Kimberly-Clark Introduces Improved Pull-Ups Training Pants And Pioneers Parent-Coach Approach To Toilet Training Dallas, April 2, 2002 -- Kimberly-Clark Corporation [NYSE:KMB], the market leader in the disposable training pant category, today announced its latest innovation to Huggies Pull-Ups disposable training pants, the No. 1-selling brand in North America. Through advanced proprietary technology, Kimberly-Clark has made Pull-Ups training pants nearly 30 percent thinner for an improved overall fit under children’s clothing. The improved Pull-Ups training pants now look and feel more like Big Kid underwear than ever before.
The new Pull-Ups training pants, which were significantly preferred over the current Pull-Ups product, will be available to consumers in May. In addition to being nearly 30 percent thinner, they have bolder, more colorful graphics that make it more like Big Kid underwear with an enhanced gender-specific look.
“Parents want a product that’s more like real underwear so their children can understand the difference between diapers and training pants and stay motivated during toilet training,” said Robert Thibault, president of Child Care at Kimberly-Clark. “These latest enhancements reinforce Kimberly-Clark’s commitment to provide products that make the toilet-training process easier for both parent and child. Fueled by consumer feedback and backed by our absorbency technology and nonwovens expertise, we’ve produced a superior-performing product that looks and fits more like real underwear, while providing outstanding protection.”
Creating and leading the disposable training pants category
Kimberly-Clark created the disposable training pants category in 1989 with the introduction of Huggies Pull-Ups training pants. By continually making innovative improvements, based on what moms want, the Pull-Ups brand has remained the category leader for more than a decade. The disposable training pants category is nearing retail sales of $1 billion annually in the U.S. and is still growing at a double-digit rate.
Kimberly-Clark has introduced numerous innovations to Pull-Ups training pants since the product was first introduced. In 1992 the company made Pull-Ups training pants gender-specific and under a long-term agreement with Disney, introduced famous Disney characters to its product.
Leak guards were added in 1994, and in 1999, through its innovative technology, Kimberly-Clark created Big-Kid Learning Designs that fade when wet. This breakthrough in toilet training aids made it easier for children to distinguish between wet and dry and assisted parents in potty training. Also in 1999, Kimberly-Clark introduced Pull-Ups training pants in an extra large size to accommodate children who were toilet training at a later age.
Helping and educating parents
Kimberly-Clark has always been a leader in gaining consumer insight into the toilet training process. Learning the needs of parents and children and then creating products that fit those needs have helped make Pull-Ups training pants the most popular brand with moms. Continuing that effort, Kimberly-Clark worked closely with the Medical College of Wisconsin on the most comprehensive toilet-training study ever conducted.
The two-year study, published in the March 2002 issue of Pediatrics magazine, contradicts some widely held beliefs, including the age when most boys and girls are ready to begin toilet training and the length of time it takes to train them.
Based on this research, Kimberly-Clark and the lead researcher, Dr. Timothy R. Schum, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin and practicing pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, created a three-step parent-coached approach to toilet-training – Ready, Out, Coach. Based on the understanding that learning to toilet train is like learning any other skill – it takes patience and consistency – Ready, Out, Coach provides parents an outline to reduce the stress that comes with training children. It offers detailed steps to help parents recognize when a child is ready to start training, instruction on and understanding of the importance of moving a child out of diapers to signal the beginning of toilet training, and instruction on how to coach the child using proven techniques. Additional information on Ready, Out, Coach is available on www.pull-ups.com.
Translating research into useful information
Building off this groundbreaking research, Kimberly-Clark has taken its commitment to toilet training one step further by creating tools and resources that parents can turn to for guidance. For example, by logging on to www.pull-ups.com, parents can request or download a brochure on the parent-coached approach and use the patented Big Kid Tracker to quantitatively assess a child’s toilet-training readiness and progress – a big concern for moms.
Kimberly-Clark also offers web-based information and resources on www.parentstages.com. This award-winning site, sponsored by the Huggies brand, provides parents with child-rearing advice and connects them with links to other helpful parenting sites.
In addition, Kimberly-Clark has created the first-ever Potty Training Council. This diverse group -- members include a pediatrician, a preschool teacher, a pediatric psychologist, a parenting author, an associate professor of nursing and both working and stay-at-home moms -- provides expert advice to parents who are toilet training their children. The Council will launch a Web site page in April on www.pull-ups.com that will include monthly articles and special tips for parents.
By combining its innovative and quality products with research-supported philosophies and parent-approved tools, Kimberly-Clark continues to secure its position as an expert in the toilet-training category.
“We’re much more than manufacturers of disposable training pants,” adds Thibault. “Our popular and innovative Pull-Ups training pants are just one aspect of a successful potty training experience. We combine our consumer-based research approach, including the Potty Training Council, our Web site initiatives and our Ready, Out, Coach training process, to help make the potty training process easier for moms and children.”
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a leading global consumer products company. Its tissue, personal care and health care products are manufactured in 42 countries and sold in more than 150. Kimberly-Clark is home to some of the world’s most trusted and recognized brands, including Kleenex, Kotex, Scott, Depend, Huggies and Pull-Ups. Nearly one-quarter of the world’s population, or 1.3 billion people use Kimberly-Clark products each year. Kimberly-Clark has been on Fortune magazine’s list of “Most Admired” corporations since 1983 and was recently named to its list of “100 Best Companies to Work For.” For more information about Kimberly-Clark’s well-known brands, visit the Kimberly-Clark Web site at www.kimberly-clark.com.
