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Kindred diapers

Design Research Findings

Last Updated April 8, 2022

Client Contact

Nebel Yusuf
Kindred Diapers

Introduction

  • Audience Research
  • Competitive Landscape
  • 8 Design Directives

Research Observations on US Black Families​

  • First time black parent’s age skews younger than all other races

  • Black educational attainment very close to the national average

  • Black families are more likely than most to live in multigenerational households

  • Black consumers far more likely than White consumers to show dissatisfaction with current product and service offerings, especially in personal-care products

  • Black families overall spend less than white consumers but spend more on household goods

  • Black families are more likely than most to list “personal growth” as a driving value in their personal lives

  • Despite being a growing market, black Americans are still an undeserved audience

  • Black household income has been steadily increasing

The New Parents

Brand Aware and Connected

Black consumers are younger, plugged-in, and more brand-aware than other groups. However, they do not yet have brand affinity to diapers...yet

Potential for Product Disappointment

Black consumers more likely than White consumers to say that current products do not meet their needs, especially in personal-care products

Representation Matters

Black consumers have noted not seeing themselves in advertising and marketing campaigns. Additionally, there’s a lack of visible same-race business ownership

Single Parents + Nontraditional Families

Non-Traditional Family Stories

In 2020, there were about 1.23 million Black families with a single father living in the United States yet we rarely hear real stories of this very common family structure that is not stereotypical in most marketing and advertising.

Natural Matters

Black unmarried moms are 42% more likely than average to say that when purchasing health and beauty care products and household cleaning products they look for organic/natural items.

Buy Black

Studies show Black consumers like to support black owned companies and bigger companies have recently began to embrace Buy Black, such as Target’s Supplier Diversity program.

<span data-metadata=""><span data-buffer="">Family and Caregivers

Trust in Testimonials

Black Americans are more likely to consult their families for important life decisions than white Americans

Family Culture, Traditions, and Affluence

The more affluent black consumers are the more they self-identify as connected to family, community, culture, and heritage

Kinship Care

Formalized “Kinship Care” models in policy have helped to destigmatize this model of parenting and care, we must help tell these stories of resiliency and community


Competitive Landscape

A review of relevant brands

Competitive Landscape

Overview

Coterie’s brand revolves around its idea of pushing forward the “new diaper” focusing on a new marketing strategy, material research, influencer marketing, and offering a luxury product for the new parent.

Products

Diapers & Wipes

Coterie Brand Themes

Airy

Minimal

Simple

Friendly

Premium

Quirky

Innovative

Responsible

Sustainable

Thoughtful

Intelligent

Convenient

Coterie Product Promises

Less Laundry

With the highest liquid capacity of any diaper, even the most active baby has fewer leaks. Go ahead, wear white again.

No Need For diaper cream

Diaper rash is mostly caused by liquid contact. Our diaper wicks wetness up to four times faster than other diapers, moving liquid off your baby’s skin lightning fast.

8-hours Of Drieness

When your baby stays dry, your baby stays asleep. So you can, too. Our rewet technology locks moisture into the core even with surface pressure, so your baby feels dry all night.

Coterie Visual Language

Competitive Landscape

Overview

Pampers is a legacy brand built upon relatability, consistent branding, and a consistent product. Their “Pure” line of products leads with a new health and environmentally conscious approach.

Products

Diapers & Wipes

Pampers Brand Themes

  • Natural

  • Healthy

  • Earthy

  • Calming

  • Comfy

  • Breathable

  • Responsible

  • Classic

  • Clean

  • Simple

  • Plant-based

  • Moisturizing

Pampers Product Promises

Wetness Indicator

Made with features you and your baby will love, including Pampers® reassuring wetness indicator.

Up to 12 hours of protection

Because your baby deserves skin-loving care without compromises, Pampers Pure Protection delivers up to 12 hours of trusted leak protection.

COTTON ENHANCED

Pampers premium cotton is responsibly sourced and grown in the USA. Our supplier is a member of the Cotton LEADS program which promotes sustainable sourcing and quality.

Pampers Visual Language

Competitive Landscape

Overview

PHonest is a mission-driven wellness brand that leverages their founder’s celebrity status and partnerships with community organizations. They have been able to create a sticky brand that connects with their target audience’s values while providing affordable, well-designed products

Products

Baby Wipes
Diapers
beauty
Hair
Bath

Honest Brand Themes

  • Healthy

  • Responsible

  • Affordable

  • Simple

  • Safe

  • Mission-Driven

  • Empowering

  • Community

  • Sustainable

Honest Product Promises

Keep it Green

We think outside the box when it comes to packaging - from composable tree-free paper to recyclable aluminum, tin, and glass.

