Rural India Driving Menstrual Hygiene Demand, Pads Dominate But Cups Growing Fast: HLL Official

Last Updated:May 27, 2026, 08:55 IST

HLL has ramped up manufacturing capacity to five million cups a year as awareness-driven adoption rises among students, working women, and environment conscious users.

Rural and semi-urban India is increasingly driving demand for menstrual hygiene products – a shift that points to a quiet but meaningful change in how menstrual health is being accessed outside India’s cities, a top official at HLL, the Mini Ratna public sector company, which functions under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, told News18.

“Smaller towns, semi-urban areas, and rural markets are increasingly contributing to demand for menstrual hygiene products and awareness services…Large-scale implementation plans in districts indicate growing acceptance and demand even in traditionally underserved regions," said Hari Krishnan Namboothiri, Vice President at HLL. He credited government schemes, NGO interventions, school awareness programmes, and CSR-led initiatives – including those backed by Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum, Kennametal India, and Cochin Shipyard Limited – for expanding outreach beyond metropolitan areas.

The acknowledgement is significant. For years, the organised menstrual hygiene market in India was effectively an urban story. That the demand frontier is now visibly moving into districts and villages reflects the cumulative effect of years of health campaigns.

Overall, Namboothiri said, over the last decade, India has witnessed a significant shift in menstrual hygiene awareness. Reasons include increased public health campaigns, school-based education, CSR initiatives, media discussions, and government programmes.

“Conversations that were once considered taboo are gradually becoming more mainstream, especially among adolescents and young women. There is now greater awareness about hygienic menstrual practices, sustainable menstrual products, and reproductive health."

According to Namboothiri, awareness sessions conducted through projects like THINKAL have shown that open discussions, practical demonstrations, peer influence, and counselling support help reduce fear, hesitation, and misconceptions related to menstruation and menstrual product usage.

THINKAL is HLL’s flagship menstrual hygiene initiative, running across multiple states. It operates through four components: awareness creation, menstrual product distribution, follow-up counselling, and behavioural change communication – a model designed to move beneficiaries from first exposure to sustained adoption.

HLL Lifecare, established in 1966 as part of the National Family Planning Programme, became almost synonymous with the word condom in India, with brand Moods as its top-selling product. The organisation – under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare – has expanded into contraceptives, hospital products, women’s healthcare, affordable diagnostics, retail pharmacies, and emergency response services. For the financial year 2024–25, HLL claimed to have recorded one of its highest-ever dividend contributions — Rs 69.53 crore – to the central government.

Pads dominate, cups grow

When asked about the top sales categories, he said sanitary pads remain in a strong position, supported by familiarity and wide distribution. Menstrual cups, however, are drawing increasing attention – particularly in the context of awareness-led programmes.

“While sanitary pads continue to dominate the menstrual hygiene market due to familiarity and accessibility, menstrual cups are witnessing rapid growth, especially among environmentally conscious users, students, working women, and beneficiaries of awareness-driven interventions," he said while refusing to share absolute sales numbers or percentage changes.

Impact studies from Project THINKAL, he said, found that “beneficiaries identified comfort, long-lasting protection, cost-effectiveness, and environmental benefits as major advantages of menstrual cup usage," with continued follow-up support improving adoption rates and user confidence.

HLL has backed this with manufacturing investment. The company has increased the annual menstrual cup production capacity to 5 million – a signal of institutional confidence in the category’s trajectory. To achieve this, the production capacity of the manufacturing facility at HLL’s Akkulam Factory in Thiruvananthapuram has been raised to 3 million annually. The upgraded facility was inaugurated by Punya Salila Srivastava, Union Health Secretary, in May.

The increase in production capacity will also enable the company to expand the free distribution of menstrual cups to underprivileged women across the country under the Thinkal project during FY27. The company, so far, has distributed 15 lakh menstrual cups across nine states – Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala – and two Union Territories, Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

India’s menstrual cup market is currently estimated at approximately Rs. 130 crore and is projected to grow to around Rs 230 crore by 2033, according to market research estimates, at a compounded annual growth rate of 7–8 per cent. Reusable cups account for roughly 83 per cent of the segment – a dominance that reflects how awareness programmes have consistently positioned them on grounds of cost savings and environmental impact.

Schools, Colleges Playing Important Role

Educational institutions are emerging as both a target and a channel for menstrual hygiene access, according to Namboothiri. HLL has been involved in vending machines and hygiene infrastructure projects at many institutions across India.

“Educational institutions are showing stronger demand for menstrual hygiene infrastructure, awareness programmes, and sustainable menstrual health solutions. Schools and colleges are increasingly recognising the importance of menstrual hygiene management in improving attendance, health awareness, dignity, and student wellbeing," he said, adding that THINKAL assessments recorded active participation from student groups and institutional bodies during awareness and distribution drives.

Institutions, he said, are “becoming more open to integrating menstrual health awareness, sanitary product access, and hygiene infrastructure into their campus wellbeing initiatives."

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