The new Pull-Ups training pants, which were significantly preferred over the current Pull-Ups product, will be available to consumers in May. In addition to being nearly 30 percent thinner, they have bolder, more colorful graphics that make it more like Big Kid underwear with an enhanced gender-specific look.
“Parents want a product that’s more like real underwear so their children can understand the difference between diapers and training pants and stay motivated during toilet training,” said Robert Thibault, president of Child Care at Kimberly-Clark. “These latest enhancements reinforce Kimberly-Clark’s commitment to provide products that make the toilet-training process easier for both parent and child. Fueled by consumer feedback and backed by our absorbency technology and nonwovens expertise, we’ve produced a superior-performing product that looks and fits more like real underwear, while providing outstanding protection.”
Creating and leading the disposable training pants category
Kimberly-Clark created the disposable training pants category in 1989 with the introduction of Huggies Pull-Ups training pants. By continually making innovative improvements, based on what moms want, the Pull-Ups brand has remained the category leader for more than a decade. The disposable training pants category is nearing retail sales of $1 billion annually in the U.S. and is still growing at a double-digit rate.
Kimberly-Clark has introduced numerous innovations to Pull-Ups training pants since the product was first introduced. In 1992 the company made Pull-Ups training pants gender-specific and under a long-term agreement with Disney, introduced famous Disney characters to its product.
Leak guards were added in 1994, and in 1999, through its innovative technology, Kimberly-Clark created Big-Kid Learning Designs that fade when wet. This breakthrough in toilet training aids made it easier for children to distinguish between wet and dry and assisted parents in potty training. Also in 1999, Kimberly-Clark introduced Pull-Ups training pants in an extra large size to accommodate children who were toilet training at a later age.
Helping and educating parents
Kimberly-Clark has always been a leader in gaining consumer insight into the toilet training process. Learning the needs of parents and children and then creating products that fit those needs have helped make Pull-Ups training pants the most popular brand with moms. Continuing that effort, Kimberly-Clark worked closely with the Medical College of Wisconsin on the most comprehensive toilet-training study ever conducted.
The two-year study, published in the March 2002 issue of Pediatrics magazine, contradicts some widely held beliefs, including the age when most boys and girls are ready to begin toilet training and the length of time it takes to train them.
Based on this research, Kimberly-Clark and the lead researcher, Dr. Timothy R. Schum, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin and practicing pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, created a three-step parent-coached approach to toilet-training – Ready, Out, Coach. Based on the understanding that learning to toilet train is like learning any other skill – it takes patience and consistency – Ready, Out, Coach provides parents an outline to reduce the stress that comes with training children. It offers detailed steps to help parents recognize when a child is ready to start training, instruction on and understanding of the importance of moving a child out of diapers to signal the beginning of toilet training, and instruction on how to coach the child using proven techniques. Additional information on Ready, Out, Coach is available on www.pull-ups.com.
Translating research into useful information
Building off this groundbreaking research, Kimberly-Clark has taken its commitment to toilet training one step further by creating tools and resources that parents can turn to for guidance. For example, by logging on to www.pull-ups.com, parents can request or download a brochure on the parent-coached approach and use the patented Big Kid Tracker to quantitatively assess a child’s toilet-training readiness and progress – a big concern for moms.
Kimberly-Clark also offers web-based information and resources on www.parentstages.com. This award-winning site, sponsored by the Huggies brand, provides parents with child-rearing advice and connects them with links to other helpful parenting sites.
In addition, Kimberly-Clark has created the first-ever Potty Training Council. This diverse group -- members include a pediatrician, a preschool teacher, a pediatric psychologist, a parenting author, an associate professor of nursing and both working and stay-at-home moms -- provides expert advice to parents who are toilet training their children. The Council will launch a Web site page in April on www.pull-ups.com that will include monthly articles and special tips for parents.
By combining its innovative and quality products with research-supported philosophies and parent-approved tools, Kimberly-Clark continues to secure its position as an expert in the toilet-training category.
“We’re much more than manufacturers of disposable training pants,” adds Thibault. “Our popular and innovative Pull-Ups training pants are just one aspect of a successful potty training experience. We combine our consumer-based research approach, including the Potty Training Council, our Web site initiatives and our Ready, Out, Coach training process, to help make the potty training process easier for moms and children.”
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a leading global consumer products company. Its tissue, personal care and health care products are manufactured in 42 countries and sold in more than 150. Kimberly-Clark is home to some of the world’s most trusted and recognized brands, including Kleenex, Kotex, Scott, Depend, Huggies and Pull-Ups. Nearly one-quarter of the world’s population, or 1.3 billion people use Kimberly-Clark products each year. Kimberly-Clark has been on Fortune magazine’s list of “Most Admired” corporations since 1983 and was recently named to its list of “100 Best Companies to Work For.” For more information about Kimberly-Clark’s well-known brands, visit the Kimberly-Clark Web site at www.kimberly-clark.com.
