Since its first case announcement in Indonesia back in March 2020, COVID-19 has significantly changed the trajectory of our lives. It has not only altered our ways of living but also reshaped our lifestyle toward a more health-conscious one. A survey reports that Indonesians consider health and hygiene as important factors in purchasing household items such as food and toiletries.
Before the pandemic, only 49.8% of Indonesians practice proper handwashing with soap habits despite the high knowledge of the proper techniques. This lack of appropriate facilities both in public and households contributed to the low number of handwashing habits.
During the beginning of the pandemic, hygiene products experienced a sales surge due to the ‘panic buying’ phenomenon. One month into the pandemic, hand sanitizers undergo the highest sales among hygiene products with a 531% increment. Handwash follows by a 304% record of increase, and wet wipes with a 227% increment. This leads to hygiene product scarcity and price surges.
Aside from hygiene products, the sales of wellness products like vitamins also skyrocketed by 210%. By the end of 2020, the market value of hygiene products in Indonesia was worth USD 800 million.
Post-Pandemic Health-Conscious Level in Indonesia
Even after the pandemic was declared endemic in December 2022, health and hygiene products remain in the top five spending of Indonesian consumers. 51% of consumers in urban areas now are more health-conscious; they pay more concern to their quality of life. Some of the important factors they focus on are mental health, well-being, physical health, and diet.
This is apparent in the market value of hygiene products, especially hand hygiene, and is projected to grow by an 8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2021 to 2025. However, the shift in the priorities of the consumers toward necessities also increased price sensitivity. This becomes a challenge to manufacturers in acquiring and retaining their consumers. The only way to counter this situation is by adapting to it.
With the looming price increase and inflation, consumers are more willing to pay a premium additional products for personal care products. Meanwhile, vitamins, supplements, and over-the-counter medicines consumers are responding to the increment by switching to a different brand.
Therefore, ensuring that your product only contains the best formulation in the field is vital. For hygiene products like soap, adding Preventol CMK can help boosting bacteria control in the product. Moreover, it is resistant to water hardness and is an anionic surfactant. Whether the formulation is soap-based or water-based, it does not lessen the effectiveness of Preventol CMK in controlling bacteria.
After a challenging two years of adjusting to the pandemic, now it is about time to recalibrate our lives to the post-pandemic era. At Bahtera, we embrace this transformation with open arms by formulating the best experiences for our stakeholders. Click here to find your solution.