Socially conscious culture

We’ve always believed small choices add up to a big difference. Call it The Butterfly Effect. By supporting Honest, you're showing support for organizations that share our values and amplify our impact, making happy, healthy lives possible for more people everywhere.

safe ingredients

The Honest Company was born of a simple purpose: to create safe, effective products for our families and yours. And the Honest Standard is how we make that intention a reality. It’s our set of guiding principles, and it’s the way in which we apply our values to innovation and development.

Honest Visual Language

Competitive Landscape

Overview

TinkyPoo is one of the few black-owned and black audience exclusive targeted disposable diapers on the the market.

They wear their “black-owned” story on their sleeve and heavily leverage representation to elevate their brand. TinkyPoo’s motto is ‘Seeing yourself makes all the difference.’

Products

Baby Wipes
Diapers

TinkyPoo Brand Themes

  • Imaginative

  • Playful

  • Colorful

  • Illustrative

  • Inclusive

  • Youthful

  • Energetic

  • Black-Owned

  • Eco-Friendly

  • Responsible

TinkyPoo Product Promises

Representation MATTERS

TinkyPoo is a new vision where seeing yourself makes all the difference. Thoughtful engineering is enhanced by the bold and vivid images of babies of color printed on the diapers themselves.

Founder Focused

After discovering that the diaper industry was lacking in visibility, when it came to images that depicted babies of color, Nadiyah and her partners decided to change the industry, and TinkyPoo was born.

TECHNICALLY Engineered

Our diapers are made with special spunlace woven material, which is hypoallergenic, antimicrobial and breathable. They are guaranteed 100% chlorine free, contain no alcohol and are free of phthalates, latex, PVC, and antioxidants.

TinkyPoo Visual Language

Design
Directives

 
8 directives for better design

Design Directive 1

Focus
on the Naturals

Despite the difficulties in making a disposable product truly sustainable, many companies have benefited from being honest about their ingredients and making strides in sustainability.

Paired with brand language that can accentuate this effort, an emotional appeal to your audience’s values is essential.

Design Directive 2

Build & Maximize 
Founder Stories

Having a charismatic founder story is a simple way to make the company’s mission personal and efficiently reflect your target audience’s values. This approach is shared with charismatic celebrity-driven companies and boutique brands.

Strong founder stories are also currently a core piece of many “black-owned” companies as it seems to provide both validation and an appeal to the audience’s emotions.

Design Directive 3

Join the Mission Driven Movement

Having a mission is no longer enough—the brand’s mission needs to be central in practice and messaging.

Consumers are increasingly looking for any way to speak with their purchasing power. Supporting companies that align with their values, keeping money within the black community are increasingly becoming strategies for black consumers to use their money as a political tool.

A black-owned diaper brand has a unique opportunity to create a mission-driven brand that supports black Americans’ varied causes and concerns.

Design Directive 4

Evolve the definition of the “single black parent”

The current definition of “single parent” no longer reflects the reality of modern families. Research shows that black families do not follow the commonplace models of family structures seen in branding and advertising, especially since research shows that family members like uncles, aunts, and grandparents have a more significant part in raising black children.

You have an opportunity to truly own the “Kin” in Kindred and reflect authentic family structures without the stigma and genuinely celebrate black parents.

Design Directive 5

Explore Hybrid Diapering

The recent growth in the popularity of cloth diapering, especially among black-owned companies, carves out a unique niche for hybrid diapering.

More prominent brands like Pampers Plus have introduced a hybrid diapering system that supports the responsibility of cloth diapering with the convenience of disposables. Cloth diapering may be less popular than disposables, but its popularity is expected to grow alongside disposable options in the next decade as consumers gravitate towards more sustainable alternatives.

Design Directive 6

Work with Black Micro-Influencers

Smaller and newer diaper brands like Coterie seem to have a lot of social media content and YouTube reviews from small black micro-influencers.

Despite the lower follower counts of their influencers, this approach creates a more authentic brand connection with the content creator and a story that comes across as genuine and honest.

Design Directive 7

Sell on Black-Owned Marketplaces

Several black-owned marketplaces have sprung up intending to create e-commerce platforms that support black businesses in the last few years. These marketplaces have found success by catering to an audience that has not seen themselves or their needs reflected by current marketplaces.

These marketplaces also actively promote black-owned alternatives to popular products and brands.

Design Directive 8

<span data-metadata=""><span data-buffer="">Capitalize on Corporate
Diversity Initiatives

Brands like Hello Bello have benefited from partnering with Wal-Mart to keep costs low. Many large retailers see the benefits of elevating black-owned brands to provide products for a growing market. For example, Target has pledged to spend more than $2 billion with black-owned businesses by 2025.

These initiatives have allowed large retailers to “put their money where their mouth is” after years of surface-level “inclusion.”