Nobel Hygiene’s Kartik Johari on Breaking Social Taboos Around Adult Diapers, Funding & IPO Plans

Urine leakage among adults is a health issue that can be managed with products like adult diapers. Unfortunately, in India, the penetration of adult diapers remains very low at just 5-7%. It is disheartening to see adults restrict their lives within their homes rather than using products like Friends. Many openly share health issues such as joint pain or diabetes with doctors but remain silent on urine leakage.

In a recent conversation with FE Retail, Kartik Johari, Chief Marketing & Growth Officer, Nobel Hygiene Ltd (Friends Adult Diaper), says, “Building awareness and de-stigmatising the category are crucial. Friends has always led this conversation, and we’ll continue to do so.”

Nobel Hygiene’s Friends leads the adult diaper category with a 48% market share. Now, buoyed by a fresh INR 170 crore investment from New Asset Management and backed by marquee investors such as Sixth Sense Ventures and Quadra Capital, the company is preparing for its next phase of growth, including a potential IPO.

In this candid conversation, Johari discusses funding utilisation, category awareness, distribution expansion, and how Nobel Hygiene plans to lead the charge in de-stigmatising adult incontinence while strengthening its market footprint.

You recently received INR 170 crore investment from New Asset Management. How will this fresh round of funding accelerate your growth plans and strengthen market leadership?

Firstly, the INR 170 crore is a blend of primary and secondary investment. As to its utilisation, what you’re really asking is about the use of proceeds, part of the money went into improving our debt-to-equity ratio. A bulk of the capital is being invested in strengthening and expanding our distribution across the country. We want to go deeper in certain geographies and also invest in marketing, because adult diapers, especially, remain a highly taboo category. Marketing therefore is going to be a key secondary use of funds.

Additionally, some funds are being channelled into product innovation and building our talent bench within the company.

This investment comes at a time when Nobel Hygiene is preparing for an IPO. What is the timeline, and what milestones do you aim to achieve before going public?

We will announce specifics as we get closer to the milestones. The board is extremely supportive, these are seasoned experts and this IPO is also a long-held dream of our founder and managing director. It is undoubtedly going to happen, but I’ll need some time before I can share concrete details. Perhaps in the next six months I’ll be in a better position to share milestones openly.

Market estimates suggest the adult diaper market will reach $1 billion by 2030. How is Nobel Hygiene positioned to capture this growth, and what roles will your brands Friends and Teddyy play?

Since the question is specifically about adult diapers, I’ll focus on Friends. Friends is both the category creator and leader, now in its 25th year. Yet, penetration remains very low, just about 5%. Maybe a million active users exist in India today, but many more who need the product still hesitate to adopt it due to stigma.

That’s why building awareness and de-stigmatising the category are crucial. Friends has always led this conversation, and we’ll continue to do so. The overlap with diabetes is significant, India being the diabetic capital of the world and incontinence often begins alongside it. With the ageing population and rising disposable income, the “silver economy” also puts this category in the spotlight.

So, the demand drivers are strong. Our role is to fuel this demand by encouraging people to “Choose Freedom, Choose Friends”-our tagline so that no one has to curtail their life due to incontinence.

You mentioned marketing campaigns to raise awareness. Given the taboo, do you have specific plans, partnerships with pharmacies, doctors, or diabetic centres, for example?

We do have empanelled doctors diabetologists, gynaecologists, urologists who speak on our behalf. But from research, we know patients rarely bring this issue up with doctors. They’ll talk about diabetes or joint pain, but not urine leakage. Often it takes years before they confide, even to their spouse.

So, while doctor conversations are important, the real need is mainstream dialogue. Advertising and marketing must make people realise this is a solvable condition, not something to whisper about. Many sufferers wrongly believe it’s unique to them. That’s why de-stigmatisation is key.

Incidentally, this is also how the market evolved in China, they’re 5–7 years ahead of us. India is firmly on the same trend line.

Coming to your brands Friends and Teddyy, what are your plans for scaling and raising awareness further?

Both categories are unique, with distinct audiences, but our objective is the same: to raise awareness.

For Teddyy baby diapers, our goal is to bring the brand into mothers’ consideration sets. Teddyy is India’s longest-selling baby diaper brand, and we’re building salience through a distinct social media presence and pan-India distribution. With e-commerce and quick commerce scaling, awareness and revenues are growing fast.

For Friends, the focus remains de-stigmatisation and category awareness, which we’ll continue to prioritise for the next 2–3 years.

Tell us about your retail and distribution footprint, especially in Tier-II, Tier-III and rural India.

We already have a presence in Tier-II and III cities, supported by strong partnerships and a robust supply chain. We operate six warehouses across India, with over 650 sales staff and multiple satellite offices beyond our Mumbai headquarters. The infrastructure is strong; our task is to keep sweating it harder.

Among your channels, general trade, modern trade, e-commerce, quick commerce, which is most profitable?

General trade remains the most profitable. We currently reach about two lakh unique stores directly and indirectly. While GT will continue to lead in profitability, quick commerce and e-commerce are scaling fast. Importantly, we’ve built these channels without cash burn, unlike many categories. Quick commerce, though just a year old for us, is already delivering excellent results, especially in metros and urban areas.

When did you launch Teddyy? 

It was launched along with Friends. Despite Teddyy being 25 years old, awareness is relatively lower. That’s partly because we’ve always prioritised profitable growth. For six to eight years, we’ve been active on e-commerce, but very pragmatically ensuring unit economics made sense. Today, we’ve cracked that model and are scaling sustainably.

You have manufacturing facilities in Nashik and Baroda. Are there expansion or technology upgrades planned?

Nashik was our first facility, and Baroda is a new state-of-the-art plant. We are well-capitalised and have invested in the right machinery and technology for the next 3–4 years. The government has also been very supportive through the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, for instance, where we were among the first beneficiaries. This aligns well with the Atmanirbhar Bharat push. Overall, we’re well-positioned to meet rising demand.

Nobel Hygiene currently exports to over 20 countries. How important is the international market in your next phase of growth?

Exports matter, but they’re not our main priority. Over 80% of our revenue still comes from the domestic branded business, and that remains our focus. Exports and private label are growing, but organically.

For example, Friends is present in hospitals across the UAE, we are market leaders in Sri Lanka, and we have strong partners in parts of Africa and Japan. But we don’t over-invest there, our priority is India.

Along with Neo, Nobel Hygiene continues to be backed by Quadria Capital and Sixth Sense Ventures. What does this strong institutional support mean for your growth story, and how do investors influence your strategic direction?

We’re deeply proud of our investors. Sixth Sense, Quadria Capital and NEO are among India’s strongest venture investors, and our relationship is extremely harmonious. They are trusted partners, sounding boards, and invest deep trust in us, which we reciprocate. I wouldn’t change a thing, it’s rare to have such strong relationships with investors.

Looking ahead, what is your long-term vision for Nobel Hygiene, both in India and globally?

For Friends, we will continue to dominate adult incontinence and support lakhs of people who need this product. For Teddyy, we aim to consolidate as India’s leading baby diaper brand.

Both categories are still low-penetration. Adult diapers are at 5%, and even though kids’ diapers are at 25%, much work remains. We have a 15–20-year horizon, and as a promoter family, we’re fully committed for the long term. Over the next 3–5 years, we aim to touch 6–8 million lives with Friends, while continuing to be a trusted partner for mothers with Teddyy.

Could you share Nobel Hygiene’s FY25 revenue figures?

I’m not at liberty to disclose exact numbers, but it is well upwards of INR 800 crore.

And your Friends’ market share?

Friends currently holds about 48% market share.