Yuhan-Kimberly, Korea’s leading hygiene products manufacturer, launched Huggies Premier diapers on Monday, replacing its main diaper product line Huggies Gold after 13 years.

Yuhan-Kimberly is a joint venture of Korea’s Yuhan Corp. and Kimberly-Clark Corp. established in 1970. The company has maintained its place at the top of Korea’s diaper market for 28 years with the Huggies brand. 

According to the company, the decision to change the name of its main diaper product was fueled by the need for a “premium” image.

The company said that with the new Huggies Premier brand, it hopes to address the need for a new brand suitable for representing the technology used in Huggies Premier diapers, as well as the product’s premium image.

According to the company, the new diapers offer 18.6 percent more airflow, while moisture absorption has been improved 30 percent over Huggies Gold.

In addition to helping Yuhan-Kimberly maintain the top spot in the country’s diaper market for nearly three decades, the Huggies brand also plays an important role in the company’s overseas expansion.

While Yuhan-Kimberly exports a range of products to 54 countries, diapers are the mainstay of its overseas income.

Last year, the value of the company’s exports came in at 240 billion won ($220 million), 150 billion won of which were accounted for by diapers, despite diapers being exported to only 11 countries.

The company has faired particularly well in China, where Huggies have maintained the largest share of the high-end diaper market for eight consecutive years.

With the new Huggies Premier, Yuhan-Kimberly is eying the Japanese market, which according to the company has traditionally been a market difficult for non-Japanese firms to broach.

The company said that it is currently developing products based on Huggies Premier diapers for the Japanese market.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)