'Once you try it, you never go back': Yuhan-Kimberly's light incontinence line posts 20% annual growth

"There may be people who have never tried it, but there is no one who has tried it only once."

Park Young-woong, vice president of Yuhan-Kimberly's aging care products division, made that remark Tuesday in an interview about the company's dedicated incontinence line. His point: consumers who once struggled to use public transit or hesitated to go out because of incontinence quickly discover, after trying a purpose-made product, that they cannot do without it.

South Korea's light incontinence product market is expanding. Yuhan-Kimberly's light incontinence liners and pads have grown at an average annual rate of 20 percent over the past five years, and overall sales of its Depend incontinence line rose an average of 6.5 percent per year over the same period. "The core target demographic for Depend — people aged 40 to 64 — has not changed much over the past five years, yet sales have grown rapidly," Park said. "We see the consumer base for these products gradually broadening."

Particularly notable is the drop in the average age of buyers. Products once associated with elderly patients or "adult diapers" are increasingly being sought by younger consumers. Among female buyers on Depend's Naver brand store, the share of shoppers in their 30s and 40s rose from 33 percent in April last year to 37 percent in April this year. Looking at shoppers in their 30s alone, the share climbed 7 percentage points — from 13 percent to 20 percent — over the same period.

The market is expected to grow even faster going forward. Baby boomers with financial means and active lifestyles are entering retirement in earnest, and a growing number of middle-aged consumers want to keep traveling, playing golf and pursuing other outdoor activities. Yuhan-Kimberly believes that as more consumers embrace "active aging," demand for products that reduce the daily inconvenience of incontinence will rise alongside it.

South Korea's market penetration for incontinence products, however, remains low compared with other countries. Japan, whose population is roughly twice that of South Korea, has a light incontinence market more than 150 times larger. Closing that gap, executives say, will require dismantling the social stigma that still surrounds incontinence.

Incontinence is not a condition limited to older adults. According to Yuhan-Kimberly, when women aged 30 to 69 were asked whether they had experienced "incontinence" — using the clinical term — about 28 percent said yes within the past three months. When the same group was asked about specific symptoms — leaking urine while coughing, sneezing or exercising, or being unable to hold back a sudden urge — the figure reached about 57 percent.

Women in their 30s and 40s may experience symptoms linked to pregnancy and childbirth, while those in their 40s and 50s may see them emerge alongside menopause and other physical changes. Men, too, can develop incontinence symptoms due to prostate conditions and other issues.

Park said incontinence products should be seen the way sanitary pads are — something anyone can reach for naturally when needed. "Because incontinence gets talked about like a disease, consumers tend to think of it as something bad, something to hide," he said. "That perception needs to shift: incontinence is a natural phenomenon, and there are good solutions available to manage it."

Overcoming fixed ideas about what incontinence products look like is another challenge. Because liners and pads fall under the retail category of "adult diapers," many consumers picture something large and bulky. In fact, a significant number of people who experience incontinence symptoms reach for sanitary pads instead of dedicated products. Sanitary pads are designed to absorb blood, whereas incontinence products are engineered to rapidly absorb liquid such as urine.

"Using a sanitary pad can leave a damp feeling or odor, and if the volume is too great it may not absorb properly," said Oh Han-na, head of Yuhan-Kimberly's aging care marketing division. "Consumers who once questioned whether a dedicated product was really necessary tend to change their assessment dramatically once they actually try one."

To lower the psychological barrier around incontinence products, Yuhan-Kimberly has redesigned its packaging. On some products, the word "incontinence" — which can trigger an immediate aversion — has been replaced with function-focused language such as "moisture absorption." The packaging for the Depend Style Pad, in particular, now closely resembles that of a sanitary pad.

Park said South Korea's incontinence market is approaching a genuine inflection point. "Financially secure, healthy baby boomers in Korea are beginning to retire, and the number of consumers who enjoy outdoor activities keeps growing — we expect demand for related products to increase accordingly," he said.

He added that a shift in consumer attitudes could accelerate that growth considerably. "If perceptions change and using incontinence products becomes something people accept without hesitation, the market can grow far faster than it does today," Park said. "We will invest in communicating actively — so that incontinence is seen not as something to be ashamed of but as a natural phenomenon that can happen to anyone — and in developing better products."