mumbai soaps and detergents have moved to the back of the shelves as rural consumers are now stocking up on branded juices facial bleaches and health food drinks with eagerness and are increasingly converting to baby diapers and feminine hygiene products while this has resulted in a deeper penetration for brands such as fem real pampers whisper and horlicks even brands such as act ii popcorn are said to be now visible in rural retail shops the presence of these products was as good as negligible in rural markets about two years ago but current numbers speak volumes about their growing acceptance in rural households two factors that have fuelled the trend are efforts made by companies to increase their distribution networks and a rise in rural incomes packaged juices and beauty products like bleaches were earlier seen as a very urban market product dabur which has doubled its rural reach is seeing demand coming from the hinterland for products like packaged juices under the brand ral and fem fairness bleaches riding on this daburs foods business has reported a growth of over 20 in the past one year rural consumers across income segments are exhibiting marked propensity towards spending on premium high quality products which are backed by strong brand values said sunil duggal ceo dabur india awareness generation is not restricted to beauty alone it extends to health and hygiene as well take baby diapers for instance as a category baby diapers rural sales are in excess of rs 200 crore today over the last two years rural category sales have grown by over 150 with rural baby diaper sales accounting for 15 of total value sales of diapers rs 1300 crore a key factor that could be driving conversions to diapers is the lowest price of rs 10 offered by procter gamble india pampers has more than majority share of the baby diaper market across india including rural india and has also been growing value share consistently this is a clear indication that rural consumers are choosing to buy branded diapers for their babies said a pg spokesperson on the other hand the rural sanitary napkins category grew by 74 over the last 3 years with sales currently at rs 366 crore it demonstrates an increased usage of feminine hygiene products across india however the pg spokesperson said there is still need for penetration and consumption of sanitary napkins and baby diapers to increase in india in line with more developed and progressive countries where these categories are 100 developed pgs whisper which is a market leader across india including rural markets has also been made available at the lowest priced sku of rs 25 for a pack of 8s which is an approximate per unit price of rs 3 an icici securities report based on their findings of a recent visit to rural uttar pradesh with 1000050000 population said the aspirationdriven consumption theme is unfolding with gusto in these markets but one must be careful