent a great renewal this year. Napkins are labelled and sub-branded to make it easy for everyone to find the right product, according to their individual preferences/needs. The facial tissue portfolio was optimised: the company reduced the number of products and renewed the Bianka range, which is now available under the new name Regina Delicate. Sofidel has cut down on shrink wrap use in the packaging of both napkins and tissues, and now uses 30% recycled plastic.
Metsa Tissue Kft. is active in the facial tissue category, being present in the 10×10 and boxed formats.
“Sales of both scented and unscented products are developing nicely, but the 10-pack sizes are dominated by the latter. In addition to the renewal of the design, we have tried to increase the number of sheets in our packs: for the 2-ply tissues we offer 100, 150 and 200 sheet boxes, while for the 3-ply we have introduced 90 sheet packs”,
explains the sales director.
Festive renewal
Lucart is primarily active in the AFH market (and in Hungary only there).
“All markets have experienced a sales decline due to the inflationary pressure in previous years, but we are now facing a steady sales decrease owing to the drop in purchasing power. We have also reached record cost levels”,
says Omar Balducci, Lucart Group’s sales director in Central and Eastern Europe and the AMEA region.
Lucart’s customers can choose from more than 1,000 different tableware products (napkins, placemats, coasters, runners, tablecloths, napkin holders, cutlery holders). The company has added a new collection of tableware to the FATO range, designed especially for the festive season. This offers a very original take on traditional symbols, bringing warmth and colour to any venue. The new additions can be found in the Tablewear, Star and Tissue & Co. product lines. In addition to the new patterns and colours of napkins, tablecloths and smart-runners, FATO is also expanding the The Smart Table 1/8 napkin range with four new colours: champagne, burgundy, chocolate and black. //
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