Nappy Pads

Until recently, I was not aware of any other brand in nappy pads space except for Johnson & Johnson. Suddenly, there are some big brands like: Huggies, Wiprosoft and soon EasyFit.

I can't put it down only to diversification because I'm sure, there must be a large enough market or margin and hence the new entrants.

Well, the benefit for us - is that the prices are getting competitive.

For eg. J&J sells 20 pcs for MRP 115 which works out to Rs. 5.75/- per piece.

Huggies followed the same pricing but gives a better margin to the retailers, allowing them to pass that on to consumers.

Wiprosoft made it more competitive at Rs. 60/- for 12 pcs. That makes Rs. 5/- per pc.

Soon, if not already, EasyFit will be entering the market with Rs. 275/- for 60 pcs which makes it Rs. 4.60/- per pc. They have added one more feature to the nappy pads. They have added leak guards as well and I think that's a pretty smart thing to do. So it has most of the features of a diaper at half the price of a diaper.

Heat Sensitive Spoons

These heat sensitive spoons from Nuby are excellent, especially if your baby is just starting out on solids be it home-made mixes or Cerelac. The working is fairly simple. Half the spoon turns white immediately indicating that the food is too hot for consumption. Then you need to wash the spoon, wait a couple of seconds for it to regain its color. The edges of the spoon are so soft that your baby will love chewing on the spoon too. It doubles up as a very good teether.

Wet Wipes

The wet wipes market is relatively new in India. There are a lot of unknown brands that are actually doing well in the market. I'm surprised that Pampers, Huggies, Johnson & Johnson havent introduced their wipes in India in a big way being the 'Grand Old Daddies' of baby products. Either they havent yet realised the market potential or they are making too much from their existing business, that they cant keep up.

There are many options - one for every one, meaning if you like scented or non-scented, alcoholic or non-alcoholic. Now, Himalaya has introduced an Ayurvedic option. Its very nice and also priced well at Rs. 30 for 24 wipes, though it does have a strong Indian lotus scent.

There are a lot of benefits to using wet wipes, especially if your child has got a cold and you dont want to give your baby a bath but still give him / her a fresh feeling, then use a wet wipe. Dip it warm water during winter time and use it as is during summer time. And ofcourse, we cannot discount its usefulness when we travel.

Bella Wet Wipes are also very wet, non-alchoholic and non-scented, rather mildly scented. They are available in Bangalore, I'm waiting for it to be introducted in Hyderabad. I find MeeMee wipes very strongly scented and find Pigeon wipes over priced. Squeel wipes are pretty good and very cost effective at Rs. 125/- for 80 wipes. Another brand of wipes that I have heard a few mom's mention is FunBaby wipes from Tainwala. Havent checked it out yet but will do so shortly. Do post your feedback on the brand of wipes that you use for your baby. Would love to hear of new brands.